Featured In
ALBUMCharles Dutoit - Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals and other worksCharles Dutoit
Albums by Charles Dutoit
ALBUMHandel, Penderecki, MozartNew York Philharmonic, Bernard Labadie, Charles Dutoit & Andrey Boreyko
ALBUMDebussy: La merOrchestre Symphonique de Montréal & Charles Dutoit
ALBUMSaint-Saens: Organ Symphony & Piano Concerto No. 2Peter Hurford, Pascal Rogé, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Charles Dutoit
ALBUMRimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade & Russian Easter Festival OvertureRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Dutoit & Clio Gould
ALBUMChopin: Piano Concerto No. 1Charles Dutoit, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal & Martha Argerich
ALBUMStrauss: An Alpine SymphonyThe Philadelphia Orchestra & Charles Dutoit
ALBUMMozart: Symphony No. 35 - Ravel: La ValseThe Philadelphia Orchestra & Charles Dutoit
ALBUMStravinsky: Concerto In E-Flat Major - Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1The Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit & Christoph Eschenbach
ALBUMPoèmeAkiko Suwanai, Philharmonia Orchestra & Charles Dutoit
ALBUMDecca Concerts - Mozart: Symphony No. 35 "Haffner" - Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique, Op. 14Charles Dutoit & Philharmonia Orchestra
Artist Biography
In a career that dates back to the late 1950s, Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit has brought an atmospheric sheen and detail to performances of French repertoire and big orchestral showpieces, notably during the 25 years he conducted the Montreal Symphony. Born in 1936 in Lausanne, Dutoit studied at the conservatories of Lausanne and Geneva and attended the rehearsals of Ernest Ansermet, an exemplar of the elegant French-Swiss tradition. In 1959, following a stint as an orchestral violist, Dutoit served as guest conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. After a directorship of the Bern Symphony Orchestra (1968-78), Dutoit was named music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 1977. With a Decca contract, Dutoit and Montreal championed a coloristic repertoire of French masters, Russian Romantics, and early Modernists. Of particular note were their sonically vivid recordings of Stravinsky’s The Firebird (1910), Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe (1912), and Bartók and Prokofiev piano concertos (recorded with Dutoit’s then-wife, Martha Argerich, as soloist). Resigning in 2002, Dutoit went on to work as chief conductor and artistic adviser of the Philadelphia Orchestra (2008-12) and London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2009-18). In 2019 he became principal guest conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, however, Dutoit’s activities in North America and Europe have been curtailed since allegations concerning his private life surfaced in 2018.
Hometown
Lausanne, Switzerland
Genre
Classical