Payare and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal welcome Spring

Rafael Payare conducts the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Bruce Liu and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

By Ian Cochrane, 24 April 2026

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“a rendition that sizzled with raw energy”

Reviewed at Maison symphonique, Montreal on 22 April 2026

Gougeon, La Traversée (World premiere)

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23

Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

Bruce Liu, Piano

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Rafael Payare, Conductor

Rafael Payare and his Montrealers show off their jazz chops

Ian Cochrane, 11th March

Rafael Payare boldly programmes Kinan Azmeh's Suite for Improvisor and Orchestra in a diverse concert bill that also features long-standing Principal Flute Timothy Hutchins.

****1

A national treasure revisits Montreal: Angela Hewitt plays Mozart

Ian Cochrane, 28th February

Angela Hewitt joins the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for an exquisite rendering of a Mozart concerto, and Leonard Slatkin conducts Tchaikovsky's Winter Daydreams.

****1

Last minute jump-in Hankyeol Yoon saves the day in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 21st January

Virtuosic Alina Ibragimova joins the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for a dynamite performance of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, while youthful conductor Hankyeol Yoon leads polished Rachmaninov.

****1

Payare, Lamsma and the OSM: Korngold and Bartók in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 3rd December

The Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), conductor Rafael Payare, and violin soloist Simone Lamsma joined forces in a program that featured seminal works by two musical titans who settled in the United States after fleeing Europe in the mid-twentieth century.

****1

Faust’s bargain, Berlioz’s triumph in Montréal’s season launch

Ian Cochrane, 17th September

Rafael Payare leads a fevered account of desire, damnation and sonic grandeur, ably supported by Karen Cargill and Andrew Staples.

****1

Benjamin Grosvenor’s Ravel sparkles in Montreal

Ian Cochrane, 1st May

The British are coming! An exciting evening of Ravel and Vaughan Williams with conductor Andrew Manze and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in Montreal.

****1

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Ian Cochrane

Ian Cochrane is a retired music teacher who hails from Montreal, Canada. He holds music degrees from McGill University, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Calgary. He has attended conducting seminars at the University of Michigan as well as Northwestern University. Ian has edited a variety of music journals. His articles have been published in both professional and refereed journals. In addition, he has written music curricula- both provincial and national. Ian’s concert reviews have been in published in La Scena magazine. Ian has extensive performance experience as an instrumentalist, chorister, and conductor.