Over the course of its 38-year history, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra has evolved steadily to become the remarkable ensemble of virtuoso musicians we know today, constantly striving for perfection, whose performances convey the breadth and richness of the music of the last three centuries. This exceptionally versatile 61-member orchestra does not limit itself to just one style or repertoire. Under Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, the Orchestra has developed a distinctive sound that is luminous, full, elegant, and founded on a simple principle: bringing out the unique sound quality of each and every instrument and section, and uniting them in a fresh and unaffected musical dialogue. Thanks to these characteristics and abilities, the Orchestra performs authentic interpretations of works by every major composer in the orchestral repertoire, from Bach to Brahms, and Haydn to Stravinsky.

“Here was all we want in Brahms: a plush, glowing string sound with warm winds to match and a lyrical spirit that seemed piped in from central Europe… with no loss of transparency or coherence”.

Montreal Gazette, November 2006

Beethoven Festival

The 2007-08 National Arts Centre Orchestra season opens in grand style with a major musical event: a Beethoven Festival featuring symphonies, concertos and chamber music. Through his works and in his artistic approach, Beethoven revealed the whole sensory, philosophical and spiritual range that music can embrace and convey, and he almost single-handedly ushered romanticism into the musical realm.

Exploration of the Symphony

At the heart of an orchestra’s world are symphonies.  In the hands of the great composers, symphonies satisfied the listener’s thirst for both symmetry and a ripping, dramatic narrative.  This season we present a historical overview; from its early pre-cursor in the Baroque Suite to the ultimate classicism of Haydn and Mozart, through Beethoven’s stormy and heroic masterpieces, the dramatic romantic works of Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorák and others; and finally the 20th-century metamorphoses wrought by Prokofiev and Shostakovich. This exceptional musical odyssey will be book-ended by two great “Ninths”: one by Beethoven, one by Bruckner.

Trevor Pinnock Baroque Residency

In the last 40 years, musicians and music lovers alike have rediscovered the immense variety of the Baroque period and its music, whose fine balance of mathematical precision and exuberance never fails to surprise and enchant. Trevor Pinnock, international authority on Baroque music and former NAC Orchestra Artistic Director (1991–96), will be the NAC’s guest for a two-week residency during which he will conduct the Orchestra in joyful, glorious masterworks by Bach and Handel.

A Retrospective of NAC Orchestra Commissions

From the very start, an integral part of the NAC Orchestra’s mandate has been commissioning new works by Canadian composers.  Over its first 38 years, the Orchestra has commissioned the creation of over 70 Canadian works, many of which have gone on to find a permanent place in the international repertoire. It’s fascinating to note how the sounds and rhythms of several of these musical creations have subtly woven themselves into the soundtrack of our landscapes and our lives. The Orchestra has selected six of the most enduring and engaging of these works for performance in 2007–2008.

Breaking New Ground

Hidden treasures await discovery in trail-blazing compositions the NAC Orchestra has never or only rarely performed. These promise to be high points for our audience – including Mendelssohn’s spectacular oratorio Elijah, Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9.

Musical Friendships

Guest conductors play a vital role in the Orchestra’s artistic growth: they provide new ways of approaching the music, new ways of interpreting it, and fresh artistic insights. Working with guest conductors keeps the Orchestra flexible and responsive, and forges links that grow stronger over the years, musical friendships that have immense artistic benefits for NACO’s musicians – and for its audience. This season, you’ll meet Jun Märkl, Ludovic Morlot, and Douglas Boyd; and renew your acquaintance with the esteemed Helmuth Rilling, Eri Klas, Alain Trudel,  Arild Remmereit and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.