13th Montreal Bach Festival
with brand-new Off-Festival

A wide range of free events in addition to the official program, from November 22 to December 7

The 13th Montreal Bach Festival will run from November 22 to December 7, 2019. In all, thirty events will take place at the Maison symphonique, Bourgie Hall, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, the Bon-Pasteur Historic Chapel, Saint-Léon Church, Saint-Viateur Church, Saint-Pierre-Apôtre Church, and Gilles-Lefebvre concert Hall.

The Bach Festival’s opening concert will be the Akamus Orchestra on November 22 and 23 at Saint-Léon Church in Westmount.

The official program of the Montreal Bach Festival

The Bach Festival’s opening concert will be the Akamus Orchestra (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin) on November 22 and 23 at Saint-Léon Church in Westmount. Since its beginnings, AKAMUS has been the leading chamber orchestra playing period instruments. Grammy-winning Akamus will perform The Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach on November 22 and the Orchestral Suites by J.S. Bach on November 23.

On December 5 and 6, Reinhard Goebel will conduct the Orchestre Festival Bach Montréal (OFBM) with Bruno Delepelaire, principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic. Reinhard Goebel (a Bach medalist from the city of Leipzig) founded Musica Antiqua Köln, which he directed for 33 years. The December 5 Montreal concert will be Maestro Goebel’s third concert with the OFBM. The same concert will be presented on December 6 in partnership with Orford Music, at the Gilles-Lefebvre Concert Hall.

Akamus Orchestra

The OSM and other local artists

On December 3 and 4, the OSM, under the direction of Kent Nagano, will perform Bach‘s Christmas Oratorio with Marie-Sophie Pollak, Wiebke Lehmkuhl and Philippe Sly at Maison symphonique. Also scheduled are Les Idées heureuses on Dec. 4, Pallade Musica on Nov. 25, Luc Beauséjour with Stéphane Tétreault, Aline Kutan, and Kerson Leong on Nov. 24.

The Grands Concerts

Jean Rondeau
French harpsichordist
November 26

Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen
Piano duo, Israel and Germany
November 27

Léon Berben and Johannes Pramsohler
Harpsichord and violin, Netherlands and Italy
November 28

Andrea Marcon
Italian conductor with Arion Baroque Orchestra
November 29

Aaron Pilsan
Austrian pianist
November 30

Maurice Steger
Swiss flutist in a trio with Hille Perl, viola da gamba and Diego Ares, harpsichord
December 1

Christian-Pierre La Marca
French cellist
December 2

The Organ Concerts
Sundays at 3:30 p.m. at Saint Joseph’s Oratory

▪ November 3: Vincent Boucher, titular organist at the Oratoire St-Joseph.
▪ November 10: Olivier Vernet, titular organist of the Cathedral of Monaco.
▪ November 17: Dexter Kennedy, Prix d’interprétation, Concours d’orgue de Chartres.
▪ November 24: Shin-Young Lee, 1st prize at the Concours Saint-François-de-Sales.
▪ December 1: Schola de l’Oratoire – dir. Adam Wills Begley

Closing concert

The Knights Chamber Orchestra NY
December 7
Saint-Pierre-Apôtre Church

The Knights is much more than an orchestra: it’s a not-to-be-missed event. These twenty Brooklyn musicians have revolutionized the orchestral experience. They combine early music, great classics and the avant-garde, constantly keeping the audience on its toes.

The Knights Chamber Orchestra NY

Off-Festival Bach

The brand-new Off-Festival Bach will offer a wide range of events in addition to the official programme. Located in a new space on Boulevard Saint-Laurent near Place des Arts, Off-Festival Bach will host all scheduled events: concerts, public rehearsals, discussions, performances. Festival tickets and merchandises are available for purchase. Have a coffee, get information and relax while listening to music!

Spontaneous performances

The artists of the 2019 Festival will perform spontaneously during the day, there will be public rehearsals and even the chance for amateurs to play on our piano or their instruments for friendly jams.

Inside the space, you can buy tickets for Festival concerts, have a coffee, get information and relax while listening to music. Visit the Off-Bach section of our website for more details and news. Free admission

Ticket Office

Tickets for all Festival events are on sale online at www.festivalbachmontreal.com
By phone: 514.989.9668

Images courtesy of The Montreal Bach Festival

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