The Rite of Spring 2025-2026
The OSM presents three extraordinary works in an explosive musical fireworks display. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, performed by the brilliant Bruce Liu, shines in this program. Also featured is Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, first premiered on May 29, 1913. This revolutionary work, depicting a pagan ritual from Slavic traditions involving the sacrifice of a young girl to bring spring, caused a riot at its scandalous debut but is now celebrated as a cornerstone of modern music. To add even more sparkle to the concert, the orchestra will premiere a composition by celebrated Quebec composer Denis Gougeon, known for his lyricism, rhythmic energy, and deep expressiveness.
Voices from the press
« Pianiste aux doigts de magicien et à l’âme intègre. » – Le Monde
« On first encounter, there seems something attractively straightforward about his approach; an elegance and lightness of touch… » – The Guardian
Artists
Rafael Payare, conductor
Bruce Liu, pianist
Program
Denis Gougeon, La Traversée 🍁 – World premiere, OSM commission (12 min)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Concerto for Piano no. 1, op. 23 (32 min)
Intermission (20 min)
Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring (33 min)
Bruce Liu
PianoFirst Prize winner of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition 2021 in Warsaw, Bruce Liu has emerged as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation — a musician praised not only for his dazzling technique, but for his curiosity and artistry that combines “nimble versatility” (New York Times) and “playing of breathtaking beauty” (BBC Music Magazine).
Highlights of Liu’s 2025/2026 season include several major international tours including Japan with Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, China with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Daniele Gatti, among others.
An exclusive recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon, Liu was awarded Opus Klassik’s Young Talent of the Year prize 2024 for his debut studio album Waves. His second studio album, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Seasons, was released in November 2024 receiving rave reviews such as “superbly polished, but wonderfully free of mannerisms, giving these charming salon pieces the respect and sincerity they deserve” (The Guardian).
Born in Paris and raised in Montréal, Bruce Liu’s artistry reflects his multicultural heritage -blending European refinement, North American dynamism, and the long tradition of Chinese culture.
Rafael Payare
conductorDistinguished by innate musicianship, a gift for communication, and an irresistibly joyous spirit, conductor Rafael Payare began playing horn in Venezuela’s El Sistema program at age 14 and started his formal conducting studies in 2004 with José Antonio Abreu. Since winning Denmark’s prestigious Malko Competition for Young Conductors in 2012, his career has advanced rapidly. He was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra from 2014 to 2019; has served as Principal Conductor of the Castleton Festival, founded by his mentor the late Lorin Maazel, since 2015; became Music Director of the San Diego Symphony in 2019, and three years later became Music Director of Canada’s Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In recent years, Payare has conducted many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Munich, Hamburg, and Paris, besides making important opera debuts at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Glyndebourne Festival; Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Opera; and the Royal Danish Opera.
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