Charles Dutoit Charles Dutoit

Charles Édouard Dutoit OCGOQ(born 7 October 1936) is a Swiss conductor. He is the former artistic director and principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor emeritus of the NHK Symphony Orchestraof Tokyo, and was conductor laureate of the Philadelphia Orchestra until the orchestra stripped him of the title after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. He is the former music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre National de France, and as of 2017, conductor emeritus of the Verbier Music Festival Orchestra. An honorary member of the Ravel Foundation in France and the Stravinsky Foundation in Switzerland, Dutoit became, in 2017, the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award.

In December 2017, following allegations that Dutoit had sexually assaultedfour women, orchestras either cancelled engagements or severed ties with Dutoit. He withdrew from his concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. The next month several other women came forward with further claims of sexual misconduct. Dutoit issued a statement denying the allegations.

Biography

Dutoit was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. He studied there, and graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Genève, where he won first prize in conducting. Then he went to the Accademia Chigianain Sienaat the invitation of Alceo Galliera. In his younger days, he frequently attended Ernest Ansermet's rehearsals and had a personal acquaintance with him. He also worked with Herbert Karajanat Lucerneas a member of the festival youth orchestra and studied at Tanglewood.

Dutoit began his professional music career in 1957 as a violaplayer with various orchestras across Europe and South America. In January 1959, he made his debut as a professional conductor with an orchestra of Radio Lausanne and Martha Argerich. From 1959 he was a guest conductor of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romandeand the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. After this, he was the conductor for Radio Zurich until 1967, when he took over the Bern Symphony Orchestrafrom Paul Kletzki, where he stayed for 11 years.

While head of the Bern Symphony, he also conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexicofrom 1973 to 1975, and Sweden's Gothenburg Symphonyfrom 1975 to 1978. Dutoit was principal guest conductor of the Minnesota Orchestrain the early 1980s.

In 1977, Dutoit became the artistic director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal(OSM). In the words of Glasgow-based music critic Kate Molleson: "A 20-year recording contract with Deccamade the MSO the most recorded orchestra in the world, and the best of these recordings — Ravel’s La Valseand Daphnis et Chloe, Debussy’s La Mer, Stravinsky’s French-period ballets — remain unsurpassed."Reaction to Dutoit joining the Montreal Symphony was positive. Peter G. Davis stated that Dutoit transformed the Montreal Symphony.  New York Magazine wrote similarly about Dutoit, adding that he was noted for the championing of new Canadian music. Throughout these years, he called without success for a new symphony concert hall for Montréal.Dutoit resigned from the Montreal Symphony in April 2002, with immediate effect, after the Quebec Musicians Guild complained about what it called Dutoit's "offensive behaviour and complete lack of respect for the musicians".In January, 2018, the OSM acknowledged ignoring complaints from musicians of verbal and ‘psychological harassment’ by Dutoit dating back to the 1990s.He did not return to the OSM as a guest conductor until 2016, in a concert at the new Maison Symphonique de Montréal.

Dutoit has received more than 40 international awards and distinctions, including two Grammy Awards(United States), several Juno Awards(Canada), the Grand Prix du Président de la République (France), the Prix mondial du disque de Montreux (Switzerland), the Amsterdam Edison Award, the Japan Record Academy Award, and the German Music Critics' Award. He and the OSM made many recordings for the Decca/London label.

Dutoit first conducted the Philadelphia Orchestrain 1980. From 1990 to 1999, he was music director of the orchestra's summer concerts at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. From 1990 to 2010, he was artistic director and principal conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer festival in Saratoga Springs, New York. In 1991, he was made an Honorary Citizen of the city of Philadelphia. In February 2007, Dutoit was named the orchestra's chief conductor and artistic adviser, for a contract of four years, effective September 2008.In 2009 his salary was $1.83 million.Following the conclusion of his contract in Philadelphia in 2012, the orchestra named him its conductor laureate, as of the 2012–13 season.

Since 1990, Dutoit has directed the Pacific Music Festival in Japan. From 1991 to 2001, Dutoit was Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, with whom he made a number of recordings and toured extensively. In 1996, he was appointed principal conductor of Tokyo's NHK Symphony Orchestra. In 1997, he was made an honorary Officer of the Order of Canada. He is also one of a handful of non-Canadian citizens to be a Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec.

In April 2007, Dutoit was named principal conductor and artistic director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestraas of 2009.In October 2019 he was scheduled to stand down as the RPO's principal conductor and to take the title of Honorary Conductor for Life of the orchestra, but instead he resigned in January 2018.Between 2009 and 2017, Dutoit also served as the music director of the Verbier FestivalOrchestra in Switzerland. In April 2014, Dutoit received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Classical Music Awards. He was also made an honorary member of Fondation Igor Stravinsky in Geneva and Fondation Ravel in Monfort l'Amaury, France.

Personal life

Dutoit shuns publicity and protects his private life from the media. He has been married four times. His first marriage was to Ruth Cury, by whom he has a son, Ivan, who lives in Santa Monica, California, with his family, who in turn has two children: Anne-Sophie and Jean-Sebastian. He was also married to the world-renowned concert pianist Argentine Martha Argerich(with whom he has a daughter, Anne-Catherine) and to the Canadian economist Marie-Josée Drouin. He is currently married to Canadian violinist Chantal Juillet.