Charles Dutoit

Recently appointed Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Chief Conductor and Music Advisor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit regularly collaborates with the world’s pre-eminent orchestras and soloists.

He has conducted all the major orchestras of the world: Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Amsterdam, London, New York, Boston, Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.

He has also recorded extensively for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Philips, CBS and Erato. His more than 175 recordings have garnered over 40 awards and distinctions around the world.

For 25 years (1977 to 2002), Charles Dutoit was Artistic Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, a dynamic musical partnership recognised the world over.

Since 1990, he has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.

From 1991 to 2001, Charles Dutoit was Music Director of the Orchestre National de France with whom he has toured extensively on the five continents and in 1996, he was appointed Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo) with whom he toured in Europe, the United States, China and Southeast Asia. He is today Music Director Emeritus of this Orchestra.

When still in his early 20s, Charles Dutoit was invited by von Karajan to lead the Vienna State Opera. He has since conducted at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Deutsche Oper in Berlin and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, amongst others.

In 1991, Charles Dutoit was made Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia, in 1995, Grand Officier de l'Ordre national du Québec, in 1996, Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France and in 1998, he was invested as Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest award of merit.

Charles Dutoit was born in Lausanne, Switzerland and his extensive musical training included violin, viola, piano, percussion, history of music and composition at the Conservatoires and Music Academies of Geneva, Siena, Venice and Boston.

A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political science, art and architecture, Charles Dutoit has traveled in all 196 nations of the world.