MARCO PARISOTTO

Marco Parisotto was born in Montreal, Canada, of Italian lineage. A frequent guest with orchestras around the globe, he is one of Canada’s foremost and distinguished conductors on the international scene.

He has appeared in major concert halls throughout the world, conducting many leading orchestras including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia of London, New Jersey Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Quebec Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Japan Shinsei Symphony, Opera Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéra de Marseille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Philharmonique de Liège and the Orchestre Lamoureux.

Parisotto was received with great enthusiasm at the international Festivals of Evian, Menton, Besançon and at the Skaneateles Festival New York, at the Montreal Opera and Shanghai Opera, in Mexico with the Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM, Sinfonica Carlos Chavez, Camara de Bellas Artes, in China with the Shanghai Symphony and the China National Symphony.

He has also led to acclaim the Polish National Radio Symphony, Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI of Torino, Orquesta de Cordoba, Orquesta de Baja California, Orchestre de Bayonne Cote-Basque and the Serbian National Theatre. In 2011 Marco Parisotto had the honour of conducting the 130th anniversary concert of Paris’ oldest and distinguished orchestra, the Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux at Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris.

Marco Parisotto is the winner of seven major international competitions. He crowned these achievements in 1997 with the ‘Besançon International Competition for Conductors’, joining the ranks of conductors like Seiji Ozawa, Michel Plasson or Zdenek Macal. A first in this elite events history, he was awarded the Grand Prix as well as the Prix du Public. Other top prizes have included the Tokyo International Conductors Competition in Japan, Constantin Silvestri Competition in Romania and the Antonio Pedrotti in Italy. He was moreover conferred with all other special awards at these events.

Parisotto has won critical and public praise for his interpretations of Russian masters as Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and of the great German repertoire as Strauss, Bruckner, Mahler, Wagner; and of Italian opera. In 2002 he gave the Shanghai premiere performances of Strauss’ ‘Ein Heldenleben’ and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances. Acclaimed for his passionate performances in the operatic field he has led productions of Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Otello, Tosca, La Boheme, Aida, Rigoletto and Don Giovanni.

Marco Parisotto has been Music Director of the Ontario Philharmonic since 1996 and is credited with building this orchestra to the high standard it enjoys today. Following a special concert celebrating Canada-China relations in 1999 at the Grand Theatre in Shanghai, he was appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a position he held until 2003. As such, he was the first foreign national to have held this position in the history of the People’s Republic of China.

He took his training both as a violinist and pianist and studied conducting with eminent maestros including Leonard Bernstein, Carlo Maria Giulini, Leonard Slatkin, Charles Brück, Yuri Temirkanov, Georg Tintner and, initially, with Raffi Armenian at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Montreal. As well, he studied under Swiss conductor and composer Michel Tabachnik whose assistant he became in his early career.

“Marco Parisotto steps onto the podium and the enchantment commences. What a musician! He made the Montreal Symphony Orchestra sound like a marvel. To hear him animate this sonic canvas [Francesca da Rimini] was electrifying. What a performance! Better yet, this is the signature of an artist who stands among the greatest.”
LE DEVOIR

“This conductor belongs to the greatest. Not since the debuts of Chailly and Rattle have I been so impressed.”
LE DROIT

“Invited several times by Charles Dutoit, Marco Parisotto has won the favour of the musicians, the public’s affection and the esteem of the critics. His performance, entirely conducted from memory, was a great success. Each piece was followed by a standing ovation...”
LA PRESSE

“Marco Parisotto, a great conductor, gave a concert which the audience will never forget. The orchestra was electrified. The phrasing was so highly expressive and the tempi led with such dizzying vigour that the audience was left in a stupor. A concert that will doubtless remain as one of this city’s most memorable artistic events.”
LE SUD-OUEST

“Parisotto, with the highest degree of artistry brought forth the symphony’s emotional expressiveness and dramatic intensity. The conductor and orchestra were outstanding.”
LA PROVENCE

“This magnificent concert opens with high-voltage on stage. Marco Parisotto possesses the charisma to generate the most explosive as well as refined sounds from the orchestra. The First Symphony was revealed with an intense lyricism and moments of great jubilation. An unforgettable concert…”
LE SUD-OUEST

“Marco Parisotto could take on the world. I heard Parisotto lead this ensemble [Ontario Philharmonic] last Saturday at Koerner Hall. To say I was surprised is putting it mildly. Everything about Parisotto’s exacting and fluid style on the podium suggested a major international talent.”
MONTREAL GAZETTE

“Maestro Marco Parisotto delighted the listeners charging each concert minute with bravura of unmatchable musicianship. Indeed he is an artist who stands among the best. He is an inspiration to watch conduct the entire ensemble, emanating from his baton, his energy and charm.”
ONTARIO ARTS REVIEW

“The orchestra’s role was realized by an exceptional conductor, Marco Parisotto, who managed to bring the orchestra out of the pit which definitely it deserves and made it the main protagonist on the stage. His role in putting together all the different elements of the opera [Don Giovanni] was extraordinary.”
POLITIKA BELGRADE

“A fluid figure on the podium who often suspends his arms with avian breadth, Parisotto kept the players consistently engaged while attending to bar-by-bar details. A decade ago this Montreal native made some impressive guest appearances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Oshawa and Ontario are lucky to have him.”
NATIONAL POST

“I can't even begin to count the number of recordings of the work [Petrushka] I’ve heard, but nothing came even close to the transparency and vivid coloration of conductor Marco Parisotto’s and the orchestra’s [New Jersey Symphony Orchestra] collaboration.”
CLASSICAL NEW JERSEY SOCIETY 

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