In 2017, Charles Dutoit received one of classical music’s highest honours, the Royal
Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, becoming the 103rd recipient since the medal was founded
in 1870 in celebration of the centenary of the birth of Beethoven.
Principal guest conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic and former Artistic Director and
Principal Conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he has captivated audiences
throughout the world and is one of today’s most sought- after conductors.
Following an artistic collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra that spanned 32 years, he
performed every season with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, New York and
Los Angeles and is also a regular guest on the stages in London, Berlin, Paris, Munich,
Moscow, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
His more than 200 recordings have garnered multiple awards and distinctions including two
Grammys.
For 25 years , Charles Dutoit was Artistic Director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Furthermore, from 1991 to 2001, he was Music Director of the Orchestre National de France
and in 1996, was appointed Principal Conductor and soon thereafter, Music Director of the
NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo). He is today Music Director Emeritus of this Orchestra.
Charles Dutoit has successively been Music Director of the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival and
Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan as well as the Canton International
Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou, China and the Lindenbaum Festival in Seoul, South
Korea. Music Director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra between 2009 and 2017, he is now
Conductor Emeritus. He has toured China 32 times, giving Chinese Premieres of such works as
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Britten War Requiem, Strauss Elektra and Salome.
When still in his early 20’s, Charles Dutoit was invited by Von Karajan to conduct at the Vienna
State Opera. He has since conducted at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York,
Deutsche Oper in Berlin, the Rome Opera and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
In 2014, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Classical Music
Awards.
A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history and archaeology, political science, art and
architecture, he has travelled to all 196 nations of the world.