Music

Harmonia mundi label announces record deal with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Their 1st album, Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, will be released on Feb. 2, 2024, with Stravinksy and Bartók projects to follow.

Their 1st album, Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, will be released on Feb. 2, 2024

Gustavo Gimeno is pictured on a podium, leading the musicians of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Gustavo Gimeno is the 10th music director in the history of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. (Jag Photography)

French record label Harmonia mundi has announced a new, multi-disc agreement with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

This new collaboration follows the appointment of Spanish conductor Gustavo Gimeno as the TSO's latest music director. His tenure began in the 2020-21 season.

The first album to be released under this new partnership will be Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie with pianist Marc-André Hamelin and ondes Martenot player Nathalie Forget. It's scheduled to appear on Feb. 2, 2024.

That will be followed by Igor Stravinsky's Pulcinella (complete ballet) and Bela Bartók's The Miraculous Mandarin.

Gimeno joined Harmonia mundi's roster in 2022, as chief conductor of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The TSO has made nearly 100 recordings since its first release in 1942. Its survey of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, conducted by former music director Peter Oundjian, won a Juno Award in 2019. The following year, its recording of Massenet's Thaïs, under Andrew Davis, also nabbed a Juno. Both albums were released on the Chandos label.

Click here for complete details on the TSO's 2023-24 season.