CONDUCTOR RIDES THE CD WAVE TO TOP

Though still in its infant stages, the digital boom has already brought unlikely stardom to at least one conductor and orchestra.

The orchestra is the Montreal Symphony, an ensemble that had issued no commercial releases before the compact disc was born.

The conductor is Charles Dutoit, a respected and ever-busy maestro whose recording career was far from stellar when he arrived in Canada a decade ago.

But now, his dashing figure adorns numerous album jackets and display racks in record stores, and his name and that of his orchestra have become a regular sight on the Billboard classical charts.

Charles Dutoit (pronounced Sharrl Doo-Twah ) is Swiss-born with an irresistible Gallic accent and smile, his style as polished and contemporary as a CD.

The 50-year-old maestro and his orchestra, who take up residence this week at Hollywood Bowl beginning tonight, were fortunate to board the CD elevator on the ground floor, back in the early ‘80s. Dutoit owes a lot to that little disc and he’s not ashamed to admit it.

“We definitely belong to this technology,” he says. “Right from the start, we decided to commit ourselves to digital (recording). A new release of ours now gets instantly reviewed around the world. We’ve become a big sensation in Japan.”

During a recent visit to Santa Monica, the conductor reflected on his success, which he measures numerically--or is it digitally? “So far we have sold one million CDs around the world. We’ve issued over 30 recordings.

“You know, our very first disc for London (Ravel’s complete ‘Daphnis et Chloe,’ issued in 1981) was only the fourth CD that label issued.” He pauses and smiles. “It went to No. 1.”

And the hits just keep on coming. Facing competition from such one-of-a-kind releases as “Horowitz in Moscow” and Wynton Marsalis’ “Carnaval,” the straight-ahead, no-gimmick Dutoit/Montreal recording of “The Planets” has climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard charts.

Clearly, this man and this orchestra have captured the fancy of digital fans.

But why? Dutoit gives full credit to the orchestra: “When I came aboard in September, 1978, I immediately saw a potential. I told the players, ‘Let’s not be inhibited.’ When we began making records, I saw an immediate benefit. The whole business helped them become concerned about performance level.

“It worked mainly because of the quality that was already there.”

Though mostly Canadian--three wind players are American--the ensemble boasts a large number of Juilliard and Curtis graduates. “We’ve got nothing comparable to that in Canada,” Dutoit admits. “I wish we did. We really should have a school where young Canadian players could receive top-notch training.”

As any CD buff will admit, the sound of the recording is at least as important as the performing prowess of the players. And, in fact, the Dutoit/Montreal recordings do radiate a pleasing sheen that seems as perfectly constructed for CD technology as Greg Louganis is for the high dive.

“This is not a noisy orchestra,” says Dutoit. He searches for the right words: “Our sound is more of a Classical orchestra, like the Cleveland, and less of a late Romantic orchestra like the Philadelphia. What I have in mind is a Cleveland plus Boston plus Vienna.”

To bring out that quality, London/Decca engineers searched for a recording site in the environs of Montreal before discovering an old church in the little town of St. Eustache. But, as Dutoit points out, that church is just the beginning of a commercially successful release.

As with any major recording group, conductor and orchestra must regularly hit the road to support their “product.”

“We tour each year, including regular visits to New York. It’s good for orchestra morale to play there and compete with all the great ensembles. And touring in general is helpful to us. I think it’s important to get exposure, because our records sell well when we do.

“There is no (marketing) strategy in our touring, though our concert schedule is as tightly organized as a rock group.”

Just how that digitally polished Montreal sound will translate in the great outdoors of Cahuenga Pass this week remains a question of concern to Dutoit. “I can’t prepare (the players) for the Bowl--I don’t know how,” he says with a laugh.

“Naturally, our sound depends on the concert hall. I don’t think it’s true that people expect a recording-type sound in concert.

“Actually, the Bowl repertory is not our show-off stuff,” he says.

Really? Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” (tonight), Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” (Wednesday), Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra” (Thursday) and Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture (Friday and Saturday)--these are not display pieces? “Well,” answers Dutoit with a sheepish grin, “every program needs something a little brilliant.”