St-John Passion – A majestic finale to this year’s Bach Festival

Festival International Bach Montréal presents

J.S. Bach | St-John Passion

To close this 2025 edition, the Montreal International Bach Festival Orchestra has invited the Swiss J.S. Bach Choir of St. Gallen (J.S.-Bach-Stiftung St. Gallen) to take part in a joint performance of one of Bach’s most important works.

Internationally renowned Swiss composer and conductor Rudolf Lutz will offer his interpretation of the St. John Passion.

Lutz’s “intimate understanding of the texts that underlie their illustration is manifest: every word, every expression has its weight, its most accurate phrasing.” (Forum Opéra)

Between emotion and precision, the excellence of the interpretation will assure this year’s rendez-vous has a majestic finale!

Artists
Rudolf Lutz, conductor

Rudolf Lutz is an internationally acclaimed pianist, organist, harpsichordist, composer, conductor and improvisor. He was organist of the church Sankt Laurenzen in St Gallen from 1973–2013, and conductor of the Bach-Chor St. Gallen from 1986–2008. Rudolf Lutz is a former lecturer for improvisation at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and has taught thorough-bass at the School of Music in Basle and oratorio studies at the Zurich University of the Arts. Today, he dedicates his time to diverse concert engagements in Switzerland and abroad.

As a conductor, Rudolf Lutz strives to achieve a highly nuanced interpretation of a score. His in-depth studies of historical performance practice and his extensive experience as a concert artist furnish the various choral and instrumental ensembles that he conducts with significant artistic insight. Nonetheless, musical expression and unhindered joy in music making remains his overriding goal.

Rudolf Lutz is a respected composer; his sinfonia for cantata BWV 158 by Bach and his Christmas oratory “An English Christmas” have received particular acclaim. In 2017, his cantata in homage to Luther – a work commissioned by “Deutschlandfunk Kultur” – received its world premiere at Wartburg castle. In 2018, his second cantata (“Landsgemeindekantate”), which is based on a traditional Swiss hymn, also received its premiere. The librettist for both cantatas was Karl Graf.

Rudolf Lutz’s extraordinary breadth of experience single him out as the ideal conductor for the performance of Bach’s entire vocal oeuvre, the mammoth project undertaking by the J. S. Bach Foundation of St. Gallen. He assumed this role in 2006, the same year he received the Canton of St Gallen’s prize for culture. In 2015, Rudolf Lutz was awarded the prize of the “Stiftung für Abendländische Ethik und Kultur” and the swiss musicaward (2019) for his lifetime achievement. From 2016 to 2025, he served on the board of the Neue Bachgesellschaft e.V. Leipzig. In April 2021, Rudolf Lutz was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Zurich. The world premiere of his St Mark Passion, a “practical dissertation” in response to his honorary doctorate, was held in February 2024.

Bach Stiftung St. Gallen, choir
Festival International Bach Montréal Orchestra

Program
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
The St John Passion, BWV 245

Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 6:00pm
Maison symphonique

To purchase your tickets, visit: www.placedesarts.com