Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Yannick Nézet-Séguin took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor at the start of the Orchestra's 2008/09 season. His performances have gripped the imagination of audiences and critics alike, and his concerts in the current season are eagerly awaited.

'the dynamic young French Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been setting audiences alight with his electrifying interpretations since becoming principal guest conductor of the orchestra' Evening Standard, May 2009

CD Brahms German Requiem
Watch an interview with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and listen to an extract from Brahms German Requiem - released on the LPO Label in 2010.
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2011-12 season concerts conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Weber, Mozart and Schubert Symphony 9 (12 October 2011)
Beethoven Symphony 2 / Rossini Stabat Mater (15 October 2011)
Prokofiev Festival (1 February 2012)
Bruckner (4 February 2012)
Bartok and Mahler Symphony 9 (28 March 2012)

He spoke to music journalist Edward Seckerson just before his first concert, on 10 October 2008. You can listen to some short sections or the full interview using the music player below. Nézet-Séguin describes his early musical training, his conducting style, and how he perceives the personality of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

What made this performance memorable was Nézet-Séguin’s ability to make every note come alive.
Financial Times, February 2009

Nézet-Séguin could galvanise the orchestra into granite-like statements and coax it into beguiling lyricism. Buoyancy and firm rhythmic impetus in the scherzo were contrasted with the mellifluous shaping of the intense adagio, and ever present alongside Nézet-Séguin's sense of overall perspective was his ear for subtly drawn details of expression within the complex texture.
Daily Telegraph, February 2009


'We will be hearing a good deal more from Nézet-Séguin in coming seasons, if his most recent performances in this country are anything to go by….a conductor with not only the self-confidence and virtuosity that speaks of a maestro in the making, but also with a highly individual approach to the music.'
The Guardian, April 2007

Biography

At 35 years old, Yannick Nézet-Séguin is one of the most highly respected and sought-after conductors on today’s international classical music scene and has been widely praised by audiences, critics and artists alike for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma. Nézet-Séguin is Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and in June 2010 was appointed Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra with immediate effect and will take up the full title of Music Director from the 2012-2013 season.  He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic director and Principal conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal).

A native of Montreal, Nézet-Séguin has conducted all of the major Canadian orchestras and was Principal Guest Conductor of the Victoria Symphony from 2003 to 2006. Mr. Nézet-Séguin made his European debut in 2004 and has since appeared regularly with many of Europe’s leading orchestras including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Orchestre National de France, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and made his BBC Proms debut in 2009 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Recent conducting highlights include highly successful tours of the Far East (Summer 2008) and North America (Winter 2010) with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, as well as his Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra debuts in the U.S. and his Philharmonic debut at the 2010 Salzburg Mozartwoche.

Summer 2010 includes his first performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (Symphony of a thousand) with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain in June 2010, his debut with the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra and his return to the BBC Proms with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to his regular Rotterdam Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra commitments Nézet-Séguin’s 2010-11 season will include a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and debuts with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony, Bayerischer Rundfunk (Munich) and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

A notable operatic conductor, Nézet-Séguin recently made his critically acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in December 2009 with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen, and will return there in November 2010 for a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo.  For Netherland’s Opera he has conducted Janacek's The Makropoulos Case and Puccini’s Turandot with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and he led Poulenc’s La voix humaine and Debussy’s L’enfant prodigue as part of the Rotterdam Opera Days in June 2010. This summer Nézet-Séguin will return to the Salzburg Festival to conduct Vienna Philharmonic in Mozart’s Don Giovanni as well as a revival of his 2008 production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg.

2010 – 2011 includes Nézet-Séguin’s debut for La Scala, Milan (Roméo et Juliette) and a return to Montreal Opera (Salome). He will make his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2011-12.

Nézet-Séguin’s first three Rotterdam Philharmonic recordings on the EMI/Virgin label, all released during the 2009-2010 season, comprise an Edison Award-winning album of Ravel’s orchestral works, the Beethoven and Korngold violin concertos performed by Renaud Capuçon,and “Fantasy: A Night at the Opera” with flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Future releases include Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and La Morte de Cléopâtreon for BIS Records. His discography also includes several award-winning recordings with the Orchestre Métropolitain on the ATMA Classique label and Brahms German Requiem on the LPO Label.

Visit www.yannicknezetseguin.com to find out more.

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