Home » Artists » Rachmaninoff Sym. 1 - Symphonic Dances w/ Phil.Or.

Tour Dates

01/02/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
01/07/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
01/11/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
01/19/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
01/22/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
01/23/2020Academy of Music / Philadelphia, PA
01/24/2020Academy of Music / Philadelphia, PA
01/25/2020Academy of Music / Philadelphia, PA
01/26/2020Academy of Music / Philadelphia, PA
01/30/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
01/31/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
02/01/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
02/02/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
02/06/2020National Arts Centre / Ottawa, Canada
02/07/2020Place des Arts / Montreal, Canada
02/16/2020De Doelen / Rotterdam, Netherlands
02/17/2020Theatre des Champs-Elysees / Paris, France
02/18/2020Theatre des Champs-Elysees / Paris, France
02/20/2020Konzerthaus / Dortmund, Germany
02/21/2020Philharmonie / Essen, Germany
02/22/2020Festspielhaus / Baden-Baden, Germany
02/23/2020De Doelen / Rotterdam, Netherlands
02/27/2020Philharmonie / Berlin, Germany
02/28/2020Philharmonie / Berlin, Germany
02/29/2020Philharmonie / Berlin, Germany
03/12/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/13/2020Carnegie Hall / New York, NY
03/14/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/15/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/16/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
03/19/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/20/2020Carnegie Hall / New York, NY
03/21/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/22/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/23/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY
03/26/2020Carnegie Hall / New York, NY
03/27/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/28/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/29/2020Kimmel Center / Philadelphia, PA
03/31/2020Metropolitan Opera / New York, NY

Yannick Nezet-Seguin: Bio

"[Yannick Nézet-Séguin] really brought his best qualities as a musician and musical director to the fore. It can't be stated enough just how polished the Met Orchestra is under his baton. Every single note is in its place and the blending of the different colors is sublime … But what was most impressive was his ability to explore the musical form of the opera with nuance and elegance … the musical direction was as good as one could ask for." - Operawire, reviewing Dialogues des Carmélites, 9 May 2019

Yannick Nézet-Séguin became third Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, New York in September 2018. His tenth, and last, season as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic was crowned by the orchestra's centenary celebrations in Rotterdam in June 2018, a summer tour of the leading European festivals and his appointment as Honorary Conductor. He remains Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a role he has held since 2012, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), where he has served since 2000. In September 2019, it was announced that he had accepted a lifetime contract with the Orchestre Métropolitain – a move that reflects the profound mutual trust between players, management and conductor.  

Yannick studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in his native Montreal and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey before going on to study with renowned conductors, most notably the Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. By the time he made his European debut in 2004 he had already founded his own professional orchestra and vocal ensemble, La Chapelle de Montréal, going on to conduct all the major ensembles in Canada. 

In 2008 he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he held until 2014. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2009 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, returning in 2010 and 2013 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. In 2013 he was announced as Artist-in-Residence at the Konzerthaus Dortmund for a three-year period.

His inaugural concerts as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra received rave reviews and included his Carnegie Hall debut, conducting the Verdi Requiem. Alongside regular subscription and touring programmes, he leads three Carnegie Hall concerts each season. He has now extended his commitment to the orchestra until at least the 2025–26 season. 

Nézet-Séguin is equally at home on the concert platform and in the opera pit. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 with a new production of Roméo et Juliette, returning to the city for the 2010 Mozartwoche, Don Giovanni at the 2010 and 2011 summer festivals, concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2015, Haydn's Die Schöpfung with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in 2016 and two appearances with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks at the 2019 summer festival. He made his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in 2011, has also conducted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper and Netherlands Opera, and has helped lead a highly successful Mozart cycle at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus with the COE. Previously Chorus Master, Assistant Conductor and Music Adviser at Opéra de Montréal, during his time there he led productions of L'incoronazione di Poppea, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Così fan tutte, Pelléas et Mélisande, L'elisir d'amore, Wozzeck, Madama Butterfly, Salome and Elektra.

Following his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2009 with an acclaimed production of Carmen, he has returned each season, leading performances of Don Carlo, Faust, La traviata, Rusalka and Otello. The 2016-17 season saw him take the helm of a revival of Der fliegende Höllander, his first Wagner opera with the company. This was followed by Parsifal in February 2018 and by Richard Strauss's Elektra a month later. In his inaugural season as Music Director, Nézet-Séguin conducted La traviata (December 2018), Pelléas et Mélisande (January 2019) and Dialogues des Carmélites (May 2019), as well as conducting the Met Orchestra outside the opera house for the first time, in two concerts at Carnegie Hall (June 2019). In the 2019-20 season he conducted acclaimed performances of Turandot and Wozzeck.  

Other highlights of last season include concert performances of Fidelio at the Opéra de Montréal with the Orchestre Métropolitain and wide-ranging programmes with the Philadelphia Orchestra both at home and on tour in Asia. As one of Carnegie Hall's 2019-20 Perspectives Artists, Nézet-Séguin conducted the Orchestre Métropolitain in its debut appearance at the legendary venue (during the orchestra's first US tour), and moved from podium to piano to accompany Joyce DiDonato in their interpretation of Winterreise. He also led concert performances of Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in Paris, Dortmund and Rotterdam.

Having begun the new season conducting innovative streamed performances with both the Orchestre Métropolitain (including a complete Beethoven symphony cycle for DG Stage) and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Nézet-Séguin has plans to work with artists including violinists Blake Pouliot and Lisa Batiashvili, and with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as well as his own North American orchestras in the early months of 2021. 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in May 2018, continuing a long-term partnership that began in 2012 with the launch of a major new cycle of recordings of Mozart's mature operas recorded at Baden-Baden and all starring Rolando Villazón. Six recordings have been released to date: Don Giovanni; Così fan tutte; Die Entführung aus dem Serail; the Grammy-nominated Le nozze di Figaro; La clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte ("Once again, Yannick Nézet-Séguin proves himself to be a consummate Mozartian" – Gramophone).

Nézet-Séguin's debut orchestral recordings with Deutsche Grammophon were released in September 2013. In the first he conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in its first studio album release for a major label since a recording with DG in 1997. It featured Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Stokowski transcriptions of music by Bach and Stravinsky. The second recording, with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, offered Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony and selected Romances from opp. 6 & 73, in which Nézet-Séguin accompanies Lisa Batiashvili at the piano. His recording of the complete Schumann symphonies with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe was released in 2014, while August 2015 saw the release of an album of Rachmaninov Variations with Daniil Trifonov and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Nézet-Séguin then joined forces again with the COE to record the complete Mendelssohn symphonies – a 3‑CD set released in June 2017. Duets, recorded with Rolando Villazón, Ildar Abdrazakov and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, was issued three months later.

Released in February 2018, Visions of Prokofiev showcases Lisa Batiashvili's performances of Prokofiev's violin concertos together with arrangements of three excerpts from his stage works. Nézet-Séguin is once more at the helm of the COE. After giving acclaimed live performances of the work, he and the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded Bernstein's Mass, which was added to the DG catalogue (its first appearance there) in March 2018. Released three months later, The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Collection is a 6CD set of previously unissued live recordings hand-picked by Nézet-Séguin. 

Destination Rachmaninov – Departure, the first of two albums made with Daniil Trifonov and the Philadelphia Orchestra devoted to the complete Rachmaninov piano concertos, was released in October 2018. Featuring Concertos Nos.2 and 4, it won the Concerto award at the 2019 BBC Music Magazine Awards. Its much-anticipated companion piece, Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival, featuring Concertos Nos.1 and 3 together with Trifonov's transcription of Vocalise and The Silver Sleigh Bells, was released in October 2019 and has now been nominated for a Grammy Award. 

Nézet-Séguin's next album featured a recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, a monumental work performed at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia to mark the centenary of its US premiere. Their interpretation was captured by Deutsche Grammophon and released in January 2020.

Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra have now embarked on a new Rachmaninov project for which they will record the composer's three symphonies and other orchestral works. The first of three albums pairs Symphony No.1 with the Symphonic Dances and will be released on 29 January 2021. 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin's honours include Musical America's Artist of the Year (2016), ECHO KLASSIK's Conductor of the year (2014), a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; a National Arts Centre Award; the Virginia Parker Prize; the Prix Denise-Pelletier; and the Oskar Morawetz Award. He holds six honorary doctorates, from the University of Québec in Montreal (2011), Curtis Institute of Philadelphia (2014), Westminster Choir College of Rider University (2015), McGill University in Montreal (2017), Université de Montréal (2017); and Penn University (2018). He has been appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada (2012), Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Québec (2015), Officer of the Order of Québec (2015), Officer of the Order of Montreal (2017) and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music (2020).

Yannick Nezet-Seguin

Rachmaninoff Sym. 1 - Symphonic Dances w/ Phil.Or.

Deutsche Grammophon

Click Here For Artist Stories
1 Symphony No. 1 in D minor op. 13 / Grave - Allegro ma non troppo 13:35  
2 Allegro animato 8:31  
3 Larghetto 10:10  
4 Allegro con fuoco 12:59  
5 Symphonic Dances op. 45 / Non allegro 11:49  
6 2. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) 9:55  
7 3. Lento assai - Allegro vivace - Lento assai. Come prima 13:53  

Press Release
Yannick Nezet-Seguin on Programming Philadelphia Orchestra Concerts
Tchaikovsky: Fantasy-Overture 'Romeo and Juliet' (Yannick Nezet-Seguin)

Sergei Rachmaninoff's symphonic works, among the most powerful and popular in the concert repertoire, hold a special place in the story of one of America's greatest musical ensembles. The Philadelphia Orchestra and its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin are about to add a thrilling new chapter with the landmark launch of a cycle of Rachmaninoff's three symphonies and other orchestral scores for Deutsche Grammophon. The project follows naturally from their recordings of the Russian Romantic composer's piano concertos with Daniil Trifonov, the most recent of which – Destination Rachmaninov · Arrival – is in the running for a 2021 Grammy Award.

The first album, scheduled for international release in physical and digital formats on 29 January 2021, pairs the early Symphony No.1 with the Symphonic Dances, Rachmaninoff's last major composition, written for and dedicated to The Philadelphia Orchestra and its then conductor Eugene Ormandy and premiered by them 80 years ago this month. The second (Symphony No.2 and The Isle of the Dead) will be issued in early 2022, while the third and final recording (Symphony No.3 and The Bells) will appear as part of the commemorations of the composer's 150th birthday in April 2023.

Stories

  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Rachmaninoff make the 90.1WRTI: Classical Album of the Week
    Posted At : April 12, 2021 12:00 AM

    90.1WRTI: Philadelphia's DEBRA LEW HARDER writes.....Sergei Rachmaninoff considered The Philadelphia Orchestra his favorite American ensemble, and our Classical Album of the Week reveals why. Under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, our fabulous Philadelphians offer the first and the final symphonic works of the Russian master (his First Symphony and his Symphonic Dances) with the flair, finesse, and fire that Rachmaninoff came to appreciate in his own frequent performances with the Orchestra, under its earlier music directors Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy. Under Yannick's baton, and with its signature lush sound, The Philadelphia Orchestra powerfully defines a sense of drama, drive, suspense, and the sweeping lyrical lines that are Rachmaninoff's forte, in both works. And in both works, Rachmaninoff's distinct voice, and his unique sense of instrumental color is clearly heard-which is perhaps the hallmark of a great creative artist. This is the first of three Rachmaninoff orchestral albums to be recorded by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and released by Deutsche Grammophon. We savor this first one, and eagerly await the next installment. SEE THE FULL WRTI: Philadelphia PAGE
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin with The Philadelphia Orchestra add a thrilling new chapter to Rachmaninoff's symphonic works / WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At : February 3, 2021 12:00 AM

    WFMT's Lisa Flynn writes.....Sergei Rachmaninoff's symphonic works hold a special place in the story of one of America's greatest musical ensembles. The Philadelphia Orchestra and its Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin are about to add a thrilling new chapter with the launch of a cycle of Rachmaninoff's three symphonies and other orchestral scores for Deutsche Grammophon. The first album pairs the early Symphony No.1 with the Symphonic Dances, Rachmaninoff's last major composition, written for and dedicated to the Philadelphia Orchestra and its then conductor Eugene Ormandy. For February 3, 2021, Yannick Nezet-Seguin with Philadelphia Orchestra - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1, Symphonic Dances is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release.'  SEE THE PAGE
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  • Award-winning documentary about the Philadelphia Orchestra's China legacy; 'Beethoven in Beijing' set to be livestreamed / Bucks County Courier Times
    Posted At : December 14, 2020 12:00 AM

    "Beethoven in Beijing," an award-winning documentary about the Philadelphia Orchestra's China legacy created by Jennifer Lin, of Doylestown, will be streamed in a special free screening Wednesday to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven's birthday. The virtual event, from 7:30-9:30 p.m., is hosted by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, History Making Productions, and more than 40 cultural and civic partners from across the region. More than 2,600 people have signed up to streaming. "Music connects us, and this is just as important today as it was a half-century ago," says Lin, a former China correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Beethoven in Beijing" vividly recounts the Philadelphia Orchestra's breakthrough 1973 tour of China - the first American orchestra to visit the People's Republic - and reveals the astounding resurgence of classical music there today. "We are excited to make this dynamic story and important Philadelphia cultural history available to all," says Sam Katz, the film's producer and founder of History Making Productions. The film, which was co-directed by Lin and Sharon Mullally, features the stories of charismatic personalities, including conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianist Lang Lang and Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun. Attendance is limited and free tickets can be reserved at www.ludwig250.com. The event will include a performance of a short Beethoven gem by the Philadelphia Orchestra before a screening of the documentary and Q&A with filmmakers. "Beethoven in Beijing," funded in part through a grant from the National Endowment of Humanities (NEH) and Pennsylvania Film Tax Credits, was a finalist in the prestigious 2020 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for film. Orchestra President Matías Tarnopolsky will welcome guests together with the dean of the Wharton School, Erika James; conductor Nézet-Séguin; and NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. Screened at film festivals nationwide, "Beethoven in Beijing," won an honorable mention for best local film at the Philadelphia Film Festival and best historical documentary at the San Antonio Film Festival.  SEE THE Bucks County Courier Times PAGE
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin underwrites 'Cabrillo Festival Of Contemporary Music' for next 3 years / BroadwayWorld
    Posted At : July 12, 2019 12:00 AM

    The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is pleased to announce that it has received a $30,000 gift commitment from Conductor & Pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Artistic Director of Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal. Nézet-Séguin's gift will underwrite the Festival's Conducting Fellowships over the next three years. Nézet-Séguin stepped forward with this multi-year gift after a major grant from the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation, which was awarded in 2010, sunsetted this year. The Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducting Fellowships will provide free tuition and travel support to the top-tier Fellows of the Cabrillo Festival Conductors/Composers Workshop. The Workshop brings together leading faculty, the award-winning Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and early career conductors and composers for a professional training program that focuses on the creation and performance of new music. "I firmly believe we must invest in the future generation in order for our art form to thrive and inspire," said Nézet-Séguin. READ THE FULL BroadwayWorld ARTICLE
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  • Busy, busy, busy. Yannick Nezet-Seguin just got busier / The Philadelphia Inquirer
    Posted At : June 28, 2019 12:00 AM

    The Philadelphia Orchestra music director, also the music director for the Metropolitan Opera, was just drafted to fill in for the ailing Mariss Jansons for a high-prestige late-summer tour with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The four concerts, from July 30 through Aug. 4, start with two dates at the BBC Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall and end with two at the Salzburg Festival. Nézet-Séguin will be among friends. He has been a frequent Bavarian orchestra visitor, and his violin soloist is an old friend, Lisa Batiashvili. The repertoire has no strangers: Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, and Sibelius' Symphony No. 1. Jansons has a history of heart trouble and in recent concerts has reportedly been helped from the stage. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} SEE THE Philadelphia Inquirer PAGE
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin creates playlist for pets awaiting adoption / The Philadelphia Inquirer
    Posted At : April 1, 2019 12:00 AM

    It was announced Monday that Philadelphia Orchestra music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will visit residents of the Pennsylvania SPCA's Erie Avenue headquarters Wednesday evening. Now the SPCA and orchestra say the playlist has been set that he and his partner have created for animals there. The playlist he and Pierre Tourville curated will be played for the dogs and cats on an audio system at the SPCA - and your pet can hear it, too, on Apple Music. SPCA spokesperson Gillian Kocher said the music would be administered at the shelter with care, to be "played at a very calming volume, and all of our animals are closely monitored as are the rooms at all times."   PHOTO: Richard Termine SEE PLAYLIST via Philadelphia Inquirer    p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}
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  • Final two nights of Philly Orchestra's SPAC summer residency were glorious / The Daily Gazette
    Posted At : August 19, 2018 12:00 AM

    The final two nights of the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center were of glorious music making. On Friday, the huge crowd said goodbye to music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, whose two-week presence was a privilege of watching a great conductor evoke marvelous things from a superb group of musicians. Huge waves of positive energy greeted him every night, to which he responded in kind. The concert also included an equally marvelous performance from violinist Joshua Bell in Bruch's Violin Concerto. READ THE FULL Daily Gazette ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}
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  • What do Yannick Nezet-Seguin's recordings tell us about his musical evolution? / Philly.com
    Posted At : August 9, 2018 12:00 AM

    Keeping track of Yannick Nézet-Séguin via recordings requires a global grasp of the classical recording industry. Live recordings by the Philadelphia Orchestra music director - taken from his concerts with European orchestras - still pop up without warning. Only a few days ago, an all-Poulenc disc with the London Philharmonic Orchestra came out of the woodwork, with performances dating back five years. His Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra output alone is spread over three companies – Bis, EMI, and Deutsche Grammophon. Because recording in the United States is more expensive, Philadelphia Orchestra recordings have arrived fitfully - a Rite of Spring here, a Bernstein Mass there. Increasingly, Nézet-Séguin's recording presence is consolidating around the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon. The six-CD Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Collection, out at the end of August, celebrates his departure from the orchestra after 10 years with heavyweight repertoire. His DG-label Mozart operas with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe has yielded La Clemenza di Tito with a blue-ribbon cast. One of DG's high-profile fall releases will be the Philadelphia recordings of Rachmaninoff piano concertos with much-acclaimed Daniil Trifonov. More Rachmaninoff and Bernstein recordings are in the cards. All of Nézet-Séguin's concerts in Philadelphia are recorded with a special microphone setup and an ear for releasing selected live performances on DG in the future. So anything from the Sept. 13 "Candide" overture to Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 ("Kaddish") in January are likely candidates for release. And what do these new recordings tell us about Nézet-Séguin's musical evolution? Everything.
    PHOTO: JENNIFER KERRIGAN p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Philly.com ARTICLE
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  • SPAC set to record 4 Philadelphia Orchestra concerts for broadcast on WMHT & WRTI / albany times union
    Posted At : July 20, 2018 12:00 AM

    The Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced the dates of four Philadelphia Orchestra concerts that will be recorded next month for future broadcast on the public radio stations WMHT in Troy NY and WRTI in Philadelphia. The recordings also will be available for listening on the orchestra's website. Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC's president and CEO, said it will be the first time in the orchestra's 52 years of SPAC residency that SPAC concerts will be broadcast on WRTI and the first time that WMHT has dedicated a series to SPAC performances. The orchestra will be in residence at SPAC from Aug. 1 to 18. PHOTO: Photo: Lori Van Buren

    READ THE FULL albany times union ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060}
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin signs exclusive contract with DG / GRAMOPHONE
    Posted At : June 8, 2018 12:00 AM

    Yannick Nézet-Séguin, soon-to-be Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and current Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métrepolitain de Montréal, has signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon.  Included in Nézet-Séguin's planned recordings with DG is the next title in his series of Mozart operas, Die Zauberflöte, with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe this summer at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Other recordings in the pipeline include complete cycles of Rachmaninov's symphonies and piano concertos with soloist Daniil Trifonov, as well as a performance of Mahler's Symphony No 8 – all with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also plans to record with the forces of the Metropolitan Opera, with which he recorded Carmen for DG in 2012. READ THE FULL GRAMOPHONE ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}
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  • In Tel Aviv, Philadelphia Orchestra triumphs over Bernstein's 'Age of Anxiety' / The Times of Israel
    Posted At : June 6, 2018 12:00 AM

    This visit by the Philadelphia Orchestra was hotly anticipated - by Israelis, flattered and delighted to have one of the United States' storied "Big Five" again on their shores after so many years; and by BDSers, whose anticipation was of a more hostile and disruptive order (mid-concert heckling, prior to this tour – a dreadful practice roughly equivalent to drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa). In the end, it is the former camp whose aspirations were met, and how. This concert at the Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, one of three the orchestra is giving in Israel with its Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin (alongside various smaller events), was, put simply, thrilling. Put less simply, there were moments that were so potent in their evocation of what great music can evoke, so powerful a reminder of what society is on this planet to do, to be, that one wished this concert - certainly the first half - could somehow be bottled and freshly uncorked for kids in every school, in every town in this country. That first half comprised Leonard Bernstein's Second Symphony, subtitled, not inappropriately for the times in which we live, "The Age Of Anxiety". Bernstein was never one to shy away from the cosmic - his Third Symphony is the "Kaddish" - and in this work he was seemingly questing for something new, trying to suggest some unthought-of way forward for, originally, a post-World War Two era, later the Cold War (the piece was composed in the late 1940s and revised just a few years after the Cuban Missile Crisis). Given concerns swirling around Iran and North Korea today, 2018 would seem to offer an unnerving parallel. New ways forward would be rather welcome right now. Yet I'd never previously found this piece entirely successful in those aspirations and I think that is because the approach has often been to think of it either as a regular symphony, where the piano part can feel grafted-on, or as a concerto, where the piano has felt not virtuosic enough. Yet this performance itself offered something new. Under Nezet-Seguin's detailed control, the work felt as anatomized as a great science experiment – every texture weighted, calibrated and carefully fitted-in to play its precise part. Dark-hued strings gave way to distantly echoing percussion, and an underlying romantic sweep was kept in bounds for Bernstein's more modernist explorations. Similarly, a sense of "the now" was rooted in dimly perceptible, ritualistic, to my ears Jewish, refrains. The whole thing suddenly felt like an echo chamber for the history of a civilization and its struggles, for balance.   PHOTO: Maxim Reider READ THE FULL Times of Israel ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #606060; min-height: 14.0px}
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin receives the ECHO KLASSIK Award for Opera Recording (Opera Up To And Including 17th/18th Century)
    Posted At : July 27, 2017 12:00 AM

    Yannick Nézet-Séguin receives the ECHO KLASSIK Award forOpera Recording (Opera Up To And Including 17th/18th Century). The ECHO KLASSIK trophies will be handed out on Sunday, 29 October 2017 during a gala event in the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in Hamburg. All of the artists receiving an ECHO KLASSIK this year have made outstanding contributions to Classical Music in the 2016/17 music year. Their performances have brought audiences closer to numerous works of traditional classical music, but also to so-called New Classics. Whether its brilliant solo artists, collaborating ensembles, global superstars or exciting young newcomers – each of these musicians has helped to foster the extraordinary diversity of classical music and ensured that it continues to reach and inspire people of all ages and social backgrounds on all possible distribution channels.  The ECHO KLASSIK Award ceremony will be held on 29th October in the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. The German public TV channel ZDF will broadcast the evening starting at 10 pm. Once again this year, popular television presenter Thomas Gottschalk will host the ECHO KLASSIK, marking the fourth time overall he acts as master of ceremonies for the event. The names of those award winners who will perform live that evening will be announced shortly.
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin: Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro / WFMT 'Featured New Release'
    Posted At : August 16, 2016 12:00 AM

    This is the fourth in the Deutsche Grammophon series of seven Mozart operas conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and initiated by Rolando Villazón. The Marriage of Figaro is recorded with a stellar cast, one of the brightest and most insightful conductors of our day and a specialist handpicked orchestra playing at their best in the stunning venue of Festspielhaus Baden-Baden (July 2015). Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro: Overture & Opening Scene (10:10) from Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro on Deutsche Grammophon feat. Christiane Karg, soprano; Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritone; Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Yannick Nézet-Séguin is TODAY'S WFMT: Chicago - 'Featured New Release.'  
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  • Hear Yannick and Rachmaninoff on WRTI's Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert
    Posted At : July 5, 2016 12:00 AM

    Join WRTI: Philadelphia on Sunday, July 10th from 1 to 3 pm for a re-broadcast of The Philadelphia Orchestra's first concert of the 2015/2016 season. Listen to Yannick Nézet-Séguin lead the Philadelphians in works by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Rimsky-Korsakov with pianist Daniil Trifonov. The whole season has showcased the inimitable "Philadelphia Sound" that has inspired composers through the years, and led to many world and U.S. premieres. These works are all good examples: Ravel's impressionistic Une Barque sur l'océan (A Ship on the Ocean), which was given its U.S. premiere by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphians in 1953; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4, which he wrote for The Philadelphia Orchestra, and gave its premiere himself here in Philadelphia in 1927, with Leopold Stokowski conducting; and Rimsky-Korsakov's sweeping Scheherazade, which has become a signature work of the Philadelphians!  The PROGRAM Includes: Ravel: Une Barque sur l'océan Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 4      Daniil Trifonov, piano INTERMISSION Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Gregg Whiteside is producer and host of The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts on WRTI, every Sunday at 1 pm.  Listen to Susan Lewis' conversation with Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director - Yannick Nézet-Séguin and soloist, Daniil Trifonov. 
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin to Succeed James Levine as Met Opera MD / The New York Times
    Posted At : June 2, 2016 12:00 AM

    For the first time in four decades, the Metropolitan Opera has a new music director. The company announced on Thursday that it was passing the baton long held by James Levine to Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra known for his vital, visceral brand of music making. But to land the highly sought-after Mr. Nézet-Séguin, 41, to succeed Mr. Levine, 72, who stepped down last month after years of uncertainty and cancellations because of health problems, the Met had to agree to a long engagement period. Since the Montreal-born Mr. Nézet-Séguin's schedule is booked for several years, he will not officially take up the Met post until the 2020-21 season, leaving the company without a full-time music director in the meantime as it grapples with fiscal challenges and box-office struggles. And Mr. Nézet-Séguin (his full name is pronounced yah-NEEK nay-ZAY say-GHEN) plans to divide his duties between the Met and another major American institution, the storied Philadelphia Orchestra, which he has led since 2012. He announced on Thursday that he had extended his contract as music director in Philadelphia through the 2025-26 season. "I'm very, very lucky, of course - maybe the luckiest music director - to be able to have what I believe to be the two greatest, arguably, organizations in the United States, symphonically and operatically: the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Met," Mr. Nézet-Séguin said.  READ THE FULL New York Times ARTICLE
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  • The Philadelphia Orchestra opens 2016 Asia tour with live broadcasts on WRTI
    Posted At : May 17, 2016 12:00 AM

    The Philadelphia Orchestra opens its 2016 Asia tour in Hong Kong with a pair of live WRTI broadcasts on May 19th and 20th with repertoire that includes, surprisingly, Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 - showing how Chinese concert presenters and audiences have evolved. Yet the Philadelphia Inquirer's David Patrick Stearns reports that collaborating with presenters can still be challenging. Philly.com's David Patrick Stearns spoke with The Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director - Yannick Nézet-Séguin who said: "I don't think it's going to take long. It's all about developing this relationship and this trust and this eagerness." READ AND LISTEN TO THE Q&A
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail / WFMT: New Release Of the Week.
    Posted At : August 9, 2015 12:00 AM

    Following acclaimed recordings of Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, this is the third release in Deutsche Grammophon's series of seven Mozart operas conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and initiated by Rolando Villazón. Die Entführung aus dem Serail was recorded live in the Festspielhaus Baden Baden and features a star cast full of critically-acclaimed artists. Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail: Act III (34:02) The Abduction from the Seraglio Deutsche Grammophon is a WFMT: Chicago - New Release Of the Week. Diana Damrau (Konstanze); Anna Prohaska (Blonde); Rolando Villazón (Belmonte); Paul Schweinester (Pedrillo); Franz-Josef Selig (Osmin); Thomas Quasthoff (Selim) Rastatt Vocal Ensemble; Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Yannick Nézet-Séguin      
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin & Philadelphia Orchestra open Europe tour with surprises
    Posted At : May 22, 2015 12:00 AM

    Listeners probably thought they knew what they were getting at the Philadelphia Orchestra's Thursday opening concert of its 2015 Europe tour here. But after guest soloist Lisa Batiashvili played a hot Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1, she and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin regrouped in the rear of the stage where the piano was parked. They played Tchaikovsky. The two had cooked it up in Philadelphia before leaving on tour, choosing the first of the composer's Six Romances Op. 6 ("Do Not Believe, My Friend"), which they had recorded together a few years ago - in what felt more like a spontaneous gift to the audience than a typical encore. It was also a moment of repose near the end of what hadn't been the easiest day. "It has a big personality, this hall," Nézet-Séguin told the orchestra at the morning rehearsal. "I love it, but . . . it doesn't just let you play." READ THE FULL philly.com ARTICLE
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin's 40/40 Project
    Posted At : March 9, 2015 12:00 AM

    This week, for the first time in its history, the Philadelphia Orchestra is performing Vaughan Williams' Symphony Number 4. What normally might be a remarkable event is just one of many firsts this year for the orchestra, which set out to perform 40 works in its 2014-2015 season that hadn't been heard in subscription concerts in 40 years. It's called the 40/40 Project because it also honors another milestone -- music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin's 40th birthday today. He said "I love that age because, for me, it's a question of being still full of energy, full of passion, full of willingness to achieve something in life, full of drive," Nézet-Séguin said. "But having a few years of experience to know where to let go, where to put the energy, where to really pace [myself]."  READ THE FULL NewsWorks ARTICLE
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin leads Philadelphia Orchestra in Beethoven's 9th / WRTI broadcast
    Posted At : July 9, 2014 12:00 AM

    This Sunday at 1 pm on WRTI Philadelphia, it's a re-broadcast of the 2013/204 season-opening concert from the end of September, featuring Beethoven's awe-inspiring Ninth Symphony. With its universal message of freedom and brotherhood, the Ninth is the crowning achievement of Beethoven's revolutionary works, its famous "Ode to Joy" serving as a message of hope for all mankind. Showcasing the Westminster Symphonic Choir,and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, this performance launched a two-year cycle of all nine Beethoven symphonies. 
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Schumann: The Symphonies / WCRB: Boston 'CD of the Week'
    Posted At : June 9, 2014 12:00 AM

    Boston is rightly energized in anticipation of the arrival of conductor Andris Nelsons as the new leader of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The 35-year-old Latvian has demonstrated here and elsewhere a magnetic sense of timing, interpretation, and chemistry with the world's greatest orchestras. But Nelsons isn't the only highly gifted 30-something conductor igniting excitement on orchestral stages. 39-year-old French-Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has just wrapped up his second full season as the helm of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He's also the Music Director of Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal. Busy man. After his single appearance with the BSO, in 2009, Jeremy Eichler of the Boston Globe described his presence on the podium as "a whirl of irrepressible energy ... vividly demonstrative and almost dance-like, [which] drew vibrant performances from the orchestra, at once structurally coherent and viscerally exciting." For his latest recording, Nézet-Séguin took those qualities to yet another orchestra - the Chamber Orchestra of Europe - in an exploration of the four symphonies by Robert Schumann. Read the full feature and tune in to WCRB this week to hear selections from Schumann: The Symphonies
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Schumann: The Symphonies / WCLV ' June Choice CD'
    Posted At : June 1, 2014 12:00 AM

    Each month, WCLV - Cleveland Program Director Bill O'Connell selects a series of special CDs to be featured on the air throughout the month. For the June CD list one of Bill's standouts is Robert Schumann: The Symphonies - Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Yannick Nézet-Séguin on DG. Of his first recording of a complete symphony cycle, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin says, "Of all the major symphonies, I'd say that Schumann's are best performed by a slightly smaller ensemble… With a lean string section – not only in size, but also in its quality of playing – the music just works...[Schumann] is one of those composers whose personality is completely expressed in their music...those fluctuations between the melancholy and something very inward-looking are combined with a very manic kind of energy that wants to conquer the world. That's what is so special about Schumann." These performances were captured live at acclaimed concerts in Paris. Featured Thu 6/5, Mon 6/16, Wed 6/25
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Schumann: The Symphonies / WQXR Album of the Week
    Posted At : May 25, 2014 12:00 AM

    For his first complete symphony cycle recording, Schumann: The Symphonies,  Yannick Nézet-Séguin turns to the four by Robert Schumann, works known for their stirring lyricism and sweeping force, as well as their thick orchestrations and occasional formal awkwardness. The French-Canadian conductor, who is music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, brings a pretty straightforward interpretative approach to these pieces, occasionally driving the tempos hard but other doing nothing that will raise eyebrows. The Chamber Orchestra of Europe is a virtuoso ensemble that turns on a dime, as the players do in these fine live performances recorded in Paris.
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Schumann: The Symphonies is WFMT 'New Release Of the Week'
    Posted At : May 4, 2014 12:00 AM

    This CD: Schumann: The Symphonies is Yannick Nézet-Séguin's first recording of a complete symphony cycle. Captured live at acclaimed concerts in Paris, he conducts the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Nézet-Séguin says, "Of all the major symphonies, I'd say that Schumann's are best performed by a slightly smaller ensemble…with a lean string section – not only in size, but also in its quality of playing – the music just works. He's one of those composers whose personality is completely expressed in their music…those fluctuations between the melancholy and something very inward-looking are combined with a very manic kind of energy that wants to conquer the world. That's what is so special about Schumann."  Schumann: Symphony No 3 in E-flat major, Op 97, Rhenish will be featured on WFMT - Chicago and is their 'New Release Of the Week.' 
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin appoints new conducting dream team / WRTI: Spotlight
    Posted At : April 30, 2014 12:00 AM

    The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced a new roster of conductors, selected by Music Director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, to lead the ensemble in a growing number of artistic endeavors and collaborations across seasons and venues. WRTI's Susan Lewis speaks with Yannick about the announcement, and also hears from the newly appointed principal guest conductor, Stéphane Denčve; conductor-in-residence, Cristian Măcelaru; and assistant conductor, Lio Kuokman. The appointments are effective with the start of the 2014-15 season. Listen to the interviews with Susan Lewis on WRTI: Philadelphia.
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin - Schumann: The Symphonies is 'Classic 107 Winnipeg / Recording of the Week'
    Posted At : April 23, 2014 12:00 AM

    This week Andy Morton of McNally Robinson Booksellers and Classic 107's Michael Wolch, selected a disc of Schumann Complete Symphonies, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe,conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. For these revelatory performances - captured live at acclaimed concerts in Paris - Yannick conducts the superb Chamber Orchestra of Europe, one of the world s preeminent chamber orchestras. READ THE FULL Classic 107 REVIEW.
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin | Lisa Batiashvili Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6 & Romances is WCLV's 'Choice CD' for April
    Posted At : April 1, 2014 12:00 AM

    Each month, WCLV: Cleveland Program Director Bill O'Connell selects a series of special CDs to be featured on the air throughout the month. For April, Bill features Deutche Grammaphone's Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6 "Pathétique" & Romances, Opp. 6 & 73 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and featuring Lisa Batiashvili, violin on Tue 4/8 Thu 4/17, Mon 4/28. Yannick Nézet-Séguin first heard Tchaikovsky's ‘Pathétique' live in Montreal at the age of eight. It was the work he chose for his debut with both the Orchestre Métropolitaine du Grand Montréal and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Conducting Russian music with the Rotterdam Philharmonic acknowledges his predecessor on the podium, Valéry Gergiev, and showcases the depth and refinement of the Dutch orchestra. "The point for me," says the conductor, "is this work's pervasive lust for life, and the lack of faith in humanity which is the implicit message of the end." The symphony is accompanied by two sets of Tchaikovsky's songs, in arrangements for piano and violin featuring Lisa Batiashvili. 
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin's 'Eroica' / Philadelphia Enquirer review
    Posted At : March 4, 2014 12:00 AM

    Current music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conceives a concert week as an evolving arc from first rehearsal to last performance. "The first concert is the one critics go to and it's not a finished thing," he told WRTI-FM at a recent broadcast of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") and Strauss' Metamorphosen. "It might be interesting if you attend each of these four concerts to see how it grows and evolves." READ THE FULL Philadelphia Enquirer PIECE.    
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin leads Philadelphia Orchestra TODAY!! Listen Live on WRTI
    Posted At : February 23, 2014 12:00 AM

    Tune in to WRTI - Philadelphia TODAY Sunday, February 23rd at 2pET, as Yannick Nezet-Seguin leads the Philadelphia Orchestra LIVE from Verizon Hall. In a program that includes; Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 the performance culminates in Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 3, "Eroica," originally intended as a grand and heroic tribute to Napoleon. 
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  • Yannick Nezet-Seguin leads Rotterdam Philharmonic - Tchaikovsky: Pathetique / WQXR 'Album Of the Week'
    Posted At : February 9, 2014 12:00 AM

    Tchaikovsky – a composer of choice at the 2014 Winter Olympics is WQXR: New York pick for Album Of the Week.  In particular, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique performed by the Rotterdam Philharmonic led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The new Deutsche Grammophon recording features Violinist Lisa Batiashvili, and the Dutch orchestra's rich textures come through in this nicely-shaped performance. 
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