Young conductor gets major post: Yannick Nezet-Seguin to Philadelphia Orchestra
Audiences for classical music may be getting older and older, but the trend for major conducting jobs continues to take a youthful curve. On the heels of Gustavo Dudamel's appointment at the Los Angeles Philharmonic before the age of 30 and Alan Gilbert's at the New York Philharmonic barely out of his 30s, the 35-year-old Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been named music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He'll formally start in 2012 with a five-year contract.
There has been a lot of buzz about Nézet-Séguin for some time, and it's cool to see the grand old Philadelphia Orchestra take a chance on someone not only still quite youthful in conductor years, but relatively unknown. He got the nod after just two guest-conducting stints with the ensemble.
If there's anything to the idea that young, energetic musicians can attract fresh audiences and re-energize seasoned ones, Nézet-Séguin should fit the bill nicely in Philadelphia. The orchestra needs a boost, after a prolonged music director search and worrisome deficits and declines in attendance. This great, noble orchestra has been having a rough patch for too long. My guess is that things are going to perk up well before the new guy is fully in place at the helm.
Here's a video clip that reveals Nézet-Séguin's engaging personality as he chats about music and his approach to conducting, followed by a clip of him at work on the podium:
Comments
I agree, Tim. This is the best music news coming out of Philadelphia in a while. Sure, Nezet-Seguin may be rough around the edges, but you have to assume that conductors will get better with age, even if they don't reach the starry heights of a Sawallisch. But if a conductor doesn't start out with the ability to connect to an audience, program in ways that will develop an audience, or show enough charisma to attract an audience, he'll never develop those things. This appointment goes a long, long way toward revitalizing an orchestra on the brink.
Thanks for the comments (and apologies for being slow getting them posted -- I'm still in Toronto, with only occasional computer time.) I think the new kid on the Philly block is going to prove quite the energizer. And I don't see why his obvious potential won't develop quickly in this job. TIM
Posted by: michael zwiebach | June 14, 2010 10:17 AM
Bravo, I suppose, for Nezet-Seguin. His Carmen at the Met was stunning. But I can't help but sigh. Yet again a foreigner, and yet again not a woman, at the head of one of the Big 5.
Some things apparently take longer to change than others. Double sigh. Thanks for the comments. TIM
Posted by: maude larke | June 15, 2010 9:44 AM
YAY!!! I can finally get excited over going to see the Fabulous Philadelphians again!
Whether he's male or foreign is irrelevant - he could be a 50' Martian with tentacles and a thousand eyes, and I'd still be excited. (Well, maybe a little perturbed -- or drunk...)
(Foreign? He's from beautiful Montréal, fer cryin' out loud... If I can drive there in less than a day, then it's definitely not that "foreign." ;^)
Believe it or not, I've been secretly pulling for him to get this job for almost 2 years now. Personally, I didn't think that they'd make such a good decision -- or that I would get so lucky... This kid -- kid? he's my age! - has TREMENDOUS promise. (Anyone who holds Giulini in high regard earns my respect.)
Now I have a season or two to brace the ol' bank account for impact. 8D
Posted by: Doug Halfen | June 16, 2010 8:59 PM