Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and has been Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra since 1978. His early professional years were spent in Boston, working in the opera house and as assistant conductor to Seiji Ozawa at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He played a key role in the world premiere of Messiaen’s opera Saint François d’Assise at the request of the composer, who became a mentor and bequeathed his piano to the conductor. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of the Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998), Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000). In September 2006 he became Music Director of both the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
As a much sought-after guest conductor he has worked with most of the world’s finest orchestras including the Vienna, Berlin and New York Philharmonic Orchestras and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded for Erato, Teldec, Pentatone and Deutsche Grammophon as well as Harmonia Mundi, winning Grammy awards for his recordings of Busoni’s Doktor Faust with Opéra National de Lyon, and Peter and the Wolf with the Russian National Orchestra.
Kent Nagano is one of the world’s most respected conductors of his generation and has worked with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since the 1990s. In August 2012, he was appointed as the artistic advisor and principal guest conductor of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, beginning in autumn 2013. Speaking about the appointment, he said:“Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is an outstanding orchestra, not only technically brilliant but an orchestra of deep timbre, personality and style which reflects its importance and solid Nordic tradition. I am delighted and honored to have been asked to join the long list of famous conductors forming part of the orchestra's heritage, among them Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Pierre Monteux and Herbert von Karajan, as well as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Charles Dutoit, Neeme Järvi and, recently, Gustavo Dudamel.”
Weekly concerts reflect the curiosity and breadth Kent Nagano is known for: he adds something unexpected that gives extra luster to the program.
DresdenJan Vogler / Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
BucharestWürth Philharmonic / Romanian Radio Academic Chorus
HamburgMusikfest Hamburg: Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg / Kent Nagano
HamburgTannhäuser
HamburgVenere e AdoneWorld premiere
MontrealAround the World in 80 Days… or Almost! In French
ParisFestival Présences – Concert 4 – Unsuk Chin / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Kent Nagano
Music from the far north in frozen Montreal
Nagano conducts Dutch premiere of Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen
Performed for the first time in a concert version, Abrahamsen's 2019 opera appears with a fine cast at the Concertgebouw.
Summer marches in: Mahler's Third Symphony at the Elbphilharmonie
Shock and awe in Paris with Bernstein's A Quiet Place
Britten at apocalyptic proportions in the Tonhalle Zürich
A stunning performance of Britten’s War Requiem makes for a night to remember in Zurich.
Barmy, balladic and balmy: three pieces at the Elbphilharmonie
Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Philharmonic contrast barmy Hindemith with balmy Schubert, while Julian Prégardien explores Mahler’s balladic Wayfaring Songs.