Kent Nagano conducts concert at Rheingau Music Festival instead of the late Enoch zu Guttenberg (June 2018)

The US-American conductor Kent Nagano will conduct the performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem on 28 June 2018 in Kloster Eberbach instead of the late Enoch zu Guttenberg during the Rheingau Music Festival.
Kent Nagano, General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, has collaborated with the KlangVerwaltung Munich Orchestra several times over the last few years, including 2015 and 2016 at the Vorsprung-Festival of the AUDI Summer Concerts in Ingolstadt, where he was Artistic Director from 2014 until 2016.

Find more information about the concert here.

Kent Nagano conducts “The Bassarids” in Madrid (June 2018)

On 15 and 17 June 2018, Kent Nagano will conduct the Orquesta Nacional de España in Auditorium Nacional del Musica in Madrid. On the program will be Hans Werner Henze’s opera “The Bassarids” (concert version).

Find here further information on the performances.

Kent Nagano awarded Meritorious Service Medal (May 2018)

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal takes great pride and pleasure in announcing that Maestro Kent Nagano has received the Meritorious Service Medal from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, during a ceremony held in Montreal this evening. Kent Nagano had the following words in response:

“I am honoured today to receive the Meritorious Service Decorations from the Governor General of Canada Julie Payette. I am proud to collaborate with exceptionally talented musicians and with a top-level Chorus, and I am particularly happy about the inauguration of the Maison symphonique in 2011, the acquisition of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique*, and the projects and initiatives that bring us closer to the community, such as La musique aux enfants and the Classical Spree. Touring projects and large-scale event openings enable me to contribute to the Orchestra’s stature and influence in Canada, the Great North, the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia. This medal is a recognition I find deeply touching.”

Meritorious Service Decorations are given to recognize people who have brought remarkable contribution, for a determined period, that bring honour to Canada. The Civil Division recognizes a deed or an activity that has been performed in a highly professional manner, or according to a very high standard: often innovative, this deed or activity sets an example for others to follow, improves the quality of life of a community and brings benefit or honour to Canada.

Kent Nagano and the OSM unveil Virée Classique 2018 (May 2018)

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its Music Director Kent Nagano have unveiled the orchestra’s summer concert programming, including the 7^th OSM Classical Spree in the end of August.

Click here for the trailer and here for all concert dates with the OSM and Kent Nagano.

Kent Nagano conducts works by Schumann in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (May 2018)

On 13 and 14 May 2018, Chief conductor Kent Nagano will conduct the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg with a program by Robert Schumann in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Find more details about the concerts here.

Kent Nagano conducts revival performances of Magic Flute in Hamburg (May 2018)

On 6, 8 and 10 May General Music Director Kent Nagano will conduct the revival performances of Mozart’s Magic Flute at Hamburg State Opera. The Magic Flute staged by Jette Steckel was the season opening production in 2016/17.

Finde here further information.

Kent Nagano conducts concert for Hamburg International Music Festival (April 2018)

On Sunday, 29 April, Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg Kent Nagano will conduct a concert on the occasion of the Hamburg International Music Festival in the Elbphilharmonie.

Together with the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the vocal ensemble Singer Pur they will present a large spectrum of repertoire, from Renaissance works to music from the 20th century.

Find here further information on this concert.

The concert will be broadcast live on 11 a.m. by public German radio channel NDR Kultur.

About Kent Nagano and the “Wagner Readings” (April 2018)

In the beginning of April 2018 Kent Nagano, Concerto Köln and musicians of the project “Wagner Readings” met for the first music workshop in Cologne. On the occasion of this workshop, Concerto Köln presented a public talk with Kent Nagano and radio presenter Michael Schwalb.

Read here an article about the talk and the development of the Wagner Readings in Cologne’s daily newspaper Kölner Stadtanzeiger. (German language)

Please find parts of this article translated into English below:

Kent Nagano on the “Ring” collaboration with Concerto Köln

“As we began with the workshops, we threw time out the window.” A rather odd expression used by the star conductor, Kent Nagano, in conversation with the WDR editor, Michael Schwalb. Throwing time out the window – how? Usually, Nagano explains, orchestral work is dictated by time: until the performance, both ensemble and conductor must achieve a certain level of interpretation during rehearsals or else there is potential for failure.

However, the scientific-artistic project, “Wagner Readings”, sponsored by the Arts Foundation NRW and launched by the current general music director of the Hamburg State Opera together with the early music ensemble, Concerto Köln, does away with this time pressure completely: “What does Wagner’s ‘Martellato’ indication mean? We discussed this for 45 minutes.” Obviously this wouldn’t be possible within a normal rehearsal time frame.

But the “Wagner Readings” are quite simply not normal: the first performances of the “Ring” are not scheduled to take place until 2021 – and those in a mode that is commonly referred to as “historically-informed.” But what exactly does that entail in the case of this operatic tetralogy? Which vocal and playing techniques did Wagner have in mind? All of this is currently undergoing research and being developed in close collaboration with musicologists. Concerto Köln will subsequently attempt to put it into practice under Nagano’s direction. “There are more questions than answers. We’re linked by the common ground of the unknown”, he candidly admits in the Balloni Hall located in Cologne’s Ehrenfeld district.

(Article written by Markus Schwering, translated into English by Jennifer Smyth.)

Kent Nagano conducts Bruckner in Hamburg (April 2018)

On 22 and 23 April Kent Nagano will conduct the 8. Philharmonic concert of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg in the Elbphilharmonie. On the program will be Anton Bruckner’s 5. Symphony.

Click here for further information on the concerts.