Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Born in Montreal in 1975, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. At the age of 19, he met Carlo Maria Giulini, whom he accompanied during rehearsals and who proved to be a significant influence. Following initial positions with his own ensembles and as choirmaster at the Opéra de Montréal, Nézet-Séguin was appointed Music Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal in 2000. From 2008 to the summer of 2018, he was Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, which then appointed him Honorary Conductor; since 2012 he has helmed the Philadelphia Orchestra, and since 2018 he has been Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he will conduct new productions of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded, Strauss’s Salome, and Verdi’s Aida in the 2024-25 season. Nézet-Séguin has worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2008 to 2014. In the USA, he has also conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Nézet-Séguin made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 with Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; he has also appeared as a guest conductor at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Vienna State Opera. At the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, he has conducted the seven great Mozart operas, all of which were recorded. In 2021, he released his first solo album as a pianist, Introspection, featuring composers ranging from Bach to Berio. He received the coveted Grammy Award in 2022 for his recording of symphonies by Florence Price. In 2024, his account of symphonies by Jean Sibelius was released. Yannick Nézet-Séguin has garnered multiple honorary doctorates and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a member of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, and an Officier de l’Ordre de Montréal.

Lucerne Festival debut on 13 September 2011 with the Vienna Philharmonic in a program of works by Messiaen, Debussy, Schubert, and Ravel.

July 2024