Montreal’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin lands a top conducting gig with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Canada’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin, currently the artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal, has signed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, becoming the eighth music director after legends such as Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy and Riccardo Muti. The conductor’s job had been open since the last full-time occupant was told to leave in 2006. The New York Times reports that 35-year-old Montrealer was “signed to an unusually long, seven-year contract. His title will be music director-designate for the next two seasons, and he will take over formally in fall 2012. He will conduct two weeks next season, five the following season and eight at the start of his formal term.” His rise since leading the Montreal orchestra in 2000 has been meteoric. He’s currently music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Netherlands and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic. The Metropolitcan Opera assigned him the next production of Don Carlo next season after his debut Carmen last year. Left unsaid in the announcement of the Philadelphia gig is his role in Montreal.