In Sunday’s (6/13) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin reports, “In a bold return to previous eras of youthful leadership, the Philadelphia Orchestra has chosen to be led by an emerging—though much sought-after—conductor. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a 35-year-old Canadian whose starry orchestra and opera career is much in the ascent of late, is set to become Philadelphia’s eighth music director in 2012. At that time, chief conductor Charles Dutoit will take the title of conductor laureate. … [Nézet-Séguin’s] contract runs through 2017, but board chairman Richard B. Worley says he expects the conductor to remain at the helm longer. … The offer to the boyish, aerobic conductor—whose name is pronounced Yah-NEEK Neh-ZAY Say-GUN, but is commonly shorthanded to YNS—came after only two visits to Verizon Hall, in 2008 and 2009. … The new partnership aims to satisfy critical objectives for both parties: The orchestra captures a winsome, energetic chief and renewed institutional energy after a four-year search dogged by flagging ticket sales; and Nézet-Séguin wins a top job in a first-rank ensemble, which, despite his many prestigious guest appearances, he has not yet landed.”
Posted June 14, 2010
