“In a rare concurrence, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic are welcoming new music directors in the same season,” writes Charles Passy in Thursday’s (9/6) Wall Street Journal (subscription required). “At the opera, Yannick Nezet-Seguin takes over the top post…. At the philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden assumes the leading role…. How do these conductors match up, musically and personally? Hometown: Yannick: Montréal. Jaap: Amsterdam. Other current conducting appointments: Yannick: Music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal). Jaap: Music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Instrument he plays: Yannick: Piano. Jaap: Violin. Concert superstitions: Yannick: Wears his grandfather’s ring at every performance. Jaap: Counts his footsteps before he goes on stage. Favorite composer: Yannick: Brahms and Verdi. Jaap: ‘The one I’m working on at the moment.’ Some nonclassical artists he listens to: Yannick: Björk, Daniel Caesar, Janelle Monae, Radiohead, Sarah Vaughan. Jaap: Michael Bublé, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Billy Joel, Bruno Mars. Something audiences may not know: Yannick: Doesn’t have a driver’s license. Jaap: Established a foundation with his wife to support families of children with autism. Nonmusical career he once considered: Yannick: Becoming pope. Jaap: ‘I never considered a nonmusical career.’ ”
Posted September 11, 2018
