Orchestras turning to youthful leadership
Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin, 37, conducts the Rotterdam Phiharmonic. / Courtesy of Seongnam Art Center
The Boston Symphony appointed young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons as the successor to James Levine at last month.
Chang Han-na will begin her tenure at the Qatar Philharmonic in September. / Korea Times file
By Do Je-hae
Up until about a decade ago, conductors weren't taken seriously until they were aged 50 or older. Not anymore.
When the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra performs in Korea next week, all eyes will be on its young music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
The 37-year-old is leading a boom of 20 to 30-something music directors at some of the world's foremost orchestras in the U.S. and Europe.
The Canadian will be conducting at the Seongnam Art Center in Gyeonggi Province with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on June 9 in a program of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky. He has been with the orchestra since the 2008-2009 season, succeeding a lengthy tenure by Russian maestro Valery Gergiev.
Nezet-Seguin has brought a new level of fame to the 95-year-old ensemble, the top Dutch orchestra after the Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. Under his leadership, the orchestra released its first recording for Deutsche Grammophon last year containing Tchaikovsky's sixth and final symphony. This piece will be the center of their program in Korea.
Nezet-Seguin has been leading not only the Rotterdam Philharmonic but also the Philadelphia Orchestra since last October. He turned heads with the appointment, charged with revitalizing the orchestra as it makes a comeback from bankruptcy protection.
Fresh-faced conductors may lack experience and maturity. More ensembles are appointing youthful music directors in the hope of responding to chronic challenges of orchestras everywhere, namely the decline of audiences and financial difficulties.
In a recent interview with the Houston Chronicle, Judith Kurnick, spokeswoman at the League of American Orchestras, explained the reason for a growing demand of youthful leadership.
"What orchestras look for in a music director is a much broader job description than it was even a decade ago. There’s a need for someone who’s willing to try new things and have a place in the community, off the podium. Also, there’s no harm in being telegenic," Kurnick said.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, which has formerly been led by greats like Serge Koussevitzky and Seiji Ozawa, made headlines in May when it appointed the 34-year-old Lativan Andris Nelsons as a successor to James Levine, who at 70 is more than twice older than Nelsons.
"The vitality of younger conductors are a welcoming force in orchestras that face uncertain futures. They tend to be more audience-friendly, cultivating new projects like youth concerts and education programs," music columnist Park Jae-seong said.
The LA Philharmonic Orchestra's 2009 appointment of Gustavo Dudamel also turned heads in the classical music world. At the time of his appointment he was only 28. Along with Nelsons, Dudamel is widely seen by the European press as a possibility to achieve the pinnacle of the conducting profession – the music directorship of the Berlin Philharmonic. Sir Simon Rattle announced recently that he will not seek to extend his tenure after it expires in 2018.
The trend in hiring young conductors has been steadily emerging in Europe, where 37-year-old Daniel Harding has been leading the Mahler Chamber Orchestra since 2003. Russian Vladimir Jurowski, 41, has been leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 2007.
Korean symphony orchestras have yet to embrace the idea of a music director in their 30s. But a number of them are starting to make a mark in the international scene, including Chang Han-ha.
The former child prodigy cellist has been leading a youth orchestra initiative in Korea called "Absolute Classic" since 2007. Starting this year, she will serve as the music director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra founded by the Qatari royal family in 2007 to spread classical music in the Arab world.
After two decades of an international career as a cellist, the 30-year-old is now focused on conducting. Named as the music director of the Qatar Philharmonic in December 2012, she will officially begin her tenure in September.
"I am tremendously excited at the prospect of calling Doha and Qatar Philharmonic my musical home for the next few years. This has always been a dream of mine to have a musical family, a permanent basis where I can make a more lasting contribution," Chang said in a YouTube message confirming her appointment.
She is scheduled to make her conducting debuts with the Dresden Staatskapelle and WDR Sinfonieorchester in the 2013/2014 season.
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's Associate Conductor Sung Shi-yeon, 38, is also a conductor to watch in the years ahead. She formerly served as assistant conductor to James Levine at the Boston Symphony before joining the Seoul Philharmonic in 2009.