For over a decade, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE) have been reunited each summer in the German spa town of Baden-Baden. In 2021, their work there led to a well-received complete Beethoven symphony cycle, released on DG in 2022. In the summer of 2022 Nézet-Séguin became artistic director of the Festspielhaus’s new La Capitale d’Été festival and during that and the next year’s residencies, the COE and Nézet-Séguin performed and recorded all four of Brahms symphonies. The performances were euphorically received.
This is the fourth instalment in Deutsche Grammophon’s new Mozart cycle. In the end this will encompass the seven great operas, from Idomeneo forwards. I haven’t heard the previous three, but from the reviews I have seen the reception has been rather mixed. Concerning this latest issue I am also in two minds. The problem, as I see it, is that Nézet-Séguin hasn’t quite decided what he is up to. He has the excellent Chamber Orchestra of Europe at his disposal.
This thrilling recording around concert performances at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus is set to be a milestone in at least two ways. It marks the beginning of an extended Deutsche Grammophon collaboration with rising star Yannick Nézet-Séguin – the young French-Canadian maestro - “surely the most exciting talent of his generation” (Edward Seckerson, The Independent, January, 2011) who has already been celebrated from the Metropolitan Opera House New York to Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala Milan and the Salzburg Festival.
What kind of music could be better suited for the Berliner Philharmoniker’s legendary annual Waldbühne concert than Czech music? It’s always passionate and full of verve and sure to lift everyone’s spirits. Only very rarely does a young talent ascend to ‘world stardom’, but one of the few who can be considered an international superstar while still belonging to the new generation of conductors is Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He presents the much-loved Vlatava (Moldau) as well as Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony and Violin Concerto with the wonderful Lisa Batiashvili on the violin.
As Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues to explore the Romantic symphonic repertoire, it becomes increasingly apparent that he has a strong affinity for German composers, something not readily guessed of this Canadian maestro. There might be an underlying connection between his recordings of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, for which he has received considerable attention and acclaim, and this 2014 Deutsche Grammophon album of the four symphonies of Robert Schumann, which shows Nézet-Séguin as a strong advocate for this somewhat discounted symphonist.
This album - a collaboration between two of the biggest names in classical music - celebrates the fine art of concealment, of holding private passions just beneath the surface until they erupt. 'Secret Love Letters' sees the violinist explore some of the most romantic music ever written. In this, her first recording with a US orchestra, she is joined by The Philadelphia Orchestra and its inspirational music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin - with whom she has performed live many times - as well as by young Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili. Together they embark on a journey that spans everything from forbidden love to romance seen from the perspective of old age, featuring Szymanowski's 'First Violin Concerto', Chausson's 'Poème' and works by Franck and Debussy.
The Philadelphia Orchestra and its Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continue their pioneering project to revive neglected music by Black American composers. Their latest recording, set for digital release on 15 September, presents Florence Price’s Symphony No. 4 and William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, a work premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra back in 1934.