Kent Nagano is known for the clarity, elegance and intelligence of his performances, which include the classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire, bringing this music to audiences worldwide through a new approach and offering a new insight into established repertoires.
He has been the main conductor at Montreal Orchestre Symphonique since 2006. In 2013, he accepted the position of Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor at Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, he was appointed principal conductor of Hamburg State Opera and Hamburg State Philharmonic. In his three first seasons in Hamburg, his activities included the premieres of Wagner’s Parsifal ; Les Troyens by Berlioz; the world premiere of Stilles Meer by Toshio Hosokawa; Turangalîla by Messiaen, with Hamburg ballet and John Neumeier; the “Philharmonische Akademie“, a project in line with music academic tradition from the 17th and 19th centuries; a South American tour with the State Philharmonic; the premieres of Lulu by Alban Berg and Strauss’s The Woman without a Shadow; and the world premiere of the oratorio ARCHE, by Jörg Widmann, composed for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie, in January 2017, and which is to be published in a CD by ECM in autumn 2018.
He is a much sought-after guest conductor by international orchestras, including Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Concerto Köln, Radio Finland Orchestra, Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia de Roma and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was Principal Conductor from 2006 to 2013, he commissioned new works, such as Babylon by Jörg Widmann, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin.
A very important period in his career was the time he spent as Principal Conductor for the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, from 2000 to 2006. In June 2006, the members of the orchestra appointed him Honorary Member, which makes him the second artist to be granted this distinction in the 60 years of history of this group.