Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Born in 1975 in Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec. At the age of 19, he met Carlo Maria Giulini, whom he assisted in rehearsals and from whom he received formative inspiration. After early positions with his own ensembles and as chorus master at the Opéra de Montréal, Nézet-Séguin was appointed Music Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in 2000, to which he is now bound for life. From 2008 to 2018 he served as Chief Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, which subsequently named him Honorary Conductor. He has been Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012 and of the Metropolitan Opera in New York since 2018; in the 2026-27 season, he will conduct the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Lincoln in the Bardo as well as Verd’s Macbeth, Wagner’s Parsifal, Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, and Puccini’s Tosca. In Europe, Nézet-Séguin has worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has been Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and is an Honorary Member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with which he performed the seven major Mozart operas at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. In 2026, he conducted the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic, which he has led regularly since 2010, including on tour. As an opera conductor, Nézet-Séguin has appeared at the Salzburg Festival, at London’s Royal Opera House, at La Scala in Milan, and at the Vienna Staatsoper. He has received five Grammy Awards for his recordings, including in 2025 for the soundtrack to the film Maestro. His most recent releases include a recording of the Vienna New Year’s Concert and an album featuring works by William Grant Still and Margaret Bonds. Yannick Nézet-Séguin holds several honorary doctorates, is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, and an Officier de l’Ordre de Montréal.

Lucerne Festival debut on 13 September 2011 with the Vienna Philharmonic in a program of works by Messiaen, Debussy, Schubert, and Ravel.

May 2026