Kent Nagano: Fear on stage? I’m a surfer and I faced down a shark
OrchestrasIn the latest episode of Living the Classical Lifce, Zsolt Bognar comes face to face with the Callifornian conductor who has made his name as Generakmusikdirektor in Munich and Hamburg.
Nagano does not deny the reality of performance anxiety. He says: ‘If that terror ever goes away, that will be a moment to consider retirement.’
He has seldom spoken before with such intimacy.
Wonderful interview. Thank you.
He abandoned Los Angeles Opera the minute a better job came along, after squeezing out the more talented Lawrence Foster in L.A.
Who doesn’t move on to a better job when one is available?
though would anyone consider Hamburg a better job than Munich?
He did not move from Munich to Hamburg. He got into a conflict with the Intendant in Munich, who decided to oust him. All the while, he had a successful tenure with the OSM and squeezed in an equally successful mandate as artistic advistor and principal guest conductor in Göteborg. The Hamburg job was announced after he left Munich.
That being said, I saw his 2013 Ring in Munich – stellar.
What a fascinating human being. A remarkable interview. Thank you
Strongly recommend his book “expect the unexpected”
There is lot’s of “intimate” stories in that, so this interview is not really news.
I had the pleasure of meeting him over 3 days in 1978 when he was Assistant to Sarah Caldwell at the Boston Opera. Like many he seemed overwhelmed and under-appreciated in the presence of that formidable and very opinionated lady. I got the impression that it was unlikely he would ascend the ladder to the success he has achieved in his career. How wrong can one be!