24 Facts About Kent Nagano

Kent George Nagano was born on November 22,1951 and is an American conductor and opera administrator.

Kent Nagano grew up in Morro Bay, a city on the Central Coast of California in San Luis Obispo County.

Kent Nagano studied sociology and music at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Kent Nagano studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris.

Kent Nagano's first conducting job was with the Opera Company of Boston, where he was assistant conductor to Sarah Caldwell.

Kent Nagano was later invited to work with Messiaen on the final stages of his opera Saint Francois d'Assise in Paris, where he lived with Messiaen and his wife Yvonne Loriod, whom he came to regard as his "European parents".

In 1982, Kent Nagano conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in several of Frank Zappa's completely orchestral compositions for the first time.

Kent Nagano recorded several of Zappa's pieces on the issue London Symphony Orchestra, Vol.

Kent Nagano described this as "my first chance, my first real break".

Kent Nagano has a long history of inventive programming, particularly in the chamber music repertoire.

Kent Nagano collaborated with Icelandic artist Bjork at the 1996 Verbier Festival performing Arnold Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire.

Kent Nagano served as principal conductor of the Halle Orchestra in Manchester from 1992 to 1999.

Kent Nagano became principal conductor and artistic director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin in 2000, and served in this position until 2006.

Kent Nagano made a number of recordings with the orchestra, including music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Bruckner, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Gustav Mahler.

In May 2003, Kent Nagano was named the LA Opera's first music director, and he retained this position through 2006.

Kent Nagano is the president of the European Opera Centre, Liverpool.

Kent Nagano has been a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival, where he premiered Kaija Saariaho's L'amour de loin in 2000.

Kent Nagano conducted the world premiere of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer at la Monnaie in Brussels.

In 2006, Kent Nagano became both the music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and GMD of the Bavarian State Opera.

Kent Nagano concluded his Bavarian State Opera tenure in 2013.

Kent Nagano has served as one of the Russian National Orchestra's Conductor Collegium.

Kent Nagano first guest-conducted the Spanish National Orchestra in April 2021.

Kent Nagano returned for subsequent guest-conducting appearances in June 2021 and April 2024.

In October 2020, Kent Nagano was elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in consideration of "his eminent merits in the musical art".