Young Montreal conductor to lead Rotterdam Philharmonic

A 31-year-old Canadian conductor, Yannick Nzet-Sguin, has been appointed music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the Netherlands.

Nzet-Sguin assumes the prestigious post in August 2008, after being the unanimous choice of the RPhO's musicians.

The young conductor will take the position in tandem with his role of artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre Mtropolitain du Grand Montral, a post he has held since 2000.

He succeeds Valery Gergiev, who has been conductor since 1988. Sir Simon Rattle, James Conlon, Edo de Waart and Eduard Flipse have also been conductors at the Rotterdam orchestra.

Nzet-Sguin says he won the confidence of the experienced musicians in the orchestra by building a relationship with them.

"I have two choices: To act like this I know everything and you must listen to me which I think is wrong because, you know, there is a truth about music but the beauty is you never find it," he said in an interview with CBC Radio.

"The other way was to think, OK, these are colleagues and I'm expected to know where I want to go with them, but it's a relationship."

He will conduct the RPhO for about eight weeks each season, in addition to tours.

Before taking up his new position he will lead the RPhO in performances of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and works by Mahler and Strauss, and on a tour to China, Japan and South Korea.

Born in Montreal in 1975, Nzet-Sguin studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Qubec Montral, where he obtained a summa cum laude in piano.

After his conservatory studies he worked under the great Italian maestro, Carlo Maria Giulini, in the U.S.

He has been at the forefront of the Montreal music scene, founding the vocal and instrumental ensemble La Chapelle de Montral in1995, serving as assistant conductor of the Montreal Opera Orchestra and Chorus for four years and as a musical advisor to the Montreal Opera Company.

In September 2000, he won the coveted Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts.

In 2004-5, Nzet-Sguin had several European debuts, including conducting the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National du Capitole du Toulouse, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden and orchestras in Sydney, Stockholm and Scotland.

He has also conducted major orchestras throughout Canada, in Toronto, Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

He has madeseven recordings with classical label ATMA Classique, including fourwith the Orchestre Mtropolitain du Grand Montral and three duo recitals as a pianist.