First Masterclass with Kent Nagano at the Forum

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HfMT President Elmar Lampson and General Music Director Kent Nagano have agreed on a close cooperation between the HfMT and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra for the future.

The first highlight was a two-day masterclass with Kent Nagano and a public final presentation on Friday, November 22, 2019, at 7:30 pm in the sold-out Forum of the University of Music and Drama. Performed by the Symphony Orchestra of the HfMT Hamburg under the direction of Students of the conducting class Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr. The program included Richard Wagner's "Parsifal" (1st Prelude, Good Friday Magic) and Igor Stravinsky's ballet suite "Le sacre du printemps". Members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra were closely involved in the rehearsals with the university orchestra.
The conductors included Yu Sugimoto, who recently reached the final round of the Besançon International Conducting Competition, and Nicolas Kierdorf, who has been Artistic Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Orchestra since this year.
Kent Nagano, one of the outstanding conductors of our time and General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra since 2015, says the following about his idea of "conducting lessons": "I am interested in a deep mutual dialog with the students. I didn't bring any particular message with me, because in our profession we all arrive at the goals we set ourselves in radically different ways. What was important to me may be irrelevant to someone else. And yet professional and artistic dialog is very important, especially across generations. I myself have learned the most and most important things from working with and from colleagues."
The connection to the university is very close to the maestro's heart and he sees cooperation between cultural institutions as a matter of course in the 21st century.
Prof. Elmar Lampson is delighted about this new collaboration and is enthusiastic about Maestro Kent Nagano's commitment: "The masterclass with this outstanding conductor will give a strong artistic impetus to all students who take part, the young conductors as well as the members of the university orchestra. This is a fantastic gift for the whole university! I am very happy about this new collaboration with its excellent prospects for the participation of our wind players in stage music at the State Opera and coaching by members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra. I would also like to thank the opera and orchestra director of the State Opera, Georges Delnon, for his great support!"