In January, the National Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic announced that they had chosen successors to their incumbent music directors, both of whom will be stepping down at the end of the 2016-17 season. The National Symphony, in Washington, D.C., has selected Gianandrea Noseda to succeed Christoph Eschenbach, whose NSO tenure began in 2010. At the Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden will take the reins from Alan Gilbert, who has led the orchestra since 2009. Noseda’s five-year contract with the NSO calls for him to lead two subscription weeks next season as music director designate and assume the post officially in 2017-18. Van Zweden will become the Philharmonic’s music director designate in 2017-18 and begin his five-year contract as music director the following season.
Noseda is now in his ninth season as music director of Teatro Regio Torino in Italy, and is also principal conductor of Barcelona’s Orquestra de Cadaqués and principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He served as chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 2002 to 2011 and has conducted the Metropolitan Opera regularly since 2002. A native of Milan, Noseda trained in piano, composition, and conducting there before pursuing further studies with conductors Donato Renzetti, Myung-Whun Chung, and Valery Gergiev.
The Dutch-born van Zweden has served as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and as music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2012. He began his career as a violinist, serving from age nineteen as the youngest-ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw in his native Amsterdam. Van Zweden made his podium debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2012, returned as a guest last fall, and is scheduled to lead the Philharmonic again in November of this year. He will conclude his tenure as DSO music director at the end of the 2016-17 season and then assume the title of conductor laureate.
Both conductors have been honored with Musical America’s Conductor of the Year award: Noseda in 2015 and van Zweden in 2012.
