The Dream of the Conductor Kent Nagano

NDR/ARTE , 2017, 52/90 min.

The US citizen with Japanese roots is a star in the “classical music business”, one of the great conductors of our times. For decades he has been at home in the renowned concert halls of the world. He grew up in the small fishing village Morro Bay on the west coast of the US. Here, music did not depend on educated middle-classes; all it took was a single teacher whose charisma made an entire village resound to music. “I dream of a world in which everyone can find access to classical music,” says Nagano. Without knowing the experience of Morro Bay it is impossible to understand Nagano’s mission, nor his deep aversion to an elitist interpretation of art.

In 2006, Nagano became the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and in September 2015 he took office as general music director and head conductor of the Hamburg State Opera. In both cities, Nagano is pursuing the same goal: to use unusual projects to appeal to a younger and broader audience.

Kent Nagano ist ein Dirigent, der wie kaum ein anderer herausfordert und polarisiert. In außergewöhnlichen Konzertprogrammen zeigt er, dass zeitgenössische Musik die Hörer genauso berühren kann wie die großen Meisterwerke der Romantik, Klassik oder des Barocks. Seine Devise dabei: die inspirierende Erfahrung der Musik bekommt man nicht geschenkt, man muss sich für sie anstrengen. Dann aber wird das musik-ästhetische Erlebnis umso reicher sein. Der Film zeigt Nagano auf seinem Weg, die Musik zu allen Menschen zu bringen – egal wie alt, gebildet oder musikalisch.