Yuja Wang Plays Rautavaara

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is music and artistic director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, music director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, and in September 2018, began his tenure as music director of the Metropolitan Opera. Widely recognized for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, Mr. Nézet-Séguin has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. His highly collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, boundless enthusiasm, and fresh approach to programming have been heralded by audiences and critics alike.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin has appeared with most of the world’s leading orchestras. He enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He is honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic after serving as its music director from 2008 to 2018; and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He has appeared repeatedly at the BBC Proms and many European and North American festivals, among them Edinburgh, Grafenegg, Lanaudière, Lucerne, Mostly Mozart, Salzburg, Saratoga, and Vail. He has conducted annually at the Metropolitan Opera since 2009, and has led productions at Teatro alla Scala in Milan; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London; Netherlands Opera; and the Vienna State Opera. He records for Deutsche Grammophon.

A native of Montreal, Mr. Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de music du Québec. He continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini, and also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. His honors include Musical America’s Artist of the Year (2016), the Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. He holds honorary doctorates from multiple institutions, including the University of Québec in Montreal, Westminster Choir College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Cur­tis Institute of Music, where he has served on the faculty as mentor conductor since 2013.

Yuja Wang has performed with the world’s most venerated conductors, musicians and ensembles, and is renowned not only for her virtuosity, but her spontaneous and lively performances, famously telling the New York Times “I firmly believe every program should have its own life, and be a representation of how I feel at the moment.”

Yuja was born into a musical family and began studying the piano at the age of six. She received advanced training in Canada and at the Curtis Institute of Music under Gary Graffman. Her international breakthrough came in 2007, when she replaced Martha Argerich as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Two years later, she signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has since established her place among the world’s leading artists, with a succession of critically acclaimed performances and albums. Her recordings have garnered multiple awards, including five Grammy nominations and her first Grammy win for best Classical Instrumental Solo with her 2023 release of The American Project. For this she also won an Opus Klassik award in the concerto category.

As the New York Times observed, Yuja has “made a career out of dazzling displays of virtuosity,” perhaps most notably when she recently teamed up with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra to perform all four of Rachmaninoff’s piano concerti—followed by his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini—in a single concert. This was a feat never before attempted at Carnegie Hall, and one she pulled off with “both clarity and poetry…heft but not bombast, sentiment but not schmaltz” and then came back for more with encores.

As a chamber musician, Yuja has developed long-lasting partnerships with several leading artists. She recently embarked on a highly anticipated international duo recital tour with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson with performances in world-class venues across North America and Europe, where she is once again able to showcase her flair, technical ability and exceptional artistry in a wide-ranging program.

Mariana is a conductor, vocalist, and composer from Mexico City. She grew up in both State College, Pennsylvania and Morelia, Michoacán, where her family currently resides.

Mariana is a Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Jim Ross and assisting various orchestras and Curtis Opera productions. Learn more

Judy Zhuo, from Nanning, China, a student of Julia Faulkner, is the Horace W. Goldsmith Fellow and entered Curtis in 2023.

Acclaimed for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra offers a dynamic showcase of tomorrow’s exceptional young talent. Each year the 100 extraordinary musicians of the orchestra work with internationally renowned conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet Séguin, who also mentors the early-career conductors who hold Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in America’s leading orchestras, as well as esteemed orchestral, opera, and chamber ensembles around the world.