September 17, 2007

A new season...

My dear cyberfriends!

First, I would like to thank you for your many - and frequent - visits on this website! It is great to know that so many people are taking an interest in the various things I am part of... I would also like to apologize for being so late in writing you a new message, and for having been unable to answer many of your kind emails. Rest assured that I am reading ALL of them, and I am now trying to keep the pace with the considerable volume of mail I am receiving. As you may have noticed, especially through the "News" features on this website, the 2006-2007 season has been... extraordinarily rich in events which will have a major impact on my career. What a fantastic year! I must say that all of this took me a little by surprise, and I am just starting to realise all the beautiful things happening to me.

I've just came back from New Zealand; my weeks with the National Youth Orchestra and with the New Zealand Symphony have been especially inspiring; with Sydney, one of my favorite places in the world... I can say that I simply love Oceania! I am about to record Buckner 9 with my dear Metropolitain for ATMA; this is the second volume of our Bruckner series which started with no. 7 (the reviews and the public acclaim we received for this CD is making us very proud!). I am looking forward to my return visits to Stockholm (another of my favorite cities), Paris (with the Orchestre National) and Newcastle (Northern Sinfonia), as well as my first meetings with the musicians of Lyon and Helsinki. Above all, I can hardly wait to make music again with my fantastic Rotterdam Philharmonic colleagues, in november (for the first time since my appointment last year)...

Please keep on writing to me, it gives me so much energy and strength to go through this formidable journey... and it will be a pleasure to see you at the concerts!

Yannick

Photo Marie-Reine Mattera

Geneva is a charming city, the orchestra is very nice, with a very special color in the sound; my little godson (age: four months!) came to see me in Geneva, with his parents. A delight. It was also my first collaboration with Viktoria Mullova, whom I am looking forward to see again in Germany in December. What a great artist she is !

I then made my Paris debut with the National de France; the concert was a Gala with Bryn Terfel, and there was a very festive atmosphere that night in the "new" salle Pleyel. The orchestra gave it all, and Bryn was, as usual, incomparable !

And now Dresden... It was a dream come true to work in such a city, in such a hall, and with an orchestra whose history is so rich. An immense pleasure. And I felt really privileged to have the chance to conduct Shostakovitch Fifth Symphony in a place where the significance of the true meaning of this symphony has a real resonance for the musicians and the audience. All three concerts were very successful. A return is planned in about 2 years...

Almost everywhere I go, there are some Canadian and Quebecois musicians playing in the orchestra! It is always comforting to speak with them, to have a meal together, to have a good time... Our people never lose their legendary welcoming warmth!!!

More recently, in between two very different programs with the Metropolitain, I was happy to be back to Western Canada: the Calgary Philharmonic for the Finals of the Honens International piano competition (an excellent event) and the Victoria Symphony, where I was happy not only to see all my friends of the orchestra there, but also to work with Denise Djokic, a great musician and a dear friend.

I want to thank everybody who has taken the time to write to me (see "Contact" section). As you can imagine, I sometimes don't have the opportunity to reply as soon as I would like to... But don't worry, I promise to answer back !

À bientôt !

Yannick

September 18 2006
To all visitors

WELCOME TO MY NEW WEBSITE !

It gives me great pleasure to share with you some special moments of this exciting time in my musical career. This website will give you access to my personal history, schedules of my upcoming concerts and operas, photographs, my discography, samples of media reviews and interviews, as well as my contact information. By simply clicking on ‘Message', you can visit the site regularly to obtain up-to-date information and view an ongoing journal of my musical adventures.

Thanks to this internet space, I am thrilled to share my passion for music while meeting lots of wonderful people around the world.

See you soon… and enjoy the visit!

Yannick