On April 22, Kent Nagano will bring his Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra to Carnegie Hall for a performance of Beethoven, Brahms, and a new work by composer Sean Shepherd, “On a Clear Day” (featuring cellist Jan Vogler and an international youth choir and set to poetry by writer Ulla Hahn). I spoke with Nagano recently over Zoom, where he remained serene despite connection issues. We discussed the challenges of leading orchestral musicians in the contemporary repertoire, whether the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg was worth the money, and the elusive notion of quality.
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