Kent Nagano, national orchestra and choir director, exalts the Spanish culture and language: “It is vital to move forward”

The Kent Nagano Orchestra Director, who will assume, for five seasons as of September 2026, the National and Artistic Directorate of the National Orchestra and Chorus of Spain (OCNE), has extolled Spanish culture and language, ensuring that it is “vital” to move forward.

“Only understanding tradition we can understand how this culture has had an important role in the creation of our world community. The Spanish language is more and more in our country, sharing the riches of Spanish culture is vital for us to advance,” added the director of the Anglo-American Orchestra of Japanese origin during a meeting on Monday with the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, in the National Auditorium in Madrid.

In that sense, Nagano, a native of California (United States) has explained that all his life has been closely linked to Spanish culture because on the west coast it is “easy” to identify with the inheritance of Spain.

“That was the first wave of immigration that arrived. For those who are there, the importance and dynamics of Spanish culture are essential. During the last six months, I have been intensively studying the incredibly rich history of how Spanish culture was formed,” he defended.

After being asked by Urtasun about the functions of an orchestra director today, the teacher has assured that to direct the OCNE, it is first needed to understand the Spanish tradition.

“To direct a Spanish orchestra, tradition needs to be understood. Tradition is the reflection of a culture, so you need to go even further to understand how and why this tradition is so powerful. Only understanding the past can understand how you are at this time and will allow you to have a clearer idea of ​​how this tradition, this culture, play a role in the future. This, of course, is a euphoric process,” he recognized.

“There is no better person to make the international leap”

The head of the Department of Culture has directed an informal conversation with the next head of the OCNE, under the INAEM, in which Nagno’s trajectory has highlighted and welcomed Spain.

“It is a pride that has accepted this position. There is no better person to be able to make that international leap in our orchestra. Therefore, I want to thank you very much to have accepted our invitation,” Urtasun reiterated.

As for the way of directing this set, Nagano has not revealed much more than several pillars on which he wants to sustain himself so that both musicians and the young public feel close.

The first of these is that there are no ‘status quo’, so that a feeling of superiority between the members of the orchestra is not gested. In addition, he has defended that his address will try to offer “only” the highest quality, as well as a “challenging” musical program.

“If people do not come to a representation of Bach, Mozart or Beethoven, remember that it is not Beethoven’s fault, Mozart. It is your fault. You did not do it correctly or did not share it with the public in a way that expressed its relevance. These great musical geniuses are geniuses because they do not have ‘status quo’. They are geniuses because they represent only the highest quality,” Nagano has concluded.