Rolex presents: Yannick Nézet-Séguin – The Modern Maestro

📅 Jul 22, 2025 ROLEX 9 MIN 28 SEGMENTS · 3 SPEAKERS

One of the most influential conductors of his generation, Yannick Nézet-Séguin – Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New ...

Yannick Nézet-séguin 0:03 ↗

We are at five minutes 'til the top of this evening's performance of La Bohème. Orchestra to the pit, please.

Music is for everyone to enjoy. It's part of human nature. That's why I spend my life sharing it as strongly as I can.

I knew since I was young that I wanted to be a conductor, so I always had a dream to conduct in New York.

Narrator 0:47 ↗

The Canadian conductor is revolutionizing classical music. He's the five-time Grammy-winning maestro of the Met. And he also holds lead roles in Philadelphia and Montreal. This globe-trotting conductor is a musical phenomenon.

Yannick Nézet-séguin 1:12 ↗

Oh! Oh, hi! - How are you, Peter? - I'm good, how are you?

Peter Gelb 1:16 ↗

Opera as an art form is an endangered species. So, for me, Yannick was the perfect choice to be the music director of the Met because he believes, as I do, that the future of the art form involves moving forward.

5 more exchanges in this transcript

Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX

APA

Nézet-Séguin, Y. (2025, July 22). Rolex presents: Yannick Nézet-Séguin – The Modern Maestro [Interview transcript]. ROLEX. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1031564/

MLA

Yannick Nézet-Séguin. "Rolex presents: Yannick Nézet-Séguin – The Modern Maestro." ROLEX, 22 Jul. 2025. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1031564/.

BibTeX

@misc{nzetsguin2025_1031564,
  author       = {Yannick Nézet-Séguin},
  title        = {Rolex presents: Yannick Nézet-Séguin – The Modern Maestro},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, ROLEX. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2025},
  month        = {jul},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1031564/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}

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Key Quotes (2)

“I'm spending my life going against the tendency of people in the past to associate classical music and opera with you need to be from a certain class, you need to be from a certain race. It's all false. So my mission in life is opening the doors of this art form to every citizen of the world.”

▶ 1:36 CONTROVERSIAL

“I like to say that, to be a good conductor, one has to always keep the mind cool and the heart warm. And just make sure that we have the right game plan.”

▶ 6:56

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Also at The Metropolitan Opera

Peter GelbGeneral Manager

About Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Yannick Nézet-Séguin discussed his recent experience conducting the Vienna New Year’s Concert, describing it as a "dream come true" and noting the positive energy and smiling reactions from the audience. In a January 2026 podcast interview, he reflected on the evolving role of classical musicians, stating that with reduced music education in schools, orchestras and opera houses must take on more educational and outreach responsibilities, making the classical musician "more like a citizen." He also addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on the field, acknowledging that some aspects of AI are "scary" and will need to be embraced, while asserting that classical music "wins so easily" in comparison to the technology. Nézet-Séguin also spoke about the personal and introspective nature of conducting, saying that he learns something about himself every time he conducts a piece and that conducting is "very much about connectivity." He recounted early doubts about his path to becoming a conductor without formal lessons, crediting his parents’ advice to trust his instinct and intuition. He emphasized that artists today need a clear purpose and must consider who their work will speak to and how to reach that audience.

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