Jonathan Nott has been named the third music director of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Hubert Soudant, who has spearheaded the ensemble since 2004. Nott’s three-year contract will begin in September 2014, and he will conduct the orchestra for eight weeks per season.

‘I first conducted the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in October 2011 and it was immediately clear that there was an enormous rapport,’ said Nott. ‘The morning after the final performance, actually on the way to Narita airport, I received the invitation to take up the post of music director and I accepted without hesitation. What appealed to me most about making music with this orchestra was the freshness of the players’ approach, their commitment to the spontaneity of live performance, and their dedication and sense of good humour in achieving these goals.’

Currently principal conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Nott appears frequently on the podiums of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras and the Royal Concertgebouw, Tonhalle and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras.