Following his appointment as Gothenburg Symphony principal guest conductor from 2013, it has been announced that Kent Nagano will take over as Hamburg State Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra principal music director and conductor from 2015. He will work closely with Georges Delnon, who has been appointed the company’s new intendant and member of the board. The contracts of both men will run until 2020.

‘The Hamburg State Opera and its Philharmonic Orchestra have a long and prestigious history,’ said Nagano. ‘It is an honour and pleasure to have been invited to become a part of Hamburg’s important opera and concert tradition and to shape the musical future of this city.’

Formerly principal conductor of the Hallé in Manchester and LA Opera, Nagano is currently music director of the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich until 2013 and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal until 2016.