Spanish National Orchestra and Choir Appoints Kent Nagano as Next Artistic Director

The three-time GRAMMY Award-winning conductor Kent Nagano will assume his role in 2026 for an initial five years

As of September 2026, conductor Kent Nagano will serve as principal conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra (ONE) and artistic director of the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir (OCNE) for an initial period of five years. He will succeed David Afkham in the role.  

Since 2015, Nagano has been Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg and General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera — a role he will be wrapping up at the end of the 2024/25 season. He also held the General Music Director role at the Bavarian State Opera from 2006 to 2013. 

Additionally, he serves as Honorary Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Concerto Köln, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and most recently, of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester. 

Nagano regularly works with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre de l’Opéra national in Paris, the Chicago and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, and the Vienna Symphony. 

His award-winning discography is featured on the BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, FARAO Classics, and Analekta labels. He has also recorded with the Berlin Classics, Erato, Teldec, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon, and Harmonia Mundi labels.  

In 2021, Nagano published his second book with Berlin Verlag, titled “10 Lessons of my Life,” which details his career experiences and encounters with artists such as Björk, Frank Zappa, Leonard Bernstein, and Pierre Boulez, and the Nobel Prize winner in physics, Donald Glaser.

Nagano’s numerous awards include several honorary doctorates, titles from Québec and France’s Ordre des art et des Lettres, the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Order of Canada, and the 2024 Brahms Prize.

In his new role with the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir, Nagano will conduct eight programs of the symphonic season, alongside tours and recordings. He previously worked with the ensembles in 2018, 2021, and April this year. 

“Nagano’s project for the OCNE highlights the search for its own identity and personality that will identify it on the international scene,” reads the press release. “A great connoisseur of Spain and its history, the director wants to explore in his work with the Orchestra and Choir the expression of our culture through music, especially in America. Nagano considers it essential to construct a narrative around the symphonic project that goes beyond the mere fact of interpretation.”

​“The deep cultural richness of Spain, as reflected through its language, history, arts, literature, music, and tradition, has inspired the international community throughout time,” Nagano commented. “It is an honour to have been asked by the OCNE to collaborate with them as they forge the next chapter of their important music tradition, connecting the current generation to Spain’s vibrant cultural relevance. OCNE looks forward as cultural ambassadors to carrying this great tradition into the 21st century.”