One of the world's top conductors, Kent Nagano, brings Bavaria's State Orchestra and
the Audi Youth Choir Academy to sing for Pope Benedict in the Paul VI audience hall
on Saturday evening. The programme features Anton Bruckner's final symphony No.9 in
D minor, dedicated to "the beloved God" as well as his Te Deum , performed by soloists
from the Bavarian Opera Choir and the 92 member strong youth choir funded by the German
car company. Philippa Hitchen caught up with the Californian conductor just before
the concert to find out about his musical selection, about his feelings ahead of this
first performance in the Vatican and about why he's so committed to working with young
musicians.....
Listen:
"The combination
of a deep musical training with an involvement in the society... it gave me such a
sense of optimism that the next generation is really coming forward with a very serious
commitment to the arts..."
"(The Te Deum) is a very challenging work for all
voices, so challenging in fact that it's not often one has a chance to hear it performed.....but
I think that we're all very positive that what we bring now to the Vatican will be
something special."
"I've never been here before but ...the Vatican is a symbol
and not just tied to one religion...it stands for much more...including history, tradition,
art and spirituality....and for all these reasons it's a great honour"