29th April, 2007 Once again it has been a long time since I last wrote... I am now in Hong Kong, enjoying fantastic weather and a wonderful tour of Asia with the LSO and my friends Prank-Peter Zimmermann and Lang Lang. We have already been in Tokyo and China. Tomorrow to Taipei and then Malaysia before going home. As my position with the LSO is new this tour has been a great opportunity for us, to really get to know one another. Musically and personally. The repertoire is huge. Mahler, Dvorak, Berlioz and Beethoven symphonies... 6 different concertos.. Yet, we are all still smiling and, I hope, enjoying our music making. Starting in the next weeks I will be working with a journalist colleague of mine. We will speak on the phone every few weeks and he will write a regular column for this site. This means there will always be news and updates of my work and travels. This will not replace my own messages but will mean there is constant updating in between them!! See you soon!! 2nd January, 2007 After months of incation it may be a cliche to use the new year as an excise to get back to writing for the website, but I'll take it! 2006 was not the best year I can remember, personally and professionally it has been long and tiring, but I have learned a great deal and am looking forward to many exciting and, I hope, fulfilling experiences in 2007. I must apologise to all of you who visit the site and the great team of people who run it for my long silence since the last message. I am back now and want everyone to know that this is important for me and I am looking forward to sharing more of my thoughts and experiences with you. This year brings three important new relationships. As of today I begin my position as Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and in the last months I have taken up my principal guest position at the LSO and moved from Virgin Classics to Deutsche Grammophon. We start in Sweden later this month with 2 programmes, Bruckner 5 and Schumann's "Paradies und die Peri" I will be sure to tell you about this when it comes around. The LSO work begins a little later with a huge tour in Asia. After more than 10 years associated with Virgin/EMI this summer I moved record company. I have had a great time working with Alain Lanceron and everyone at Virgin, I even hope we made the odd good cd... With DG we have some very exciting plans and I am thrilled about this new step. Of course when it is time I will write here first about what we are going to do.. Anyway, I wish you all a happy new year and great times in 2007. 17th April, 2006 Last week I came back from a trip to Tokyo. This was the first time that I have worked with a Japanese orchestra, and the Mahler 2nd symphony with the Tokyo Philharmonic was a real highlight for me. The Mahler second is a piece I first really got to know when I played in a performance at the BBC Proms with the National Youth Orchestra conducted by Tadaaki Otaka. I was about 14 at the time, and already knew that I wanted to be a conductor. I remember talking with Mr. Otaka about this, who was very encouraging and inspiring. I will also never forget the thrill of playing this piece, I knew straight away that I would be counting the days until I would get the chance to conduct it! My first Mahler second as a conductor was my farewell concert in Trondheim, my first job. The most memorable concert of my time as Claudio Abbado's assistant was a Mahler Second with the Berlin Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. I know that Claudio made his Vienna Philharmonic debut with the piece, and Simon Rattle began his career and ended his time in Birmingham with it. So many special occasions and always the same piece! I have a good feeling that in Tokyo, especially in the second concert, we paid good tribute to this tradition. I was thrilled with the concentration and dedication of the orchestra. Many people asked me about the differences between Japanese and western orchestras. First of all I don't think you can group any orchestras together in this way. In every country, and often in the same city, you will find great contrasts between the strengths and weaknesses of different orchestras. Some things, such as playing truly quietly with security and good intonation, are difficult for everybody. Some specific musical characters, such as the very Viennese music in the middle movements of the Mahler symphony, are very hard to grasp whether one comes from London, Paris or Tokyo. The Tokyo Philharmonic plays with care and love. They are fine musicians with a desire to make music and that is what makes an orchestra valuable. Many thanks also to the Tokyo Opera Singers and our soloists Camilla and Katarina. My time in Tokyo was not only about work, however! Eating is an essential part of any trip... At the risk of not being able to get a table next time I come to town, let me recommend you a restaurant for the finest meat I have eaten anywhere on my travels. "KANTERA" 3-12-26 Daizawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0032 I can guarantee great food and wonderful hospitality. Have fun!! Other highlights for me were meeting many members of the audience through signings and our Open Rehearsal, and an interesting evening at the university with the Alban Berg society. My final memory of Tokyo is again musical. On my last night I was lucky enough, with my good friend and colleague Seikyo Kim, to get a ticket to hear Riccardo Muti conduct the Verdi Requiem. This was an awesome concert. It is rare to hear such passion and strength. Many friends of mine played in the concert and I was proud to hear them in such a beautiful concert. A great send off from a fine week in the cherry blossom! 19th February, 2006 Today for perhaps the first time I am writing from home. It seems to me that whenever I write I am in a different place, but this time thanks to the Wozzeck I am conducting at the Royal Opera I am in London. Since the new year I have been in Salzburg and Turin with the MCO and now here in London. We had a great time in Salzburg for the 250th birthday celebrations of everybody's favorite child prodigy! The Mozart fetish that has reached fever pitch this year is completely understandable and it is perfectly normal, indeed unavoidable, that we celebrate this most extraordinary of musicians on this very special birthday. The only thing I find disturbing is the concentration on Mozart's very early years. It seems to me that, while it is beyond comprehension that Mozart had the ability to write his childhood compositions, it is of course the  mature  works that made him the figure and genius that he was. That may seem obvious, but the story of a naive, innocent child genius is so attractive and easy to tell that it is in danger of obscuring his greatest achievements. Mozart was so much more than a prodigy and so much more than a little boy composing what God sang in his ear. Feel free to mail us at the website and argue if you like! Anyway, back to London, Wozzeck is coming along nicely but there is still much to do. I'll talk about that after we open on the 27th. Tomorrow is Liverpool against Manchester United in the FA Cup. United have won the last 7 straight encounters with Liverpool in this cup... Please, an eighth!! 30th December, 2005 Firstly let me wish everybody a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful new year. 2005 seems to have been an enormously long year for me, but full of happy memories and new friendships. The last part of my year was spent at La Scala conducting Idomeneo. My opera experiences in 2005 have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous but fortunately the experience in Milan was perhaps the most satisfying and thrilling yet. After the huge upheaval earlier in the year it was hard for everyone to get this production together in such a short time. We were able to gather a fantastic cast and team together thanks to the tireless work of the staff at the opera and my management who will all be glad to have a rest now! I must also thank my friends in Bremen, Dresden, Stockholm and the MCO who all were very helpful in making arrangements to make this possible. Most of all though my experience was about the wonderful orchestra and chorus at La Scala. Whatever the troubles may have been in the past these are fantastic people with infinite energy and skill. I really cannot wait until the next time. I have a little rest before returning to Stockholm in the new year, time to enjoy a little return to form at Manchester United, although not many of us cried over Mr Glazer losing fifteen million pounds in one night in December... I am also taking a greater interest in the other "Red Devils" at AC Milan. The guys there were extremely welcoming to me and it was great to watch football of such high quality. Now whenever I play Football Manager my first purchase will be Clarence Seedorf, a great guy to have on your side!