No. 2045 Subscription (Program B)

In more than seventy years of his career, Herbert Blomstedt has acquired the unrestricted respect of the musical world. His work as a conductor is inseparably linked to his religious and human ethos, and his interpretations combine great faithfulness to the score and analytical precision, with a soulfulness that awakens the music to pulsating life.
Born in the USA to Swedish parents and educated in Uppsala, New York, Darmstadt and Basel, Herbert Blomstedt gave his conducting debut in 1954 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently served as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, the Swedish and Danish Radio Orchestras, and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Later, he became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, Chief Conductor of the NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg (now NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra) and Music Director of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. His former orchestras in San Francisco, Leipzig, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Dresden all honored him with the title of Conductor Laureate. Since 2019, he is an Honorary Member of the Wiener Philharmoniker.
Herbert Blomstedt holds several Honorary Doctorates, is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and was awarded the German Great Cross of Merit with Star. Over the years, all leading orchestras around the globe have been fortunate to secure the services of the highly respected Swedish conductor. At the high age of 98, he continues to be at the helm of all leading international orchestras with enormous presence, verve and artistic drive.
Since performing together for the first time in 1981, Herbert Blomstedt has been conducting the NHK Symphony Orchestra almost every year for over 40 years; he was Honorary Conductor 1986–2016, and currently Honorary Laureate. His previous appearance was in October 2024.

Born in Geneva, Sébastian Jacot studied at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique Genève in the class of Jacques Zoon and obtained his master’s degree as soloist and in teaching in 2010.
He has received many prizes including first prize at the Kobe, Nielsen, and the ARD competitions.
At the age of eighteen, he was appointed assistant principal flute in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, a post where he remained for two years. He then returned to Europe and played in orchestras such as the Orchestra Mozart Bologna under Claudio Abbado, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Münchener Kammerorchester.
Jacot has held the position of principal solo flute of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and the Ensemble Contrechamps in Geneva, and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. Besides recitals and masterclasses, Sébastian Jacot is also an enthusiastic chamber music musician, and regularly takes part in international festivals on every continent.
Upcoming highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Matsumoto, concerts and masterclasses in Korea, and a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Vienna, Prague, and Bucharest.
This is his debut with the NHK Symphony Orchestra.