Silver nails and leather tops — the new faces of classical music

Times

a day ago

It was some way into Yuja Wang's rendition of Einojuhani Rautavaara's Piano Concerto No 1 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, around the time she was slamming her right forearm down on the keyboard while her left hand did impossible things at impossible speed, that I realised that things were changing. You see, I do love classical music, but I've never been a huge fan of the piano. It's never really moved me in the way an orchestra can. But this pianist challenged that in the space of a single performance (and the multiple encores that followed it).
Wang was playing with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra made up of students of the Curtis Institute of Music, which is where she studied from the age of 15. She was being conducted by the Canadian phenomenon Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who is head of conducting there. The two of them cut quite a dash on stage — she in a magenta evening dress with crystals, slit to the thigh, and he in a leather Nehru-collared shirt with silver cufflinks, black tapered trousers, black Christian Louboutin evening slippers with diamond bows, and shiny silver fingernails.
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Both Wang and Nézet-Séguin are committed to bringing new audiences into classical music. Arguably their megawatt wardrobes (and the conductor's regular hair-colour changes) are all part of the attempt to break down barriers of perceived old-fashioned formality that can make classical music and opera seem forbidding. 'It's what is called a Gesamtkunstwerk,' says Wang of her choice of outfits, referencing the German idea of a blending of multiple art forms to create a 'total work of art'. 'It's about being a whole. It's not just the fact of coming on stage. Otherwise people would listen to a recording, or Apple Music… There's a whole aspect of energy [at] work on stage.'
The other thing that these two have in common, apart from being at the height of their international careers, is that both are Rolex testimonees — Wang since 2009 and Nézet-Séguin since 2024. As such they are involved in the Swiss watch company's Perpetual Arts Initiative, which has been running for half a century supporting artists and arts institutions. This initiative covers not only music, but also visual arts, dance, theatre, cinema, literature and architecture. Where classical music is concerned, the first testimonee for Rolex was the soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in 1976.
Since then there have been many other household names on the Rolex roster, including the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and the conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Rolex now also supports many of the world's most acclaimed musical organisations, from the Vienna Philharmonic to the Salzburg Festival, and from the Paris Opera and Teatro alla Scala in Milan to Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Royal Ballet and Opera in London. Wang is clear about the importance of the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative, saying she is 'grateful for Rolex's support'.
'Even from the time of Bach, the beginning of classical music, there's always patronage involved. We wouldn't have heard all the symphonies by Mozart if nobody had commissioned them. So we always need that support.'
Another famous name that the Swiss watchmaker works with is the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the largest classical music institution in North America and, according to its general manager, Peter Gelb, the world's biggest purpose-built opera house.
And so it is that over a weekend I am in the States at Rolex's invitation to meet Gelb, Wang and Nézet-Séguin to see the work of the firm's Perpetual Arts Initiative at first hand. The day after the concert in Philadelphia I watch the conductor again, this time in New York leading the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in Verdi's Aida. But first I chat to Gelb in his office, where he is sitting in front of a large abstract painting by Rashid Johnson.
'I believe that it's very important for the future of the art form to attract new audiences, younger audiences, diverse audiences. It's necessary to have operas that tell stories of today,' he says. 'This year, for example, we have three Met premieres taking place. Most recently we had Jake Heggie's [2010] opera Moby-Dick. And the actual opening night of the season was a new opera by Jeanine Tesori, a very celebrated composer, called Grounded, which is about a female fighter pilot who becomes a drone operator.' He explains that Tesori is the first female composer to open a season at the Met in its 141 years. 'We are a company that is trying to keep the art form moving forward creatively, because no art form can survive if it is stuck in the past.'
But for this arts administrator this is not just about the art. It's much more fundamental than that. 'Civilisation without art is not very civilised. And unfortunately, in the world in which we live today, there's a great de-emphasis of art and culture. It's our duty — the duty of those people who have jobs like mine — to fight to keep it alive.'
The Met receives no government funding, so Gelb explains that Rolex's support is crucial. 'Their association with companies like the Met has a direct beneficial impact, economically, of course, but also… they're providing a valuable contribution to developing artists in a very significant way.'
Rolex's brand activities, however, are still more associated with the tennis court or endurance racing than the stage. And over my two-day immersion in the watchmaker's arts programme, the comparison with sports keeps coming up. Wang says of being a musician: 'It's like sports people… I think you just kind of try to get in the zone. So much of it is physical, you have to be in shape physically.' As for Nézet-Séguin, you can't watch him conduct Aida without thinking he's essentially engaged in a three-and-a-half-hour marathon. The physicality of his performance is striking. 'To conduct, it's a very intense thing,' he explains. 'I sweat a lot, it's a very athletic experience.' As a result he has a disciplined regime: 'I treat myself like a sports person. I don't drink a lot. I eat well. I have to really take care of myself.'
The conductor has several affiliations. There's the gig at the Curtis Institute of Music as head of conducting, plus multiple posts as music director — of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal (an appointment for life) and the Metropolitan Opera. Splitting his time between three cities, he's constantly on the road. But he says this energises him. The only downside is he misses his three cats in Canada, though he has created a playlist for cats on Spotify (look it up) to keep them happy when he's away.
Nézet-Séguin is a bundle of energy and a natural showman. His style is to enthuse orchestras to get them to give their best. The costume department at the Met makes him a new outfit to wear for each new production, inspired by the opera in question. It turns out that the silver fingernails he's rocking at the moment are to match a silver/grey shirt he will wear to conduct the opening night of Richard Strauss's Salome in a few days' time. For the golden opulence of Aida's set he has a glittering gold jacket. He worried the nails would clash.
But don't be fooled into thinking that the theatricals are a sign of style over substance. Nézet-Séguin's aim, like his colleague at the Met, Peter Gelb, is to keep opera and classical music relevant to new audiences. Recently he had a hit on this front when he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for the score of the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, starring Bradley Cooper, for which he won a Grammy.'What I want is to encourage the art form to be more open,' he says. 'So that everybody feels that they are welcome. I still feel that this is maybe the biggest hurdle.'
The conductor is doing what he can to bring about change by commissioning new work with Peter Gelb. Nézet-Séguin talks of working with an African American composer, Terence Blanchard, an opera in Spanish by a Mexican, Daniel Catán, and a new work by an Asian composer, Huang Ruo. 'It seems very simple, but actually this has created such a difference in how people in New York perceive their opera house,' he explains. 'And, of course, some of them are only going to come when they recognise themselves [reflected in the work] — but actually this has been a lot more than we expected. And a lot are coming back. That was the key element for me.'
This Rolex testimonee sees the long-term support of the arts from the watch brand as hugely important for his endeavour. 'Fidelity — trust — is what attracted me to be with Rolex.'
His favourite Rolex, which he is wearing today, is a Day-Date in 18ct Everose gold. 'This one gives me brightness, it brings joy. It's shiny without being bling, and when I conduct rehearsals — because during the concert I can't really wear it, and anyway we wouldn't see it because of the outfit — but for the rehearsals I always do. Orchestras love it. It makes them smile. I ask, 'Oh, is it too bright?' And they say, 'No, no, it's just great. It allows us to participate in your movement even more.'
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