(Credit: © Marc Brenner)

The NHK Symphony Orchestra and its Chairman Mr. Takuya Nemoto have announced that Tugan Sokhiev will take up the post of Music Director from September 2028 at the start of the 2028-29 season.

Sokhiev first appeared with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in October 2008 and delivered a striking performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. He went on to conduct the orchestra in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, developing a close artistic relationship with the orchestra.

In a statement Sokhiev said, “When I first worked with the musicians of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2008, I knew immediately that I was in the presence of an orchestra with a strong identity and sense of history. I didn’t know, of course, at that time where my relationship with the orchestra would lead, but through our many collaborations over the years, the versatility of this orchestra in different repertoire and the quality of its musicians, who are of the highest order, never fails to impress me. I feel privileged that my relationship with the orchestra has developed very organically, so that whenever I arrive in Tokyo, I have a sense of coming to a place where I can really concentrate and focus on making music with these wonderful musicians in the best conditions possible. It is also an enormous pleasure to have the opportunity to spend time in Japan and meet wonderful audiences. That we are able to bring people in Japan together through music is extremely precious to me.”

Sokhiev is a recognized conductor who has performed with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Sächsischen Staatskapelle Dresden, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as at opera houses including the Wiener Staatsoper and Opéra national de Paris.