Yan Pascal Tortelier

Born into an intensely musical family, son of the late Paul Tortelier, he studied piano and violin from the age of four and at fourteen won first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatoire. Following general musical studies with Nadia Boulanger, Tortelier studied conducting with Franco Ferrara in Siena. Since then Yan Pascal Tortelier's career has included engagements with leading orchestras throughout Europe, North America, Japan and Australia.

In recognition of his outstanding work as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic between 1992 and 2003, Yan Pascal Tortelier has been given the title of the Conductor Laureate and continues working with the Orchestra regularly.

Yan Pascal Tortelier’s orchestration of Ravel's Piano Trio was premiered in 1992 and the following year received great critical acclaim at a highly successful London Proms performance with the BBC Philharmonic. A few seasons ago it was premiered at the Prague Spring Festival, in San Francisco, Tokyo and Melbourne. The work is available on CD as part of Tortelier's Debussy/Ravel cycle.

During recent seasons Yan Pascal Tortelier has worked with such orchestras as the London Symphony, Philharmonia and London Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala Milan, Radio Filharmonische Orkest Holland, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and in North America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco, Baltimore and Pittsburgh Symphony orchestras, Montreal Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Recent/future guest conducting engagements include return visits to the Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Francisco, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and London Symphony orchestras as well as Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre de Paris. Last season Yan Pascal Tortelier commenced the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.