Yan Pascal Tortelier

Yan Pascal Tortelier, son of the cellist Paul Tortelier, began studying piano and violin at age four. At fourteen he won first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatory and made his debut as a soloist with the London Philharmonic. Following general music studies with Nadia Boulanger, he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara in Siena. He made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 1998, when he conducted the first SFS performances of his orchestration of Ravel’s Piano Trio. This work, which was premiered in 1992, is available on CD as part of his cycle of Debussy and Ravel orchestral works with the Ulster Orchestra. Mr. Tortelier made his most recent appearances with the San Francisco Symphony in 2011.

Yan Pascal Tortelier served as principal conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2011, and is now that orchestra’s Guest Conductor of Honor. He was chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 1992 to 2003 and is now Conductor Emeritus. He served as principal guest conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2008. Mr. Tortelier was associate conductor of the Orchestre du Capitole in Toulouse from 1974 to 1983, and from 1989 to 1992 he was principal conductor and artistic director of the Ulster Orchestra. He also holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Yan Pascal Tortelier has appeared with many of the world’s major orchestras, including the London Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In recent seasons, Mr. Tortelier has made return visits to the Minnesota Orchestra and Royal Flemish Philharmonic, conducted UK concerts and a tour of China with the London Philharmonic, and toured South America and Europe with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of his current season include return visits to the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, and Baltimore symphony orchestras. He also undertakes a long-awaited return to Australia, where he appears with the Melbourne, Adelaide, and West Australian symphony orchestras.

Yan Pascal Tortelier’s many recordings with the BBC Philharmonic for the Chandos label include a recording of Dukas’s Symphony in C, which was awarded the Diapason d’Or, and a recording of works by Lutosławski, Fauré, and Roussel. Recent releases for Chandos include the Ravel piano concertos coupled with Debussy’s Fantaisie, with pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, and an album of works by Florent Schmitt with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Tortelier holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster in recognition of his work in Northern Ireland. 

(February 2013)