# Prince Albert II Bids an Emotional Farewell to Monte-Carlo Philharmonic's Kazuki Yamada

> Prince Albert II presided over an open air concert in the Cour d'Honneur on August 6, marking conductor Kazuki Yamada's final appearance after nearly a decade as the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic's artistic and musical director.

- Source: Monaco Day
- Canonical URL: https://monacoday.com/en/article/prince-albert-farewell-kazuki-yamada-monte-carlo-philharmonic
- Author: Monaco Day Staff
- Section: Society
- Published: 2026-08-12T10:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-12T10:00:00.000Z
- Tags: Prince Albert II, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Kazuki Yamada
- French edition: https://monacoday.com/article/prince-albert-farewell-kazuki-yamada-monte-carlo-philharmonic

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Prince Albert II presided over an emotional evening in the Cour d'Honneur of the Prince's Palace on August 6, as the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra closed its summer season with the final appearance of Kazuki Yamada as artistic and musical director. The open air setting, with the illuminated palace as its backdrop, has hosted the orchestra's summer concerts since 1959, giving the farewell a stage the conductor had grown deeply familiar with over nearly a decade.

Yamada was appointed artistic director in 2016 and spent the years since raising the orchestra's international profile through touring performances and high profile collaborations. The closing programme reflected that reach, pairing works by Franz Liszt and Maurice Ravel, with French pianist Alexandre Kantorow taking the solo part in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 alongside the orchestra Yamada had led for so long.

The evening closed with a standing ovation and a presentation of flowers for the departing conductor, and Prince Albert II stepped forward personally to embrace him before the audience. The gesture underlined how central the orchestra's summer tradition has become to the principality's own cultural calendar, one the sovereign has consistently prioritised supporting.

Yamada's departure opens the door for incoming music director Nathalie Stutzmann, who takes over an orchestra whose international standing has been considerably strengthened over the outgoing director's tenure. For Monaco's cultural institutions, the transition marks less an ending than a handover, with the Cour d'Honneur's own decades long concert tradition continuing into its next chapter regardless of who stands on the podium.

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Originally published by Monaco Day. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://monacoday.com/en/article/prince-albert-farewell-kazuki-yamada-monte-carlo-philharmonic.