Kent Nagano, strongly rumored to be the leading candidate to replace Charles Dutoit at the helm of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, seems to have Canadian critics and audiences eating out of the palm of his hand these days, and his latest performances with the MSO are garnering rave reviews. “The audience was now enamoured. Coughs were stifled and allowed to burst forth only between the movements (instead of peppering the music with an independent staccato), and when the work was done, the crowd roared its approval. Musicians beamed, Nagano beamed and the audience was determined to show him they’d love him to bits if only he said yes.”