In its 75th anniversary year, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed a new chief guest conductor, Gianadrea Noseda. The Italian came to public attention when he held the same position for the Mariinsky Theatre in the late 1990s, as a protégé of Valery Gergiev. These days though his status is rather higher. Having recently stepped down as principal conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, he still runs the Teatro Regio di Torino and has a string of fine recordings for the Chandos label under his baton.

He joins the IPO at a time when its own music director, Zubin Mehta, is celebrating 50 years of conducting the orchestra. In a press release Avi Shoshani, the IPO’s secretary general, said of the new appointment, “It was only the natural continuation of the beautiful relationship established between Gianandrea and the orchestra.” Noseda responded, “To be part of this great orchestra’s musical history and future is humbling for me.”

Noseda, who conducted the Philharmonic at the beginning of May for a clutch of concerts featuring the violinist Joshua Bell and the pianist Bishara Haroni, will conduct the orchestra every season. His next scheduled appearance with them though is not until January 2012, with a series of concerts including a rarely-performed Clementi symphony, restored and completed by Alfredo Casella (Noseda fell in love with the Turin-born Casella’s music last year when he recorded his Second Symphony for Chandos, and a second disc of Casella is on its way).