Born in Paris, he studied music there and built a career as an orchestral musician before turning to conducting. From 1996 to 1998, he served as First Kapellmeister and Acting Music Director at the Vienna Volksoper. Subsequently, from 1994 to 2004, he was Music Director of the Liceu Theatre in Barcelona, and from 2002 to 2010 Music Director of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra until the 2017/2018 season, and of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 to 2018.
He has performed at numerous prestigious venues including the National and State Operas of Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, and Bavarian, as well as the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opera, and the Théâtre de la Monnaie. Since 1997, he has been a regular guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, and since 2002, at the Salzburg Festival. He has also collaborated with world-class orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He has released many CDs and DVDs and has won numerous awards in France and Austria.