in the late 1980s he started to become known as a conductor. he was principal conductor of the royal philharmonic orchestra from 1987 to 1994, and of the czech philharmonic from 1998 to 2003. he became conductor (musical director) of the nhk symphony orchestra in 2004. he toured with them in 2005, taking them to vienna for their first concert in the famous concert hall called the musikverein. in 2006 he took them to seoul and then to the united states where they played in many cities including san francisco, los angeles (walt disney concert hall), boston and new york city (carnegie hall). he also played with the sydney symphony orchestra in stresa (italy) in 2010.