Major Openings

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

I'm months overdue on a big music director update, but last week's bombshell at the Boston Symphony reminded me that four of the big-budget U.S. orchestras now have music director openings:

• Boston Symphony, where there has been drama.
• Cleveland Orchestra, where there has not been drama. The orchestra announced in January, 2024, that Franz Welser-Möst would leave at the end of the 2026-27 season. Three years' notice, similar to MTT's three at SFS.
• SFS, where there has been drama, with Esa-Pekka Salonen deciding to part ways over differences with the board.
• LA Philharmonic, where there has not been drama. Gustavo Dudamel decided to move to the NY Philharmonic in February, 2023, and commences the new position with the 2026-27 season. Well, the return of Esa-Pekka Salonen in a non-music director position could be considered dramatic and could cause some conductors to rule out the appointment, because being music director when one of the best conductors in the world – who is also one of the best composers in the world – is in the office next door could be discouraging.

San Francisco Symphony Auditions

Davies Symphony Hall

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

San Francisco Symphony has a number of auditions coming up.

• Associate principal horn and assistant principal / utility horn. Two positions. This reflects the impact of hiring Diego Incertis Sánchez as principal horn: the principal should have input into hiring to fill the vacancies, because the principal will have a concept of how the horn section should sound and thus helps choose players who will create that sound.
• Associate principal bassoon. This position has been filled for the last year by former principal bassoon Stephen Paulson, so it appears he will be retiring from the orchestra after 48 years in that position.
• Section cello (multiple positions), perhaps reflecting retirements that haven't been announced yet.
• Section viola

 

SFS New Principal Horn

Diego Incertis Sánchez

Spanish horn player Diego Incertis Sánchez has been appointed principal horn of the San Francisco Symphony. He'll join the orchestra in January, two years after Robert Ward retired following 43 years with the orchestra, 16 of them as principal horn.

Incertis Sánchez, 28, is currently the principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra and previously held the same position with the Philharmonia Orchestra. (I can't tell if he held that position when a certain Esa-Pekka Salonen was chief conductor of the Philharmonia.) This is Salonen's last hire from his all-too-brief tenure as music director of SFS, where he hired many new musicians, including the new principal and associate principal flutes, principal cello, associate and assistant principal clarinets, associate principal concertmaster, and more.

Joshua Kosman's article on the appointment discusses the reasons Incertis Sánchez is relocating. I would like to add that while London and San Francisco are both very expensive cities, orchestral musicians in London are paid much less than their peers in the major U.S. orchestras.

This appointment leaves three openings in the horn section: associate principal (formerly held by Mark Almond, now the principal horn of the CSO), assistant principal (formerly held by Bruce Roberts, who retired), and utility horn (formerly held by Daniel Hawkins, now the principal horn of the Dallas Symphony). 

Tom Jacobs has also written about this appointment.

 

Still More Music Director Updates

Apparently I started this in late July, then managed to forget all about it. Here we go. There's some big news here.

• Jakub Hrůša will succeed Semyon Bychkov at the Czech Philharmonic. Bychkov's tenure there concludes in 2028.
• Australian conductor Ingrid Martin will become assistant conductor of the Detroit Symphony in September, 2025.
• Pola Benke becomes assistant conductor of the Pacific Symphony on August 1, 2025.
• Leonard Slatkin will be artistic advisor to the Nashville Symphony for three years, as they search for a new music director.
• Patrick Summers to step down from Houston Grand Opera at the end of this season (2025-26), after 27 years as their music director.
• James Gaffigan to succeed Patrick Summers at Houston Grand Opera. He'll be music director designate for 2026-27, then becomes music director in 2027-28.

New updates (major thanks to reader Geo. for most of these!):

Open positions:

• San Francisco Symphony, with the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen
• Orchestre Philharmonique of Monte-Carlo, in August, 2026 , when Kazuki Yamada leaves
• National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, in 2026 when Alexander Shelley leaves.
• Symphony Tacoma when Sara Ionnides leaves in 2026
• Boston Baroque, when Martin Pearlman leaves.
• Berkeley Symphony, when Joseph Young leaves.
• Milwaukee Symphony
• New Jersey Symphony, when Xian Zhang leaves at the end of the 2027-28 season.
• Ulster Orchestra, when Daniele Rustioni leaves
• Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, when Daniel Harding leaves
• Oslo Philharmonic, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Orchestre de Paris, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, when Santu-Matias Rouvali leaves in 2025
• Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Dutch National Opera, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Bergen Philharmonic
• Phoenix Symphony
• Cleveland Orchestra, as of June, 2027
• Lahti Symphony, when Dalia Stasevka leaves.
• Antwerp Symphony, with the departure of Elim Chan.
• Paris Opera is currently without a music director.
• Nashville Symphony, when Giancarlo Guerrero leaves.
• Deutsche Oper Berlin, when Donald Runnicles leaves.
• Rottedam Philharmonic, when Lahav Shani leaves.
• Los Angeles Philharmonic, at the start` of the 2026-27 season, when Gustavo Dudamel leaves for NY.
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda. The Teatro Regio has not named a new music director.
• Marin Symphony
• Vienna Staatsoper, when Philippe Jordan leaves at the end of 2025.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting). The big mystery, to me, is why an orchestra hasn't snapped up Susanna Mälkki. Slightly lesser mystery: Henrik Nanasi, whose superb Cosi fan tutte is still lingering in my ears.

• Ken-David Masur
• Joseph Young
• Kirill Karabits
• Marc Albrecht
• Markus Stenz
• Esa-Pekka Salonen, if he wants such a position again
• James Conlon, if he wants such a position again.
• Dalia Stasevska (though her contract at Lahti has been extended by a year)
• Elim Chan
• Kirill Karabits
• Tito Muñoz 
• Andrey Boreyko
• Osmo Vänskä
• Susanna Mälkki, who left the Helsinki Philharmonic at the end of 2022-23.
• MGT (apparently does not want a full-time job, as of early 2022)
• Miguel Harth-Bedoya (seems settled in at Baylor)
• Sian Edwards
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Philippe Jordan, eventually
• Franz Welser-Möst, if he wants such a job

And closed:

• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra appoints conductor, harpsichordist, solo bassoonist, and Olivier Award winner Peter Whelan, as of the 2026-27 season
• English National Opera: Andre de Ridder becomes music director in 2027
• Antwerp Symphony: Marc Albrecht becomes chief conductor in 2026
• Teatro Regio Turin: Andrea Battistoni became music director this past January
• Residentie Orchestra, The Hague: Jun Markl is now chief conductor, after Anja Bihlmaier finished her 4 years there
• Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra: Andre de Ridder will leave in 2027 to go to ENO
• Teatro alla Scala: Riccardo Chailly leaves at the end of 2026. Myung-Whun Chung begins at the start of 2027
• Norwegian Radio Orchestra: Holly Hyun Choe becomes principal conductor in January 2026
• Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie: Marzena Diakun becomes chief conductor in 2026
• Delaware Symphony Orchestra: Michelle Di Russo becomes music director this fall
• Korean National Symphony Orchestra: Roberto Abbado becomes music director in January 2026
• Domingo Hindoyan will be the next music director of L.A. Opera
• Iván López Reynoso is the new music director of the Atlanta Opera
• Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, with the appointment of Markus Poschner
• Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, with the appointment of Kent Nagano
• Eugene (OR), with the appointment of Alex Prior
• Utah Symphony, with the appointment of Markus Poschner.
• Bournemouth Symphony appoints Mark Wigglesworth as Chief Conductor (some time ago).
• Colorado Symphony appoints Peter Oundjian, effective with the 2025-26 season.
• Pacific Symphony appoints Alexander Shelley to succeed Carl St. Clair, starting with the 2026-27 season.
• Milwaukee Symphony, when Ken-David Masur leaves at the end of 2025-26.
• Seattle Symphony, with the appointment of Xian Zhang as of the 2025-26 season.
• Edward Gardner starts as music director of Norwegian National Opera this season,
• Sarasota Orchestra: Giancarlo Guerrero has been named music director, as of 2025.
• Hong Kong Philharmonic: Tarmo Peltokoski becomes music director in 2026.

Older closed appointments

Yet More Music Director Updates

New updates (major thanks to reader Geo. for most of these!):

• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra appoints conductor, harpsichordist, solo bassoonist, and Olivier Award winner Peter Whelan, as of the 2026-27 season
• English National Opera: Andre de Ridder becomes music director in 2027
• Antwerp Symphony: Marc Albrecht becomes chief conductor in 2026
• Teatro Regio Turin: Andrea Battistoni became music director this past January
• Residentie Orchestra, The Hague: Jun Markl is now chief conductor, after Anja Bihlmaier finished her 4 years there
• Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra: Andre de Ridder will leave in 2027 to go to ENO
• Teatro alla Scala: Riccardo Chailly leaves at the end of 2026. Myung-Whun Chung begins at the start of 2027
• Norwegian Radio Orchestra: Holly Hyun Choe becomes principal conductor in January 2026
• Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie: Marzena Diakun becomes chief conductor in 2026
• Delaware Symphony Orchestra: Michelle Di Russo becomes music director this fall
• Korean National Symphony Orchestra: Roberto Abbado becomes music director in January 2026
• Domingo Hindoyan will be the next music director of L.A. Opera
• Iván López Reynoso is the new music director of the Atlanta Opera

Open positions:

• San Francisco Symphony, with the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen
• Orchestre Philharmonique of Monte-Carlo, in August, 2026 , when Kazuki Yamada leaves
• National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, in 2026 when Alexander Shelley leaves.
• Czech Philharmonic, when Semyon Bychkov leaves in 2028
• Symphony Tacoma when Sara Ionnides leaves in 2026
• Boston Baroque, when Martin Pearlman leaves.
• Berkeley Symphony, when Joseph Young leaves.
• Milwaukee Symphony, when Ken-David Masur leaves.
• New Jersey Symphony, when Xian Zhang leaves at the end of the 2027-28 season.
• Ulster Orchestra, when Daniele Rustioni leaves
• Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, when Daniel Harding leaves
• Oslo Philharmonic, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Orchestre de Paris, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, when Santu-Matias Rouvali leaves in 2025
• Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Dutch National Opera, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Bergen Philharmonic
• Phoenix Symphony
• Cleveland Orchestra, as of June, 2027
• Lahti Symphony, when Dalia Stasevka leaves.
• Antwerp Symphony, with the departure of Elim Chan.
• Paris Opera is currently without a music director.
• Nashville Symphony, when Giancarlo Guerrero leaves.
• Deutsche Oper Berlin, when Donald Runnicles leaves.
• Rottedam Philharmonic, when Lahav Shani leaves.
• Los Angeles Philharmonic, at the start` of the 2026-27 season, when Gustavo Dudamel leaves for NY.
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda. The Teatro Regio has not named a new music director.
• Marin Symphony
• Vienna Staatsoper, when Philippe Jordan leaves at the end of 2025.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting). The big mystery, to me, is why an orchestra hasn't snapped up Susanna Mälkki. Slightly lesser mystery: Henrik Nanasi, whose superb Cosi fan tutte is still lingering in my ears.

• Ken-David Masur
• Joseph Young
• Kirill Karabits
• Marc Albrecht
• Markus Stenz
• Esa-Pekka Salonen, if he wants such a position again
• James Conlon, if he wants such a position again.
• Dalia Stasevska (though her contract at Lahti has been extended by a year)
• Elim Chan
• Kirill Karabits
• Tito Muñoz 
• Andrey Boreyko
• Osmo Vänskä
• Susanna Mälkki, who left the Helsinki Philharmonic at the end of 2022-23.
• MGT (apparently does not want a full-time job, as of early 2022)
• Miguel Harth-Bedoya (seems settled in at Baylor)
• Sian Edwards
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Philippe Jordan, eventually
• Franz Welser-Möst, if he wants such a job

And closed:

• Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, with the appointment of Markus Poschner
• Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, with the appointment of Kent Nagano
• Eugene (OR), with the appointment of Alex Prior
• Utah Symphony, with the appointment of Markus Poschner.
• Bournemouth Symphony appoints Mark Wigglesworth as Chief Conductor (some time ago).
• Colorado Symphony appoints Peter Oundjian, effective with the 2025-26 season.
• Pacific Symphony appoints Alexander Shelley to succeed Carl St. Clair, starting with the 2026-27 season.
• Milwaukee Symphony, when Ken-David Masur leaves at the end of 2025-26.
• Seattle Symphony, with the appointment of Xian Zhang as of the 2025-26 season.
• Edward Gardner starts as music director of Norwegian National Opera this season,
• Sarasota Orchestra: Giancarlo Guerrero has been named music director, as of 2025.
• Hong Kong Philharmonic: Tarmo Peltokoski becomes music director in 2026.

Older closed appointments

Late Friday News Drop, LA Opera Edition

If you're in politics, late Friday is a notoriously typical time for press releases containing bad news. Apparently that's not the case in the arts, because at 8:59 p.m. tonight (and again at 10:59), I received email from LA Opera naming Domingo Hindoyan (full name Domingo Garcia Hindoyan) Music Director Designate of the company. He'll succeed James Conlon as music director on July 1, 2026.

Hindoyan is variously described as Venezuelan-Armenian and Venezuelan-Swiss. His father is Venezuelan; his mother was born in Syria and is of Armenian descent. A Spanish-speaking conductor of Armenian descent will fit in very well, culturally, in Los Angeles, which has many Spanish-speaking residents and one of the largest populations of people of Armenian descent outside Armenia. 

Oh, the Swiss part? He lives in Switzerland with his wife and their two children. She is the Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, a big star.

I visit L.A. at least once a year (given the...unsatisfactory 2025-26 SFS schedule, maybe more than once a year), and I'm looking forward to hearing Hindoyan, who I believe has not conducted at SFS. Conlon's are big shoes to fill, and I wish Hindoyan all success in his new position.

Full press release here.

Music Director Updates

I'm probably missing some, but here are some more music directors in motion:

• Semyon Bychkov to leave the Czech Philharmonic when his contract expires at the end of the 2027-28 season.
• Alexander Shelley departs the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in 2026.
• Kazuki Yamada to step down from the Orchestre Philharmonique of Monte-Carlo when his contract ends in August, 2026.

Open positions:

• Orchestre Philharmonique of Monte-Carlo, in August, 2026 
• National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, in 2026 when Alexander Shelley leaves.
• Czech Philharmonic, when Semyon Bychkov leaves in 2028
• Symphony Tacoma when Sara Ionnides leaves in 2026
• Boston Baroque, when Martin Pearlman leaves.
• Berkeley Symphony, when Joseph Young leaves.
• Milwaukee Symphony, when Ken-David Masur leaves.
• New Jersey Symphony, when Xian Zhang leaves at the end of the 2027-28 season.
• Ulster Orchestra, when Daniele Rustioni leaves
• Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, when Daniel Harding leaves
• Oslo Philharmonic, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Orchestre de Paris, when Klaus Mäkelä moves on in 2027
• Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, when Santu-Matias Rouvali leaves in 2025
• Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• Dutch National Opera, because of the departure of Lorenzo Viotti in 2025
• English National Opera
• Bergen Philharmonic
• LA. Opera, at the end of 2025-26
• San Francisco Symphony, at the end of 2024-25
• Phoenix Symphony
• Cleveland Orchestra, as of June, 2027
• Lahti Symphony, when Dalia Stasevka leaves.
• Antwerp Symphony, with the departure of Elim Chan.
• Paris Opera is currently without a music director.
• Nashville Symphony, when Giancarlo Guerrero leaves.
• Deutsche Oper Berlin, when Donald Runnicles leaves.
• Rottedam Philharmonic, when Lahav Shani leaves.
• Los Angeles Philharmonic, as of 2026-27, when Gustavo Dudamel leaves for NY.
• Teatro Regio Turin: Open now with departure of Gianandrea Noseda. The Teatro Regio has not named a new music director.
• Marin Symphony, at the end of 2022-23.
• Vienna Staatsoper, when Philippe Jordan leaves at the end of 2025.

Conductors looking for jobs (that is, as of the near future, or now, they do not have a posting). The big mystery, to me, is why an orchestra hasn't snapped up Susanna Mälkki. Slightly lesser mystery: Henrik Nanasi, whose superb Cosi fan tutte is still lingering in my ears.

• Ken-David Masur
• Joseph Young
• Kirill Karabits
• Marc Albrecht
• Markus Stenz
• Esa-Pekka Salonen, if he wants such a position again
• James Conlon, if he wants such a position again.
• Dalia Stasevska (though her contract at Lahti has been extended by a year)
• Elim Chan
• Kirill Karabits
• Tito Muñoz 
• Andrey Boreyko
• Osmo Vänskä
• Susanna Mälkki, who left the Helsinki Philharmonic at the end of 2022-23.
• MGT (apparently does not want a full-time job, as of early 2022)
• Miguel Harth-Bedoya (seems settled in at Baylor)
• Sian Edwards
• Ingo Metzmacher
• Jac van Steen
• Ilan Volkov
• Aleksandr Markovic
• Lothar Koenigs
• Henrik Nanasi
• Philippe Jordan, eventually
• Franz Welser-Möst, if he wants such a job

And closed:

• Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, with the appointment of Markus Poschner
• Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España, with the appointment of Kent Nagano
• Eugene (OR), with the appointment of Alex Prior
• Utah Symphony, with the appointment of Markus Poschner.
• Bournemouth Symphony appoints Mark Wigglesworth as Chief Conductor (some time ago).
• Colorado Symphony appoints Peter Oundjian, effective with the 2025-26 season.
• Pacific Symphony appoints Alexander Shelley to succeed Carl St. Clair, starting with the 2026-27 season.
• Milwaukee Symphony, when Ken-David Masur leaves at the end of 2025-26.
• Seattle Symphony, with the appointment of Xian Zhang as of the 2025-26 season.
• Edward Gardner starts as music director of Norwegian National Opera this season,
• Sarasota Orchestra: Giancarlo Guerrero has been named music director, as of 2025.
• Hong Kong Philharmonic: Tarmo Peltokoski becomes music director in 2026.
• Tokyo Symphony, with the appointment of Lorenzo Viotti.
• Oakland Symphony, where Kedrick Armstrong succeeds the late Michael Morgan.
• Minnesota Opera: closed with the appointment of Christopher Franklin.
• The Chicago Symphony Orchestra gets to share Klaus Mäkelä with the Concertgebouw.
• The Hallé Orchestra's next conductor will be Kahchun Wong.
• Marin Alsop becomes principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, I believe succeeding Nathalie Stutzmann.
• Simon Rattle becomes principal guest conductor of the Czech Philharmonic.
• John Storgards will becomes chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic.
• Update and correction: San Francisco Chamber Orchestra was unable to hire Cosette Justo Valdés. Instead, Jory Fankuchen, a violinist in the orchestra, has been named Principal Conductor and will lead this season's programs.
• Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra: Cristian Mačelaru becomes music director in 2025.
• Indianapolis Symphony hires Jun Markel, effective September 1, 2024.
• Andris Nelsons renewed his contract with the Boston Symphony. He's now on an evergreen rolling contract, which will continue as long as he and the orchestra are happy with each other. MTT had one of these at SFS.
• Shanghai Symphony, with the appointment of Long Yu.
• Virginia Symphony, with the appointment of Eric Jacobsen.
• Warsaw Philharmonic, with the appointment of Krzysztof Urbański.
• Bern Symphony, with the appointment of Krzysztof Urbański.
• Berlin State Opera, with the appointment of Christian Thielemann.
• Dresden Philharmonic, with the appointment of Donald Runnicles.
• New York Philharmonic, with the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel. Note that Jaap van Zweden leaves in 2024 and there will be a two-season gap before Dudamel arrives.
• Helsinki Philharmonic: Jukka-Pekka Saraste to succeed Susanna Mälkki.
• Staatskapelle Dresden, with the appointment of Daniele Gatti.
• Seoul Philharmonic appoints Jaap van Zweden.
• Royal Opera appoints Jakub Hrůša to succeed Antonio Pappano.