This is a non-exhaustive list of principal conductors by orchestra, principally for orchestras with pages on Misplaced Pages, classified by country and by city. The term 'principal conductor' is used here as an umbrella term to encompass such titles as:
- Principal conductor
- Music director
- Chief conductor
The term 'music director' is more common in the US and Canada, whereas 'principal conductor' or 'chief conductor' is more prevalent elsewhere. For orchestras which have both a music director and a principal conductor, such as the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the person with the title of music director is given preference by hierarchy.
Orchestras which choose not to have principal conductors, such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, are omitted from this list. Likewise, principal conductors for opera companies are omitted, unless the orchestra of that opera company performs orchestral concerts under a separate name.
Argentina
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Buenos Aires | Argentine National Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) |
Armenia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Yerevan | Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra | Eduard Topchjan | Armenian |
Yerevan | National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia | Vahan Mardirossian | Armenian |
Yerevan | Armenian State Symphony Orchestra | Sergey Smbatyan | Armenian |
Gyumri | KOHAR Symphony Orchestra and Choir | Natalie Galstyan | Armenian |
Australia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Adelaide | Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | Mark Wigglesworth (designate, effective 2025) | British |
Brisbane | Queensland Symphony Orchestra | Umberto Clerici | Italian |
Canberra | Canberra Symphony Orchestra | Jessica Cottis | Australian |
Hobart | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra | Eivind Aadland | Norwegian |
Melbourne | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martín | Spanish |
Perth | West Australian Symphony Orchestra | Asher Fisch | Israeli |
Sydney | Australian Chamber Orchestra | Richard Tognetti | Australian |
Sydney | Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Simone Young | Australian |
Austria
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bregenz | Vorarlberg Symphony | Gérard Korsten | South African |
Drassburg | Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn Philharmonie | Nicolas Altstaedt | German |
Graz | Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester | Roland Kluttig | German |
Linz | Ars Antiqua Austria | Gunar Letzbor | Austrian |
Linz | Bruckner Orchestra Linz | Markus Poschner | German |
Salzburg | Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg | Riccardo Minasi | Italian |
Vienna | Concentus Musicus Wien | Stefan Gottfried | Austrian |
Vienna | Vienna Hofburg Orchestra | Gert Hofbauer | Austrian |
Vienna | Wiener Johann Strauss Orchester | Johannes Wildner | Austrian |
Vienna | Nova Orchester Wien | William Garfield Walker | American |
Vienna | Klangforum Wien | Beat Furrer | Swiss |
Vienna | Tonkünstler Orchestra | Yutaka Sado | Japanese |
Vienna | Vienna Chamber Orchestra | Stefan Vladar | Austrian |
Vienna | Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop | American |
Vienna | Vienna Symphony | Petr Popelka | Czech |
Belgium
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Antwerp | Antwerp Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Brussels | Brussels Philharmonic | Kazushi Ōno | Japanese |
Brussels | National Orchestra of Belgium | Antony Hermus | Dutch |
Ghent | Oost-Vlaams Symfonisch Orkest | Geert Baetens | Belgian |
Liège | Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège | Gergely Madaras | Hungarian |
Mons | Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie | Frank Braley | French |
Bolivia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
La Paz | National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia | Weimar Arancibia | Bolivian |
Brazil
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Rio de Janeiro | Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira | Roberto Minczuk | Brazilian |
São Paulo | Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo | Thierry Fischer | Swiss |
Ponta Grossa | Orquestra Sinfônica de Ponta Grossa | Jayme Amatnecks | Brazilian |
Brasilia | Orquestra Sinfônica de Brasília - OSTNCS | Cláudio Cohen | Brazilian |
Canada
Chile
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Santiago | National Symphony Orchestra of Chile | Rodolfo Saglimbeni | Venezuelan |
China
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Beijing | China Philharmonic Orchestra | Yu Long | Chinese |
Guangzhou | Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra | Huang Yi | Chinese |
Nanning | Guangxi Symphony Orchestra | Synthia Ko | Chinese |
Shanghai | Shanghai Symphony Orchestra | Yu Long | Chinese |
Colombia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bogotá | Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Bogotá | National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia | Olivier Grangean | French |
Cali | Cali Philharmonic Orchestra | Irwin Hoffman | American |
Medellin | Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín | David Greilsammer | Israel |
Czech Republic
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Brno | Brno Philharmonic | Dennis Russell Davies | American |
České Budějovice | South Czech Philharmonic | Miran Vaupotić | Croatian |
Olomouc | Moravian Philharmonic | Petr Vronský | Czech |
Ostrava | Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Daniel Raiskin (designate, effective 2026) | Russian |
Prague | Czech National Symphony Orchestra | Steven Mercurio | American |
Prague | Czech Philharmonic | Semyon Bychkov | Russian |
Prague | Prague Philharmonia | Emmanuel Villaume | French |
Prague | Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra | Petr Popelka | Czech |
Prague | Prague Symphony Orchestra | Tomáš Brauner | Czech |
Denmark
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Aalborg | Aalborg Symphony Orchestra | Joshua Weilerstein | American |
Aarhus | Aarhus Symphony Orchestra | Marc Soustrot | French |
Copenhagen | Danish National Chamber Orchestra | Ádám Fischer | Hungarian |
Copenhagen | Danish National Symphony Orchestra | Fabio Luisi | Italian |
Copenhagen | Royal Danish Orchestra | Marie Jacquot | French |
Odense | Odense Symphony Orchestra | Pierre Bleuse | French |
Estonia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Tallinn | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra | Olari Elts | Estonian |
Finland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Jyväskylä | Jyväskylä Sinfonia | Ville Matvejeff | Finnish |
Helsinki | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Nicholas Collon | British |
Helsinki | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Jukka-Pekka Saraste | Finnish |
Helsinki | Helsinki Chamber Orchestra | James S. Kahane | French |
Helsinki | Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra | Mikk Murdvee | Estonian |
Helsinki | The Polytech Orchestra | James S. Kahane | French |
Joensuu | Joensuu City Orchestra | Eero Lehtimäki | Finnish |
Lahti | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dalia Stasevska | Russian-Finnish |
Lappeenranta | Lappeenranta City Orchestra | Erkki Lasonpalo | Finnish |
Mikkeli | St. Michel Strings | Erkki Lasonpalo | Finnish |
Oulu | Oulu Symphony Orchestra | Rumon Gamba | British |
Pori | Pori Sinfonietta | Tibor Bogányi | Finnish |
Tampere | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Matthew Halls | British |
Turku | Turku Philharmonic Orchestra | John Storgårds | Finnish |
Vaasa | Vaasa City Orchestra | Anna-Maria Helsing (designate, effective 2025) | Finnish |
France
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bordeaux | Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine | Paul Daniel | British |
Lille | Orchestre national de Lille | Joshua Weilerstein | American |
Lyon | Orchestre National de Lyon | Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider | Danish |
Mulhouse | Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse | Christoph Koncz | Austrian-Hungarian |
Marseille | Orchestre philharmonique de Marseille | Michele Spotti | Italian |
Nantes | Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire | Pascal Rophé | French |
Paris | Ensemble Intercontemporain | Pierre Bleuse | French |
Paris | Orchestre de Chambre de Paris | Thomas Hengelbrock | German |
Paris | Orchestre de Paris | Klaus Mäkelä | Finnish |
Paris | Orchestre National de France | Cristian Măcelaru | Romanian |
Paris | Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France | Mikko Franck | Finnish |
Rennes | Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne | Nicholas Ellis | Canadian |
Strasbourg | Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg | Aziz Shokhakimov | Uzbek |
Toulouse | Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse | Tarmo Peltokoski | Finnish |
Germany
Hong Kong
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Hong Kong | City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong | Jean Thorel | French |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra | Tarmo Peltokoski (designate, effective 2026) | Finnish |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Christoph Poppen | German |
Hungary
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Budapest | Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer | Hungarian |
Budapest | Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra | Pinchas Steinberg | Israeli |
Budapest | Concerto Budapest | András Keller | Hungarian |
Budapest | Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra | Riccardo Frizza | Italian |
Budapest | MÁV Symphony Orchestra | Péter Csaba | Hungarian |
Miskolc | Symphony Orchestra of Miskolc | Tamás Gál | Hungarian |
Iceland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Reykjavík | Iceland Symphony Orchestra | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
Ireland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Dublin | Crash Ensemble | Ryan McAdams | American |
Dublin | RTÉ Concert Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Dublin | RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martin | Spanish |
Israel
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Jerusalem | Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra | Julian Rachlin | Lithuanian |
Tel Aviv | Israel Chamber Orchestra | Ariel Zuckermann | Israeli |
Tel Aviv | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
Italy
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bologna | Teatro Comunale di Bologna | Oksana Lyniv | Ukrainian |
Firenze | Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino | Daniele Gatti | Italian |
Firenze | Orchestra della Toscana | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
Milan | Orchestra della Scala | Riccardo Chailly | Italian |
Milan | Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali | James Feddeck | American |
Milan | Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi | Claus Peter Flor | German |
Naples | Orchestra Camerata Italiana | Matthias Manasi | German |
Rome | Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia | Daniel Harding | British |
Turin | RAI National Symphony Orchestra | Andrés Orozco-Estrada | Colombian |
Japan
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Hiroshima | Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra | Tatsuya Shimono | Japanese |
Kanagawa | Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra | Kentaro Kawase | Japanese |
Kanagawa | Kanagawa Central Orchestra | Yuki Ito | Japanese |
Nagoya | Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra | Kazuhiro Koizumi | Japanese |
Osaka | Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra | Michiyoshi Inoue | Japanese |
Tokyo | Japan Philharmonic Orchestra | Kahchun Wong | Singaporean |
Tokyo | New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra | Kazuyoshi Kamioka | Japanese |
Tokyo | NHK Symphony Orchestra | Fabio Luisi | Italian |
Tokyo | Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra | Ken Takaseki | Japanese |
Tokyo | Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Kazushi Ōno | Japanese |
Tokyo | Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra | Andrea Battistoni | Italian |
Tokyo | Tokyo Symphony Orchestra | Jonathan Nott | English |
Tokyo | Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra | Sebastian Weigle | German |
Latvia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Riga | Kremerata Baltica | Gidon Kremer | Latvian |
Riga | Latvian National Symphony Orchestra | Tarmo Peltokoski | Finnish |
Liepāja | Liepāja Symphony Orchestra | Gintaras Rinkevičius | Lithuanian |
Liechtenstein
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Nendeln | Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein | Stefan Sanderling | German |
Vaduz | Orchester Liechtenstein-Werdenberg | Stefan Susana | Austrian |
Luxembourg
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra | Corinna Niemeyer | German |
Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra | Gustavo Gimeno | Spanish |
Macau
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Macau | Macau Orchestra | Lü Jia | Chinese |
Malaysia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Kuala Lumpur | Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra | Jun Märkl | German |
Netherlands
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Amsterdam | Amsterdam Sinfonietta | Candida Thompson | British |
Amsterdam | Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Lorenzo Viotti | Swiss |
Amsterdam | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Klaus Mäkelä (designate, effective 2027) | Finnish |
Enschede | Het Symfonieorkest | Jan Willem de Vriend | Dutch |
Groningen | Noord Nederlands Orkest | Eivind Gullberg Jensen | Norwegian |
Hilversum | Radio Filharmonisch Orkest | Karina Canellakis | American |
Rotterdam | Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
The Hague | Residentie Orchestra | Anja Bihlmaier | German |
New Zealand
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Auckland | Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra | Giordano Bellincampi | Danish |
Christchurch | Christchurch Symphony Orchestra | Benjamin Northey | Australian |
Wellington | New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | Gemma New | New Zealand |
Wellington | Orchestra Wellington | Marc Taddei | American |
Norway
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bergen | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Kristiansand | Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra | Julian Rachlin | Lithuanian |
Oslo | Norwegian Radio Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Oslo | Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra | Klaus Mäkelä | Finnish |
Stavanger | Stavanger Symphony Orchestra | Andris Poga | Latvian |
Trondheim | Trondheim Symphony Orchestra | Han-Na Chang | Korean |
Paraguay
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Asunción | Symphony Orchestra of the City of Asunción | Luis Szarán | Paraguayan |
Asunción | Symphony Orchestra of the National Congress of Paraguay | Diego Sanchez Haase | Paraguayan |
Asunción | Recycled Orchestra of Cateura | Favio Chavez | Argentinian |
Philippines
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Cebu | Cebu Philharmonic Orchestra | Reynaldo Abellana | Filipino |
Manila | Manila Symphony Orchestra | Marlon Chen | Taiwanese-American |
Manila | Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra | Grzegorz Nowak | Polish |
Poland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Gdańsk | Polish Baltic Philharmonic | George Tchitchinadze | Georgian |
Katowice | Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | Marin Alsop | American |
Kraków | Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra | Charles Olivieri-Munroe | Canadian |
Łódź | Łódź Philharmonic | Michał Nesterowicz | Polish |
Radom | Radom Chamber Orchestra | Marek Drewnowski | Polish |
Szczecin | Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii w Szczecinie | Rune Bergmann | Norwegian |
Warsaw | Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra | Krzysztof Urbański | Polish |
Warsaw | Sinfonia Varsovia | (post vacant) | |
Wrocław | NFM Wrocław Philharmonic | Christoph Eschenbach | German |
Portugal
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Lisbon | Gulbenkian Orchestra | Hannu Lintu | Finnish |
Lisbon | Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa | Joana Carneiro | Portuguese |
Lisbon | Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa | Pedro Amaral | Portuguese |
Porto | Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música | Baldur Brönnimann | Swiss |
Russia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Moscow | Moscow City Symphony Orchestra | Dmitri Jurowski | Russian |
Moscow | National Philharmonic of Russia | Vladimir Spivakov | Russian |
Moscow | Russian National Orchestra | Mikhail Pletnev | Russian |
Moscow | State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation | (post vacant) | |
Saint Petersburg | Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra | Valery Gergiev | Russian |
Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra | Nikolai Alexeev | Russian |
Singapore
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Singapore | Singapore Symphony Orchestra | Hans Graf | Austrian |
Slovakia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bratislava | Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra | Mario Košik | Slovak |
Slovenia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Ljubljana | RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra | En Shao | Chinese |
Ljubljana | Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra | Kakhi Solomnishvili | Georgian |
South Korea
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bucheon | Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra | Lim Hun Joung | South Korean |
Busan | Busan Philharmonic Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Daegu | Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra | Julian Kovatchev | Bulgarian |
Gyeonggi | Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra | Shi-Yeon Sung | South Korean |
Seongnam | Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra | Gum Nanse | South Korean |
Incheon | Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra | Chung Chiyong | South Korean |
Seoul | KBS Symphony Orchestra | Yoel Levi | Israeli |
Seoul | Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra | Jaap van Zweden | Dutch |
Suwon | Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra | Kim Daejin | South Korean |
Spain
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
A Coruña | Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia | Dima Slobodeniouk | Russian |
Barcelona | Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra | Ludovic Morlot | French |
Barcelona | Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu | Josep Pons | Spanish |
Donostia-San Sebastian | Basque National Orchestra | Robert Treviño | American |
Granada | City of Granada Orchestra | Andrea Marcon | Italian |
Madrid | Spanish National Orchestra | David Afkham | German |
Navarra | Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra | Antoni Wit | Polish |
Oviedo | Orquesta Sinfónica Del Principado De Asturias | Rossen Milanov | Bulgarian |
Valencia | Orquesta de Valencia | Yaron Traub | Israeli |
Zaragoza | ORA Orquesta Reino de Aragón | Ricardo Casero | Spanish |
Sweden
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Gävle | Gävle Symphony Orchestra | Christian Reif | German |
Gothenburg | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Finnish |
Malmö | Malmö Symphony Orchestra | Robert Treviño | American |
Norrköping | Norrköping Symphony Orchestra | Karl-Heinz Steffens | German |
Örebro | Swedish Chamber Orchestra | Martin Fröst | Swedish |
Stockholm | Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra | Ryan Bancroft | American |
Stockholm | Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Daniel Harding | British |
Switzerland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Basel | Sinfonieorchester Basel | Ivor Bolton | British |
Bern | Bern Symphony Orchestra | Krzysztof Urbański | Polish |
Geneva | Orchestre de la Suisse Romande | Jonathan Nott | British |
Lausanne | Sinfonietta de Lausanne | Alexander Mayer | German |
Lucerne | Lucerne Symphony Orchestra | Michael Sanderling | German |
Winterthur | Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur | Thomas Zehetmair | Austrian |
Zurich | Philharmonia Zürich | Gianandrea Noseda | Italian |
Zurich | Tonhalle Orchester Zürich | Paavo Järvi | Estonian |
Zurich | Zurich Chamber Orchestra | Daniel Hope | British |
Taiwan
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Taipei | Taiwan Philharmonic | Jun Märkl | German |
United Kingdom
United States
Venezuela
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Caracas | Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar | Gustavo Dudamel | Venezuelan |
Vietnam
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Hanoi | Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra | Tetsuji Honna | Japanese |
Conducting and directing | |
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List of principal conductors by orchestra |