List of principal conductors by orchestra
This is a non-exhaustive list of principal conductors by orchestra, 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 USA 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 |
Australia
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Adelaide | Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | Nicholas Carter | Australian |
Brisbane | Queensland Symphony Orchestra | Alondra de la Parra | Mexican-American |
Hobart | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra | Eivind Aadland | Norwegian |
Melbourne | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Perth | West Australian Symphony Orchestra | Asher Fisch | Israeli |
Sydney | Australian Chamber Orchestra | Richard Tognetti | Australian |
Sydney | Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Simone Young (designate, effective 2022) | 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 | Camerata Salzburg | Louis Langrée | French |
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 | Philippe Jordan | Swiss |
Belgium
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Antwerp | Antwerp Symphony Orchestra | Elim Chan | Chinese |
Brussels | Brussels Philharmonic | Stéphane Denève | French |
Brussels | National Orchestra of Belgium | Hugh Wolff | American |
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 |
Canada
China
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Beijing | China Philharmonic Orchestra | Yu Long | Chinese |
Guangzhou | Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra | Yu Long | 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 | Juan Pablo Valencia Heredia | Colombian |
Czech Republic
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Brno | Brno Philharmonic | Dennis Russell Davies | American |
České Budějovice | South Czech Philharmonic | Jan Talich | Czech |
Olomouc | Moravian Philharmonic | Petr Vronský | Czech |
Ostrava | Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra | Vassily Sinaisky | 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 | Alexander Liebreich | German |
Prague | Prague Symphony Orchestra | Pietari Inkinen | Finnish |
Denmark
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Aalborg | Aalborg Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
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 | (post vacant) | |
Odense | Odense Symphony Orchestra | Pierre Bleuse (designate, effective 2021) | French |
Finland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Jyväskylä | Jyväskylä Sinfonia | Ville Matvejeff | Finnish |
Helsinki | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Hannu Lintu | Finnish |
Helsinki | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | Susanna Mälkki | Finnish |
Helsinki | Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra | Mikk Murdvee | Estonian |
Helsinki | The Polytech Orchestra | James Salomon Kahane | French |
Lahti | Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Dima Slobodeniouk | Russian |
Oulu | Oulu Symphony Orchestra | Johannes Gustavsson | Swedish |
Tampere | Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra | Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Finnish |
Turku | Turku Philharmonic Orchestra | Leif Segerstam | Finnish |
France
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bordeaux | Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine | Paul Daniel | British |
Lille | Orchestre national de Lille | Alexandre Bloch | French |
Lyon | Orchestre National de Lyon | Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider | Danish |
Nantes | Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire | Pascal Rophé | French |
Paris | Ensemble Intercontemporain | Matthias Pintscher | German |
Paris | Orchestre de Chambre de Paris | Lars Vogt | German |
Paris | Orchestre de Paris | Klaus Mäkelä (designate, effective 2022) | Finnish |
Paris | Orchestre National de France | Cristian Măcelaru | Romanian |
Paris | Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France | Mikko Franck | Finnish |
Rennes | Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne | Grant Llewellyn | British |
Strasbourg | Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg | Marko Letonja | Slovenian |
Toulouse | Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse | Tugan Sokhiev | Russian-Ossetian |
Germany
Hong Kong
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Hong Kong | City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong | Jean Thorel | French |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra | Jaap van Zweden | Dutch |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Sinfonietta | Yip Wing-sie | Chinese |
Hungary
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Budapest | Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer | Hungarian |
Budapest | Concerto Budapest | András Keller | Hungarian |
Budapest | Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra | Pinchas Steinberg | Israeli |
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 | Alan Pierson | American |
Dublin | RTÉ Concert Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Dublin | RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martin | Spanish |
Israel
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Jerusalem | Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra | Steven Sloane | American |
Tel Aviv | Israel Chamber Orchestra | Ariel Zuckermann | Israeli |
Tel Aviv | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
Italy
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Firenze | Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino | (post vacant) | |
Firenze | Orchestra della Toscana | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
Milan | Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali | James Feddeck | American |
Milan | Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi | Claus Peter Flor | German |
Rome | Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia | Antonio Pappano | British-Italian |
Turin | RAI National Symphony Orchestra | Juraj Valcuha | Slovakian |
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 | Pietari Inkinen | Finnish |
Tokyo | New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra | Kazuyoshi Kamioka | Japanese |
Tokyo | NHK Symphony Orchestra | Paavo Järvi | Estonian |
Tokyo | Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra | Ken Takaseki | Japanese |
Tokyo | Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra | Kazushi Ono | 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 | Andris Poga | Latvian |
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 (designate, effective 2021) | German |
Netherlands
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Amsterdam | Amsterdam Sinfonietta | Candida Thompson | British |
Amsterdam | Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Lorenzo Viotti (designate, effective 2021) | Italian |
Amsterdam | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
Den Haag | Residentie Orchestra | Nicholas Collon | English |
Enschede | Het Symfonieorkest | Jan Willem de Vriend | Dutch |
Hilversum | Radio Filharmonisch Orkest | Karina Canellakis | American |
Rotterdam | Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra | Lahav Shani | Israeli |
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 | Edo de Waart | Dutch |
Wellington | Orchestra Wellington | Marc Taddei | American |
Norway
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Bergen | Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Edward Gardner | British |
Kristiansand | Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra | Nathalie Stutzmann | French |
Oslo | Norwegian Radio Orchestra | Petr Popelka | Czech |
Oslo | Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra | Klaus Mäkelä | Finnish |
Stavanger | Stavanger Symphony Orchestra | Andris Poga (designate, effective 2021) | 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 | Symhony 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 | Arturo Molina | Filipino |
Manila | Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra | Yoshikazu Fukumura | Japanese |
Poland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Gdańsk | Polish Baltic Philharmonic | Massimiliano Caldi | Italian |
Katowice | Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra | Alexander Liebreich | German |
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 | Jacek Kaspszyk | Polish |
Warsaw | Sinfonia Varsovia | (post vacant) | |
Portugal
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Lisbon | Gulbenkian Orchestra | Lorenzo Viotti | Swiss |
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
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 | (post vacant) |
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 | Osmo Vänskä | Finnish |
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 | Kazushi Ono | Japanese |
Donostia-San Sebastian | Basque National Orchestra | Robert Trevino | 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 | Jaime Martín | Spanish |
Gothenburg | Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra | Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Finnish |
Malmö | Malmö Symphony Orchestra | Robert Trevino | American |
Norrköping | Norrköping Symphony Orchestra | Karl-Heinz Steffens | German |
Örebro | Swedish Chamber Orchestra | Martin Fröst | Swedish |
Stockholm | Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra | Sakari Oramo | Finnish |
Stockholm | Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Daniel Harding | British |
Switzerland
City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
Basel | Sinfonieorchester Basel | Ivor Bolton | British |
Bern | Bern Symphony Orchestra | Mario Venzago | Swiss |
Geneva | Orchestre de la Suisse Romande | Jonathan Nott | British |
Lausanne | Sinfonietta de Lausanne | Alexander Mayer | German |
Lucerne | Lucerne Symphony Orchestra | James Gaffigan | American |
Winterthur | Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur | Thomas Zehetmair | Austrian |
Zurich | Philharmonia Zürich | Fabio Luisi | 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 (designate, effective 2021) | 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 |