Vietnam
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Hanoi | Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra | Tetsuji Honna | Japanese |
Conducting and directing | |
|---|---|
This is a non-exhaustive list of principal conductors by orchestra, principally for orchestras with pages on Wikipedia, classified by country and by city. The term 'principal conductor' is used here as an umbrella term to encompass such titles as:
The term 'music director' is more common in the US and Canada, whereas 'principal conductor' or 'chief conductor' is more prevalent elsewhere. In German-speaking countries, the title of General Music Director (Generalmusikdirektor / Generalmusikdirektorin) is used for conductors who are the music director of multiple musical institutions in a given city, such as both a symphony orchestra and an opera house. For orchestras which simultaneously have or have had 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.
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Buenos Aires | Argentine National Symphony Orchestra | (post vacant) |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Adelaide | Adelaide Symphony Orchestra | Mark Wigglesworth | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| La Paz | National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia | Weimar Arancibia | Bolivian |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Santiago | National Symphony Orchestra of Chile | Rodolfo Saglimbeni | Venezuelan |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Tallinn | Estonian National Symphony Orchestra | Olari Elts | Estonian |
| 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 | Vuokko Lahtinen | Finnish |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Reykjavík | Iceland Symphony Orchestra | Eva Ollikainen | Finnish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Dublin | Crash Ensemble | Ryan McAdams | American |
| Dublin | RTÉ Concert Orchestra | (post vacant) | |
| Dublin | RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra | Jaime Martin | Spanish |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Nendeln | Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein | Stefan Sanderling | German |
| Vaduz | Orchester Liechtenstein-Werdenberg | Stefan Susana | Austrian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra | Corinna Niemeyer | German |
| Luxembourg City | Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra | Gustavo Gimeno | Spanish |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Macau | Macau Orchestra | Lü Jia | Chinese |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra | Jun Märkl | German |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Poznań | Poznań Philharmonic | Łukasz Borowicz | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Singapore | Singapore Symphony Orchestra | Hans Graf | Austrian |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Bratislava | Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra | Mario Košik | Slovak |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Ljubljana | RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra | En Shao | Chinese |
| Ljubljana | Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra | Kakhi Solomnishvili | Georgian |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Valencia | Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana | James Gaffigan | American |
| Zaragoza | ORA Orquesta Reino de Aragón | Ricardo Casero | Spanish |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Taipei | Taiwan Philharmonic | Jun Märkl | German |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Caracas | Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar | Gustavo Dudamel | Venezuelan |
| City | Orchestra | Conductor | Nationality |
| Hanoi | Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra | Tetsuji Honna | Japanese |
Conducting and directing | |
|---|---|
An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra because of a new rule requiring players to give the orchestra their exclusive services. The LSO itself later introduced a similar rule for its members. From the outset the LSO was organised on co-operative lines, with all players sharing the profits at the end of each season. This practice continued for the orchestra's first four decades.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras.
The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini; of the Philharmonia's younger conductors, the most important to its development was Herbert von Karajan who, though never formally chief conductor, was closely associated with the orchestra in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Philharmonia became widely regarded as the finest of London's five symphony orchestras in its first two decades.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London.
Claudio Abbado was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, founder and director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, founder and director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, founding artistic director of the Orchestra Mozart and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra.
Sir Colin Rex Davis was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.
The Dutch National Opera is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a modern building designed by Cees Dam and Wilhelm Holzbauer that opened in 1986.
Edo de Waart is a Dutch retired conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016) and Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (2010-2014).
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. The orchestra has performed at the Sydney Opera House as its home concert hall, since the venue's opening in 1973. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and the first female conductor in the post.
Welsh National Opera (WNO) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the company gave a single week's annual season in Cardiff, gradually extending its schedule to become an all-year-round operation, with its own salaried chorus and orchestra. It has been described by The New York Times as "one of the finest operatic ensembles in Europe".
A music director, musical director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music of a film, the director of music at a radio station, the person in charge of musical activities or the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution, the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an organist and master of the choristers.
The Finnish National Opera and Ballet is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the Töölönlahti bay in Töölö, which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties. The Opera House features two auditoriums, the main auditorium with 1,350, seats and a smaller studio auditorium with 300–500 seats.
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located 7 miles (11 km) north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the Opera Association of New Mexico in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newly acquired former guest ranch of 199 acres (0.81 km2). The company has presented operas each summer festival season since July 1957, and is internationally known for introducing new operas as well as for its productions of the standard operatic repertoire. Five operas are presented each season during the summer.
Christoph von Dohnányi is a German conductor.
The NHK Symphony Orchestra is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall.
Fabio Luisi is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Alan Gilbert is an American conductor and violinist. He is Principal Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Music Director of Royal Swedish Opera. He was Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 2009 to 2017.
Keith Alan Lockhart is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.
