Franz Welser-Möst

Franz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor, born in Linz in 1960 and raised in nearby Wels. He trained as a violinist until injuries from a car accident ended that path and turned him towards conducting. He became chief conductor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in Sweden in 1986, led the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1990 to 1996, and from 1995 held leading posts at the Zurich Opera, latterly as its general music director. In 2002 he became music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, a tenure announced to run to the end of the 2026/27 season and the longest in that orchestra’s history. He has a long association with the Vienna Philharmonic, whose New Year’s Concert he conducted in 2011, 2013 and 2023, and which has made him an honorary member.