The Cleveland Orchestra is poised to name Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali as its next music director, according to a report published April 28, 2026. Rouvali, 40, currently serves as chief conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and would succeed Franz Welser-Möst, who has led the ensemble for 25 years and is departing at the end of the 2026–27 season.

Rouvali has conducted the Cleveland Orchestra on multiple occasions, including a recent performance of Schubert’s Ninth Symphony that drew favorable responses from musicians and leadership alike. Board members were reported to have attended his concerts on tour before settling on him as their preferred candidate. The other finalist for the position was Czech conductor Petr Popelka, chief conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s public relations office stated that “no music director has been selected,” a formulation consistent with the search committee’s practice of withholding official confirmation until a contract is fully executed. No formal announcement from the orchestra had been issued as of the report’s publication date. If confirmed, Rouvali would become only the eighth music director in the orchestra’s more than 100-year history.

The Cleveland Orchestra, based at Severance Music Center in University Circle, is consistently ranked among the world’s leading symphony orchestras. Welser-Möst’s final season, 2026–27, is described as a valedictory survey of his tenure, featuring major works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich.

Source: Slipped Disc