The Cleveland Orchestra announced its 2026-27 season at Severance Music Center on April 15, closing Music Director Franz Welser-Möst’s 25-year tenure with the ensemble. Welser-Möst, who began his role in the 2002-03 season after succeeding Christoph von Dohnányi, is the longest-serving music director in the Orchestra’s history.

The final season draws on the repertoire that has defined Welser-Möst’s time in Cleveland, including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and Richard Strauss. A staged production of Strauss’s opera “Die Frau ohne Schatten” will anchor the fifth Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival in spring 2027. In October 2026, Welser-Möst leads the Orchestra on its 81st international tour, with 15 concerts in nine European countries, followed by two Carnegie Hall concerts in January 2027 and the 20th year of the Orchestra’s Miami Residency.

By the end of his tenure, Welser-Möst will have led more than 1,200 performances across 15 U.S. states and 93 cities in 26 countries. He commissioned or co-commissioned 47 works and appointed 56 of the Orchestra’s 99 current musicians. The Orchestra plans a commemorative vinyl box set and a gala concert titled “Symphony of Gratitude” to mark the transition.

Source: https://files.baskercdn.com/clevelandorchestra/files/2026-27%20Season%20Announcement.pdf