The Cleveland Orchestra has announced its 2026–27 season, marking the final year of Franz Welser-Möst as Music Director after a 25-year tenure—the longest in the ensemble’s history.
The season is framed as a reflection on that partnership, combining core symphonic repertoire with contemporary works and commissions, alongside a series of institutional milestones, including an international tour, a return to Carnegie Hall, and the anniversary of its Miami residency.
Repertoire linked to Welser-Möst’s tenure
Programmes throughout the season draw heavily on composers closely associated with Welser-Möst’s work in Cleveland, particularly Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and Richard Strauss.
The opening concerts in September 2026 pair Strauss’s Four Last Songs with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, while later highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 in the spring and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, returning to the orchestra’s repertoire after more than two decades.
Strauss occupies a central role across the season, culminating in both orchestral programmes and the staged opera Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Opera at the centre of the festival
The 2027 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival will be built around Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, conducted by Welser-Möst and staged by Frederic Wake-Walker.
The production continues a line of large-scale opera projects that have become a recurring feature of the orchestra’s programming in recent years, integrating staged works into its symphonic season.
Guest conductors and contemporary music
The season includes appearances by conductors such as Thomas Adès, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and John Adams, alongside returning guests including Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Semyon Bychkov.
Contemporary music remains present through premieres and recent works, including a new oboe concerto by Adolphus Hailstork, as well as pieces by Francisco Coll, Stacy Garrop, and Bernd Richard Deutsch.
Touring, residencies, and institutional milestones
Beyond Cleveland, the orchestra will undertake a European tour in October 2026, with 15 concerts across nine countries. The season also includes a two-concert engagement at Carnegie Hall in January 2027 and the 20th anniversary of its Miami residency.
Additional initiatives marking the end of Welser-Möst’s tenure include a gala concert titled Symphony of Gratitude and a commemorative recording project.
A closing cycle in May 2027
Welser-Möst will conclude his tenure with three programmes in late May 2027, including Haydn’s The Creation—a work linked to his early years with the orchestra—and a final concert centred on Viennese repertoire, featuring music by the Strauss family and others.
By the end of the season, he will have led more than 1,200 performances with the orchestra across 26 countries, leaving a long-standing imprint on its artistic profile and international presence.
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