Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena has announced that he will retire from the podium at the end of 2026. The decision follows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, which he revealed publicly last year.
The announcement was shared in a message posted on social media, in which the conductor reflected on his health and on a career that has spanned four decades. “Every score has an ending, and the final bars of this one have been written,” he wrote, adding that the concerts scheduled for this year will be the last he conducts.
Mena first disclosed his diagnosis more than a year ago, explaining that medical tests had revealed early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. In his new message, he said that the illness has progressed since that announcement and that the change in his condition has led him to take what he described as “important decisions.”
The conductor also expressed his wish to turn his remaining engagements into a celebration of music and a moment of gratitude. “My conducting career has spanned forty wonderful years,” he wrote, thanking his family, the orchestras and musicians with whom he has worked, and the audiences who have supported him throughout his career.
Mena added that he looks forward to conducting a series of farewell concerts with several orchestras in the coming months, beginning next week with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 1965, Mena has built an international career leading major orchestras across Europe, Asia and the Americas. He served as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic from 2011 to 2018 and later became Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival. He has also appeared regularly as a guest conductor with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and London Philharmonic Orchestra.
In closing his message, Mena described music as “an exchange of energy” between performers and listeners, expressing the hope that his final concerts will become occasions for celebration and connection through music.
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