Manfred Honeck named Philharmonia principal conductor and San Francisco Symphony festival director

The Austrian conductor will take up two major new positions in 2028 while continuing his long tenure with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Manfred Honeck has secured two major appointments on opposite sides of the Atlantic, with the Philharmonia Orchestra naming him its next Principal Conductor and the San Francisco Symphony appointing him to the newly created position of Festival Director.

Both announcements were made on September 17. Honeck will begin his Philharmonia tenure in September 2028, while his five-year San Francisco appointment starts with the 2028–29 season.

A five-year term with the Philharmonia

Honeck will become the seventh Principal Conductor in the Philharmonia’s 80-year history, succeeding Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who has held the position since September 2021.

The appointment is for an initial five-year term, with Honeck expected to work with the orchestra for at least eight weeks each season.

“The Philharmonia has built a distinguished history of innovation and interpretation of the composers close to my heart,” Honeck said in announcing the appointment. “It is an honour for me to contribute to shaping the Philharmonia’s unique sound identity and to share it with audiences globally at major international venues, as well as in local communities.”

Honeck already has an established relationship with the London orchestra. He first conducted the Philharmonia in 2024 and returned in January 2025 for a programme including Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. He is scheduled to conduct the orchestra again during the 2026–27 season.

Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia has had only six Principal Conductors before Honeck. Previous holders of the position include Otto Klemperer, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Christoph von Dohnányi, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Rouvali.

A new role in San Francisco

In San Francisco, Honeck’s position will be different from a conventional music directorship.

As Festival Director, he will conceive and lead an annual multi-week festival built around broad themes related to the human experience. The San Francisco Symphony says the projects will explore major works of the core classical repertoire through new performance concepts.

Honeck will conduct the orchestra for at least four weeks each season. Two to three weeks will be devoted to the festival, while additional appearances will form part of the Symphony’s regular subscription season.

According to San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey, each festival will be centred on a broad theme — possibilities include love, birth or death — and anchored by a large-scale orchestral or choral work, potentially including operas and oratorios. Smaller works will be programmed around the same theme.

The appointment follows Honeck’s February 2026 performances in San Francisco of Requiem: Mozart’s Death in Words and Music, a reimagining of Mozart’s Requiem incorporating readings and additional music by the composer.

Honeck is due to return to San Francisco in March 2027 for a programme including Berg’s Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique.

His new position will coexist with the tenure of Elim Chan, who becomes San Francisco Symphony Music Director in the 2027–28 season. Their responsibilities will be separate, with Chan serving as Music Director and Honeck overseeing the annual festival alongside his additional subscription appearances.

Pittsburgh tenure continues through 2033

The two appointments will not end Honeck’s long association with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

He has served as its Music Director since 2008, and his current contract runs through the 2032–33 season. The extension will make him the longest-serving Music Director in the Pittsburgh Symphony’s history.

Honeck told the San Francisco Chronicle that the new commitments would not increase the overall number of weeks he works each year. Instead, he plans to reduce other guest-conducting engagements and concentrate more of his schedule on Pittsburgh, London and San Francisco.

The Austrian conductor began his musical career as a violist with the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera Orchestra before moving into conducting. His previous posts have included Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera.

His Pittsburgh discography includes recordings of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky. The orchestra’s recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Barber’s Adagio for Strings won a Grammy Award in 2018.

The two appointments announced on September 17 therefore establish a three-city framework for the next stage of Honeck’s career: Music Director in Pittsburgh through 2033, Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia from 2028, and Festival Director in San Francisco for five seasons beginning in 2028–29.