Manfred Honeck to become Philharmonia Orchestra's seventh principal conductor following on from Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Manfred Honeck (Photo: Todd Rosenberg)

The Philharmonia Orchestra has announced that Manfred Honeck will be its next principal conductor. Honeck will take up the post from September 2028, following on from Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who has been principal conductor since 2021. Manfred Honeck is music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra where he is now in his 19th season and his contract was recently extended through the 2032–2033 season. 

Born in Austria in 1958, Manfred Honeck completed his musical training at the Academy of Music in Vienna. His many years as a member of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra have had a lasting influence on his work as a conductor. He began his conducting career as an assistant to Claudio Abbado and was subsequently engaged by the Zurich Opera House. He maintains a distinguished profile as an opera conductor: most recently, he returned to the Salzburg Festival in summer 2026, conducting Ersan Mondtag's new production Ariadne auf Naxos with the Vienna Philharmonic where the musical values were the best thing about the evening. [see my review]

He will become the seventh principal conductor the Philharmonia Orchestra and it is planned that the appointment will become his artistic anchor in Europe whilst he maintains strong links with Pittsburgh.

His appointment marks a shift in the Philharmonia Orchestra's artistic leadership, coming as it does after two Finnish conductors, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Esa-Pekka Salonen, perhaps returning to the Austro-German style of Christoph von Dohnányi (who preceded Salonen as principal conductor). And Honeck's tenure from 2028 coincides with Paavo Järvi taking over from Edward Gardner as chief conductor and artistic advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, meaning significant artistic change at the Southbank Centre. Rouvali remains principal conductor for the next two seasons, with a substantial programme of performances in London and beyond, and his close relationship with the Philharmonia will continue beyond the conclusion of his tenure. 

Honeck’s next performance with the Philharmonia comes this November, when he returns to the Royal Festival Hall with his longstanding musical collaborator, pianist Emanuel Ax, for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25. The programme also includes Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus Overture and Honeck’s own arrangement of the symphonic suite from Richard Strauss’s Elektra.

Manfred Honeck commented: "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. London is a capital of classical music and a melting pot of cultures. I look forward to playing my part in enticing audiences to experience the full spectrum of traditional and innovative orchestral music we can offer."

Further information from the orchestra's website.