Jaap van Zweden, the outgoing music director of the New York Philharmonic, is set to take on the same role with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France starting from the 2026-27 season. This announcement was made by the French orchestra, revealing that van Zweden will have a transitional period during the 2025-26 season, where he will serve as the music director designate for four weeks.
Van Zweden will be succeeding Mikko Franck, who has held the position of music director since the 2015-16 season. At 63 years old, van Zweden's tenure in New York, which began in September 2018, will come to a close at the end of this season. His six-season term will be the shortest since Pierre Boulez took over from Leonard Bernstein and led the orchestra from 1971-77.
Prior to his role in New York, van Zweden has been the music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since the 2012-13 season. He will also be stepping down from this position at the conclusion of the current season. Notably, van Zweden recently commenced his role as the music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra last month.
