Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop was chosen by the players of the Philharmonia as Principal Guest Conductor in 2023, in recognition of her exceptional musicianship, her commitment to diversity and education, and the breadth of her repertoire.

On her appointment, Kira Doherty, President of the Philharmonia, said: “We are hugely fortunate to welcome Marin Alsop to the Philharmonia Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor. Alsop created an immediate rapport with the players through her strong musical vision and her collaborative approach to music making. She is a true trailblazer and visionary who challenges the accepted norms of the classical world through her innovative programming and education work. Alsop holds a position in the industry that few have managed to replicate: an esteemed and highly respected custodian of musical tradition who simultaneously works to reimagine its future and ensure its continued relevance. We are thrilled to have her on board.”

In the 2023/24 season, Alsop began her tenure with an all-American programme featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio, to open our series Let Freedom Ring. In October 2024 she conducted Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 alongside songs by Alma Mahler. The Times noted ‘the minute-by-minute drama… and much superb playing.’ In February 2025 she returns with a programme from the Americas, complete with accordion and tango dancers. And in April she conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 with William Kentridge’s striking animated film Oh To Believe In Another World, and the Chichester Psalms by her erstwhile mentor Leonard Bernstein.  

Alsop is also Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as Artistic Director & Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony. As Chief Conductor and Curator of Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, she conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s summer residency. She regularly guest conducts such major international orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Filarmonica della Scala. Her record of achievement in leading significant orchestras on three continents has contributed to her being widely acknowledged as one of the most important musical figures of her generation.

In 2013 Alsop made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, which she conducted for the third time in September 2023. The film The Conductor (Tribeca Film Festival 2021) maps Alsop’s life and career through intimate interviews, archival footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein, and documentary footage of Alsop teaching the next generation of conductors. In 2002 she founded the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, which has nurtured a number of the outstanding young women conductors of today.