Louis Langree To Lead Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Through 2021

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced today an agreement with current Music Director Louis Langrée that extends the conductor's contract through the 2021-2022 season. Mr. Langrée began his tenure as the CSO's 13th Music Director in September of 2013. This new extension adds two years on to the previous extension announced in March of 2015. It is Mr. Langrée's third contract with the CSO.

"It is an honor to serve as CSO Music Director and to lead such a talented ensemble in a city I've come to know as home," said Mr. Langrée. "I've had the privilege to work on groundbreaking projects in Cincinnati that reinforce the Orchestra's core value to be a place of experimentation. We continue to grow musically and to make discoveries, whether we're performing a brand new work or breathing new life into a great masterpiece."

The CSO has seen many successes under Mr. Langrée's leadership, including celebrated recordings and broadcasts, the three-year PelléasTrilogy collaboration with director James Darrah, the popular annual community engagement program One City, One Symphony, the innovative MusicNOW Festival collaboration with Bryce Dessner, an acclaimed concert in New York as part of Lincoln Center's 50th anniversary of the Great Performers series, and four consecutive years of LUMENOCITY®, a phenomenon that combined live orchestral music with intricate project mapping. He has also conducted 12 world premiere CSO commissions by renowned composers including Daníel Bjarnason, David Lang, Nico Muhly and Caroline Shaw, among others, and also conducted several U.S. premiers.

Mr. Langrée leads the CSO during five weeks of international tours in 2017 to Asia and Europe. He also conducts the much-anticipated opening concerts at Cincinnati Music Hall on October 6 and 7 following an extensive and historic $135 million renovation. These concerts lead off an extraordinary CSO season announced in January.

"Louis reinforces a welcoming and vibrant culture around the Orchestra," said CSO President Trey Devey. "The ensemble's richness, precision and intensity are evident in every performance, as are his warmth, thoughtfulness and spirit, which are appreciated so much by audiences. This second contract extension, which is being announced before his first contract extension even takes effect, is a testament to Louis' artistry and leadership."

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As Music Director, Mr. Langrée has appointed ten musicians to the Orchestra who have received tenure or on track to receive tenure, and nine auditions over this season and next season alone will fill as many as 13 positions. In May of 2015, the CSO announced it would restore 14 tenured, fulltime positions in the Orchestra over a five-year period following a successful $26 million endowment campaign.

"We are committed to attracting talented musicians from around the world to Cincinnati," said Mr. Langrée.

"Louis connects so well with musicians and audiences alike, and he has really embraced this community," said CSO Board Chair Francie Hiltz. "As we look forward to the CSO's 125th anniversary in 2019-2020 with Louis and now beyond thanks to this contract extension, we are confident that the Orchestra will continue to grow and flourish under his artistic leadership."

In addition to his position in Cincinnati, Mr. Langrée is also Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center and a regular guest conductor with prestigious ensembles around the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, as well as opera companies including the Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.

About Louis Langrée

The French conductor Louis Langrée is Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Camerata Salzburg and Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in New York. He has worked with many other orchestras around the world including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker, NHK Symphony, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Santa Cecilia in Rome, Sao Paulo, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Budapest Festival orchestras. Festival appearances have included Wiener Festwochen, Salzburg Mozartwoche and Whitsun, BBC Proms and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has held positions as Music Director of the Orchestre de Picardie (1993-98) and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (2001-06). Louis Langrée's recordings have received several awards from Gramophone and Midem Classical. He was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2006 and Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 2014.

About the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

The CSO is one of America's finest and most versatile ensembles. With a determination for greatness and a rich tradition that dates back over 120 years, the internationally acclaimed CSO has performed the American premieres of works by the likes of Debussy, Mahler, Ravel and Bartók, and commissioned important compositions that have since become mainstays of the classical repertoire including Aaron Copland's iconic Fanfare for the Common Man. With new commissions and groundbreaking initiatives like LUMENOCITY, One City, One Symphony, and the MusicNOW Festival collaboration, the Orchestra is committed to being a place of experimentation. As Cincinnati's ambassador, the Orchestra has toured extensively and sold millions of recordings around the globe, and as Cincinnati's own, the Orchestra elevates the City's vibrant cultural scene not only through CSO and Cincinnati Pops performances, but also by serving as the official orchestra for the Cincinnati Ballet, May Festival, Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati World Piano Competition.

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