Maestro Franz Welser-Möst, born in Linz in 1960, has now been working in the U.S. for almost 20 years as chief conductor and music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has never lost his ties to his home country of beautiful (Upper) Austria however. So he makes stops in Austria with his orchestra on world tours, but he also has a close partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs worldwide, but also at the legendary New Year’s Concert at the Vienna Musikverein. In addition, he is a summer guest at the traditional Salzburg Festival, performing concert repertoire as well as exciting opera literature. In 2018, for example, the performance of Strauss` ´Salome` with a magnificent Asmik Grigorian caused quite a stir.
On his 60th birthday, Welser-Möst published his book ´Als ich die Stille fand` (´When I Found Silence`), which provides more intimate insights into his own sometimes bumpy path through life and conducting, about nature and soul, and which also criticizes the classical music scene, which in some cases ´sells out`.