Celebrated South Korean conductor and pianist Myung-whun Chung has been appointed new Music Director of the Teatro alla Scala, beginning in autumn 2026.
Chung’s contract is set for an initial term until 2030, when he will be aged 77. He succeeds Riccardo Chailly, who has held the position since 2015.
Chung has had a long relationship with La Scala, appearing frequently at the house and on tour with the Filarmonica della Scala since 1989. In that time he has made 84 appearances, conducting nine opera productions and 141 concerts – more than any other guest conductor.
The appointment indicates La Scala’s loyalty, if not a measure of its risk-averseness. If Chung’s music directorship does continue until 2030, it will be a relationship of more than 40 years.
Yet the appointment is nevertheless unexpected, as the favourite to succeed Chailly had long been Daniele Gatti, current Chief Conductor of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Chung will be only the second non-Italian to take up the music directorship, after Daniel Barenboim (2007–14).
Chung’s past principal appointments include those with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (2005–15), the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France (2000–15), the Orchestre dell’Accademia Santa Cecilia (1997–2005), and the Opéra Bastille (1989–1994), of which he was the inaugural music director.
Past La Scala touring productions Chung was involved with include Simon Boccanegra in Moscow in 2016. Chung’s most recent appearance with the orchestra was a well-received Beethoven and Schubert programme in March, replacing an indisposed Chailly. A new tour of Asia with Chung and the Filarmonica is due to be announced.
Meanwhile, La Scala will announce its full 2025–26 season later this month – but has so far stated it will include 13 opera productions and 7 ballets, with no word yet on which productions will be new and which will be repertory.
