François-Xavier Roth

Biography

Regarded as one of the most charismatic and enterprising conductors of his generation, François-Xavier Roth is the director of Les Siècles, which he founded in 2003. He is also Generalmusikdirektor of the city of Cologne, where he is artistic director of the Gürzenich-Orchester and the Opera. His repertoire extends from the seventeenth century to the creation of contemporary works and covers every genre: symphonic music, chamber music and opera.

He is admired for his incisive, inspirational conducting and for his inventive and open-minded choice of programmes. François-Xavier Roth is a frequent guest conductor with the most prestigious orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker and Staatskapelle Berlin, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester in Zurich.

A passionate believer in transmission and pedagogy, he created in 2009, along with Les Siècles and the Festival Berlioz, the Jeune Orchestre Européen Hector Berlioz, an academy orchestra focusing on period-instrument performance of the Romantic repertory. He is also the originator of many audiovisual and multimedia educational projects.