Luxembourg Philharmonic Appoints New Music Director 

The Hungarian conductor Martin Rajna will assume the role as of the 2026/27 season

The Luxembourg Philharmonic has appointed Martin Rajna as its new Music Director starting in the 2026/27 concert season. He will succeed Gustavo Gimeno, who has led the orchestra since 2015.

A graduate of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Rajna is currently completing his training at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar with Nicolás Pasquet and Ekhart Wycik. 

In 2022, he was made a beneficiary of the Deutscher Musikrat’s Conducting Forum and served as a Conducting Fellow at the Lucerne Festival Academy, where he was mentored by Thomas Adès.

His participation in the Mentoring Program of the Peter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation enabled him to work with composers including Eötvös himself, György Kurtág, Fabián Panisello, and Magnus Lindberg.

Rajna was appointed Principal Conductor of the Hungarian State Opera in 2023 and has served as Music Director of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra since 2021. 

This season, the 29-year-old will conduct return engagements with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, plus make his London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice, and Nürnberger Symphoniker debuts. 

“I really liked the orchestra’s open-mindedness and commitment to music, its desire to always do better,” Rajna said in Delano. “These work habits are very important and won me over straight away. When I was unexpectedly asked to become music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg from the 2026/27 season, I was delighted to accept.”

“The search was a long one, because we were looking for someone of the highest quality, one of the best, and I am confident that we have found him,” said Pierre Ahlborn, president of the Philharmonie Luxembourg. “To this end, a search committee was set up and proposed candidates. In November 2024, Rajna had the opportunity to conduct the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and it was love at first sight.”

“For our part, we were immediately won over by Martin Rajna’s commitment to music,” added David Sattler, bassoonist and member of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg’s artistic committee. “He is attentive to the musicians and conducts with great respect for the music. It’s not so often that we get to work with a conductor who is so committed to the music, and we very much appreciated this attitude and approach.”