Roberto Abbado
(c) Miro Zagnoli

The Korean National Symphony Orchestra (KNSO) has just announced the appointment of its next music director, 71-year-old Italian conductor Roberto Abbado. He will take up his post in January 2026 for a three-year term, succeeding Belgian conductor David Reiland, who has been in the position since 2022.

The nephew of Claudio Abbado, Roberto Abbado was music director of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester in Germany (from 1991 to 1998), the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain, from 2015 to 2019, and the Verdi Festival in Parma, Italy, from 2018 to 2022. He is currently principal conductor of the Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale in Bologna.