On December 4th last, the Board of Directors of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL), on the recommendation of General Director Aline Sam-Giao, appointed Lionel Bringuier as musical director of the orchestra, effective September 1, 2025, for a period of four years. The French conductor, trained at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and with 20 years of experience on the world's greatest stages, becomes the 10th musical director of the OPRL, founded in 1960.
The first three collaborations between Lionel Bringuier and the OPRL (from 2021 onwards) immediately revealed very strong musical affinities, notably shared passions for French music from the early 20th century (Ravel, Debussy, Roussel, Poulenc...) and its influence (Stravinsky), the Romantic repertoire (particularly Rimski-Korsakov), contemporary music and lesser-known repertoire pieces. Together with Aline Sam-Giao and the enthusiastic musicians, Lionel Bringuier wishes to develop an ambitious project, both in terms of the performed repertoire and in the relationship with the public and the development of national and international visibility. Leading venues such as the Philharmonie de Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Philharmonie in Cologne have already shown interest in welcoming the OPRL under the leadership of the future musical director. The same applies to the Easter Festival in Aix-en-Provence, while the Outhere Music group (and its labels Alpha Classics and Fuga Libera) will sign their first recordings.
Lionel Bringuier's career is marked by his early success: admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris at age 13, he won the International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon at age 19 and immediately began collaborating with the greatest ensembles, notably the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he worked for six years under the leadership of Esa-Pekka Salonen and later Gustavo Dudamel (2007-2013). He has been invited to conduct at orchestras in Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, New York, Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, the BBC, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, the Symphony Orchestras of Tokyo, Sydney, etc. Lionel Bringuier was musical director of the Tonhalle Zürich Orchestra (2014-2018) and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (Valladolid) (2009-2012). Since 2019 he has been artistic partner of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice, his birthplace, where he was recently appointed chief conductor for the seasons 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. He maintains regular relationships with numerous leading soloists and collaborates with the greatest record companies and concert halls.
The six years of musical leadership by Gergely Madaras (2019-2025, two terms of three years) and his collaboration with Daniel Weissmann (general director until 2023) have undoubtedly contributed to the international reputation of the OPRL. Under his charismatic leadership, the OPRL has strengthened its musical qualities, developed new concert formats, expanded its audience, completed successful recording projects (Boesmans, Franck, and soon complete recordings of Liszt and Dohnányi) and celebrated the bicentenary of César Franck. Gergely Madaras will lead the OPRL again as guest conductor in 2026-2027.