Franz Welser-Möst on Thursday begins his final season leading the Cleveland Orchestra, even as questions loom about whether the musicians will strike later this month.
“I think 25 years is an unbelievable time, but every institution also needs fresh ideas, new blood,” he told Ideastream Public Media earlier this month, reflecting on his tenure.
During his quarter century at the helm, there has been just one musicians’ strike, in 2010, which lasted a day. At the time, the orchestra was facing a deficit. In 2025, they marked seven straight years of balanced budgets and a $329 million endowment.
“The proposal on the table ... has the musicians retaining less money next season than what they're receiving this season,” said Leonard DiCosimo, president of the Cleveland Federation of Musicians, Local 4. “Long story short, management gives a little with one hand and takes a whole lot more with the other hand.”
The upcoming performances of Strauss and Shostakovich are the players’ last before returning to the negotiation table on Monday. Earlier this month, the musicians agreed to a contract extension to Sept. 23. Violinist Elayna Duitman is on the bargaining committee and said at a recent press conference that her colleagues have unanimously authorized a strike if their concerns aren’t addressed.
They’re asking for “work rules that help prevent the injuries common in our line of work, such as tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome,” she said.
“Currently, the orchestra is not holding auditions for the upcoming season, which will mean fewer musicians on stage and more work and more injuries,” she said, citing eight open seats.
While auditions are currently paused, Duitman also said the players should have “a role in the audition process that is more than just symbolic or advisory, especially in the hiring process.”
The musicians are also seeking compensation comparable to peer orchestras, she said.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra recently went through its own protracted contract negotiations, while both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have contracts ending next month.
Welser-Möst, the orchestra's longest-serving maestro, said he has “no idea” what will happen.
“This is an orchestra which just wants to play great music, and I think they will reach an agreement,” he said. “Me as music director, on purpose, I always stay out of it. I think, in the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing.”
Orchestra management released a statement saying only that they “do not comment on ongoing negotiations, and we do not negotiate in the media.”
At the same time, the orchestra is marking this historic season in several ways, such as the release of a 15-disc vinyl boxed set highlighting Welser-Möst’s work. Alongside pieces by Haydn and Mozart, Welser-Möst’s tenure also included commissions by Kaija Saariaho, Bernd Richard Deutsch and Allison Loggins-Hull. Some of the recordings have a connection beyond the music, such as Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with Radu Lupu.
“Lupu was not only a friend, but he was for me one of the most influential musicians I had the privilege to work with,” he said. “He was not recording anymore in the last 30 years of his career, because he was always unhappy with his own playing. But his music-making was so extraordinary. I'm very grateful that his widow allowed us to [include] these recordings.”
A meet-and-greet for early purchasers of the set is Sept. 26. The orchestra is slated for a European tour on Sept. 29. Welser-Möst plans to return to Europe after his retirement next year and visit Cleveland annually as a guest conductor.
