BARCELONA 〓 Conductor Juanjo Mena announces retirement from conducting due to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

2026/03/14

Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena has announced his retirement from conducting due to a worsening of his Alzheimer’s disease. He will step down after the first half of this year’s concert season, including concerts with the Orchestre de Barcelona (OBC) on March 21 and 22.

Mena is a 60-year-old native of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the Basque Country. He has previously served as artistic director and principal conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (1999–2008) and principal conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester, England (2011–2018).

From 2017 to 2023, he also served as principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, North America’s oldest choral festival. He has also made numerous guest appearances with renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic.

In the statement, he expresses his gratitude to his family, audience, orchestra members, and musicians for their support over the years.

He concludes by saying, “As I have always said, music is an exchange of energy; an intangible mysterious current flowing back and forth between musicians and listeners. Let’s make every concert a true celebration with music at the heart of it; music as the
reason for people to gather in solidarity and friendship.”

PHOTO：NHK Symphony Orchestra


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