2015 in classical music
Events January 14 – Opening night gala concert at the Philharmonie de Paris January 15 – The Alabama Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Carlos Izcaray as its next music director, as of September 2015. January 19 – The Basel Sinfonietta announces the appointment of Baldur Brönnimann as its first-ever principal conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season. January 23 The Konzert Theater Bern announces the appointment of Kevin John Edusei as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2015–2016 season. The city of Brandenburg an der Havel announces the appointment of Peter Gülke as the next chief conductor of the Brandenburger Theater and of the Brandenburger Symphoniker, effective with the 2015–2016 season. January 28 The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande announces the appointment of Jonathan Nott as its 10th music director and artistic director, effective January 2017. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces the appointment of Mason Bates as its first-ever composer-in-residence, effective with the 2015–2016 season, for a term of three years. February 6: The Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra (Düsseldorfer Symphoniker) announces the appointment of Ádám Fischer as its next principal conductor. The New York Philharmonic announces that Alan Gilbert is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season. February 8 – First US performance of the Felix Mendelssohn edition (1841, Leipzig) of the JS Bach St Matthew Passion February 12 Arts Council England announces its intention to remove English National Opera from its national portfolio of regularly funded UK arts organisations, and to change its funding arrangement from a three-year plan to a two-year plan, with stipulations that ENO reform its current business model. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra announces that Edo de Waart is to conclude his tenure as the orchestra's music director after the 2016–2017 season. February 18 – The National Symphony Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announce that Christoph Eschenbach is to conclude his music directorship of both organisations after the 2016–2017 season. February 22 – The Bruckner Orchestra Linz and Linz Opera announce the appointment of Markus Poschner as their next chief conductor, effective in 2017. February 26 – The BBC Philharmonic announces the appointment of Mark Simpson as its next Composer-in-Association, effective September 2015. February 27: The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra announces the appointment of Giordano Bellincampi as its next music director, effective in 2016, with an initial contract of three years. The Memphis Symphony Orchestra announces the scheduled conclusion of the tenure of Mei-Ann Chen as its music director, after the end of the 2015–2016 season. The Cincinnati May Festival announces that James Conlon is to stand down as its music director after the 2016 Festival, and subsequently to take the title of music director laureate. March 3 – The London Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle as its next music director, effective September 2017, with an initial contract of five years. March 4 – The New York Philharmonic announces that David Geffen is to donate $100M USD to