On 12 March Susanna Mälkki makes her debut with the London Symphony Orchestra at London’s Barbican Centre. Stepping in for Valery Gergiev, she conducts the orchestra in Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Christian Tetzlaff – who makes a welcome return to the orchestra – and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra.

Mälkki then travels to Paris to conduct the world premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Trompe-la-mort at Opéra national de Paris on 16 March. Running until 5 April, the production marks Mälkki’s second operatic appearance at the Opéra, having conducted Janáček’s The Makropulos Case there in 2013. It is also her second operatic collaboration with Francesconi – in 2011 she conducted the world premiere of his Quartett, commissioned by and performed at Teatro alla Scala.

On 6 April Mälkki concludes her Parisian run with a concert performance of music by Szymanowski, Dusapin (with cellist Alisa Weilerstein) and Richard Strauss, performed by the Opéra de Paris orchestra.