François-Xavier Roth (born Paris, 1971) is one of today’s most charismatic and enterprising conductors. He has been General Music Director of the City of Cologne since 2015, leading both the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Opera. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and the first-ever Associate Artist of the Philharmonie de Paris. In May 2019, he has been nominated artistic director of Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing. In 2003, he founded Les Siècles, an innovative orchestra performing contrasting and colourful programmes, using appropriate historic instruments for each repertoire. With Les Siècles, he has given more that 1 000 concerts throughout Europe, America and Asia. The orchestra has been nominated twice for the Gramophone Magazine’s Orchestra of the Year Award. For his achievements as musician, conductor, music director and teacher, François-Xavier Roth was created a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur. In 2020, François-Xavier Roth received the Ehrenpreis of the Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik, the most prestigious prize for recordings in the german wolrd.