Chailly to step down early as Leipzig Gewandhaus conductor

September 3, 2015 at 8:35 a.m. | Updated September 3, 2015 at 8:45 a.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this April 23, 2015 file picture Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly attends at a press conference in Milan, Italy. Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra says that Riccardo Chailly will step down next year as its chief conductor, four years before his contract was due to expire. The orchestra said Thursday Sept. 3, 2015 that the Italian will conduct his last concerts in Leipzig in June. It said that Chailly, who has been in charge since 2005, asked to leave early but didn’t specify why. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni),file
FILE - In this April 23, 2015 file picture Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly attends at a press conference in Milan, Italy. Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra says that Riccardo Chailly will step down next year as its chief conductor, four years before his contract was due to expire. The orchestra said Thursday Sept. 3, 2015 that the Italian will conduct his last concerts in Leipzig in June. It said that Chailly, who has been in charge since 2005, asked to leave early but didn’t specify why. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni),file

BERLIN (AP) - Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra says that Riccardo Chailly will step down next year as its chief conductor, four years before his contract was due to expire.

The orchestra said Thursday that the Italian will conduct his last concerts in Leipzig in June. It said that Chailly, who has been in charge since 2005, asked to leave early but didn't specify why.

Chailly became the principal conductor of Milan's La Scala opera house this year and is due to become its musical director in 2017. He originally planned to keep his Leipzig commitments alongside his new duties in Milan.

Last month, he was also appointed music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in Switzerland with a five-year contract. In that role, he will conduct his first concerts next year.

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