VIENNA: The general musical director of the Vienna State Opera, one of the most prestigious positions in classical music worldwide, announced his resignation on Friday with immediate effect.
Franz Welser-Moest, 54, whose glittering career has included conducting the world-famous Vienna New Year's Concert last year, cited "long-held conceptual differences in artistic matters" for his decision.
The Austrian's immediate departure leaves the opera house's French head Dominique Meyer without a conductor for a string of planned performances in the 2014-2015 season including two opera premieres.
Welser-Moest trained as a violinist before a car accident turned him to conducting, working with orchestras around the world including in London, Berlin, Zurich, Philadelphia and New York.
Last year he pulled out of conducting a three-year cycle of Mozart operas at the Salzburg Festival, saying that a start-time of one performance at 11:00 am meant the singers would have to wake up at 3:00 am "to be ready".
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