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Conductor Juanjo Mena, the former principal conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, said he will retire this year because of Alzheimer's disease.
Mena announced the diagnosis in January 2025 and said in a public letter Friday that the disease has progressed.
"My situation is different than it was a year ago and it calls for some important decisions to be made," the 60-year-old wrote in the letter, released by the agency IMG Artists. "I now feel that the time has come to say goodbye to my work on the podium. Every score has an ending, and the final bars of this one have been written. This year's concerts will be the last I conduct. This decision was a difficult one to make, as you can imagine, but one I have considered carefully and wanted to share with you today."
IMG's statement said Mena will conduct select performances, including the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra on March 21 and 22.
"I would like to take the opportunity and turn my upcoming farewell concerts into an expression of gratitude and above all, a celebration," Mena wrote. "My conducting career has spanned 40 wonderful years, and I have a lot to be thankful for."