Conductor Michael Francis has held prominent positions in Sweden, Germany, and the U.S. He broke through in 2007 with not one but two well-received last-minute substitutions, stepping in for Valery Gergiev and John Adams. He made his recording debut in 2010 with the London Symphony, backing pianist Ian Parker on an album of works by Gershwin, Ravel, and Stravinsky. In 2015, Francis became the music director of The Florida Orchestra, and in 2019, he began a stint as the chief conductor of the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany; his contracts in both Florida and Ludwigshafen run through 2024. He has made several more recordings, backing pianist Valentina Lisitsa with the London Symphony on several Rachmaninov albums. In 2021, he teamed with cellist Jakob Kullberg on an album of cello concertos by Per Nørgård and Kaija Saariaho.