

Susanna Malkki. (Simon Fowler)

Classical music critic

Here are some women who are following in the footsteps of Marin Alsop, JoAnn Faletta, Simone Young, Jane Glover and others, to establish significant international conducting careers.

Speranza Scappucci. The 44-year-old Italian, a former assistant to Riccardo Muti who has conducted at the Vienna State Opera and the Washington National Opera, took over this season as principal conductor of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liege, Belgium.

Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla. At 31, and in her second season as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra after two years at the Landestheater Salzburg and as associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this Lithuanian conductor is viewed as an impending superstar.

Susanna Malkki. The 48-year-old Finn is chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and a principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She conducted Kaija Saariaho's "L'amour de loin" at the Metropolitan Opera in 2016.

[Susanna Mälkki mages gentle, assured music with NSO.]



Xian Zhang with the NJSO. (Fred Stucker/Fred Stucker )

Xian Zhang . Named associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 2005 by Lorin Maazel, the 44-year-old conductor, who studied in Beijing and Cincinnati, is now music director of the New Jersey Symphony, having held the same post with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. She is also principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

[Xian Zhang leads richly lyrical National Symphony Orchestra.]

Karen Kamensek. The American conductor, 47, was for five years general music director of the Hannover Opera, having previously held the same title in Freiburg as well as the associate music director position in Hamburg. A Philip Glass specialist, she led an award-winning production of "Akhnaten" for her English National Opera debut in 2016.

[The top 35 female conductors in classical music.]

Anu Tali. The Estonian conductor, 45, is music director of the Sarasota Orchestra. In 1997, she and her twin sister, Kadri, founded the group that eventually became known as the Nordic Symphony Orchestra, with whom she made a couple of notable recordings.

Joana Carneiro. Music director of the Berkeley Symphony, the 41-year-old Portuguese conductor is also head of the Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa.

Oksana Lyniv. A Ukrainian conductor who has assisted Kirill Petrenko at the Bavarian State Opera, the 39-year-old Lyniv has just taken over as the chief conductor of the opera and orchestra in Graz, Austria.



Joana Mallwitz. (Nikolaj Lund)

Joana Mallwitz. Now 31, the German conductor became Europe's youngest general music director in 2014 when she took over the theater in Erfurt. She will take over the same role in Nuremberg in 2018.

Alondra de la Parra. Born in New York, the 37-year-old Mexican conductor gained attention with the Mexican American Orchestra, which she founded in 2003. She took over this fall as music director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Australia.

Keri-Lynn Wilson. Formerly chief conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the 50-year-old Canadian makes guest appearances at the English National Opera, the Zurich Opera, the Bavarian State Opera and other international houses.