Belgian conductor.

Franz (François) Rühlmann was born on January 14, 1868 in Brussels (Belgium). He attended the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, he won the first prizes in solfège and oboe in 1882 and 1883, respectively. There, he studied composition, harmony and orchestra conducting with Joseph Dupont.

Franz was a substitute oboist in the conservatory orchestra from 1887 to 1892, and an oboist in the orchestra of Brussels's Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie from 1889 to 1896. During this period, he was a member of the Vlaamse Kunstgenootschap De Distel and composed several works, such as Idée and Vilanell e for oboe. In 1892 he was hired by the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen, where he remained until 1895 as an opera conductor. He also directed the Grand Théâtre in Liège and the Théâtre Royal in Antwerp, the latter from 1896 to 1898. During his tenure in Antwerp, he presented productions of Phryné by Camille Saint-Saëns, Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, and Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner. He returned to La Monnaie as a conductor in 1898 and led the orchestra in performances of Bastien et Bastienne by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on December 29, 1900; L'irato ou l'emporté by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul on February 13, 1902; and La captive by Pau Gilson on April 15, 1902.

In 1905, Albert Carré hired Rühlmann as assistant conductor at the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris, and one year later he replaced Alexandre Luigini as the first director. There he conducted Madame Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini on December 28, 1906; Ariane et Barbebleue by Paul Dukas on May 10, 1907; L'heure espagnole by Maurice Ravel on May 19, 1911; and La vida breve by Manuel de Falla on January 6, 1914, among other works. He was the conductor of the Concerts Populaires from 1920, where he included and conducted works by Falla, with whom he maintained correspondence. These concerts also featured works by Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré. In 1923, his career led him to collaborate in the Concerts Colonne alongside Gabriel Pierné. He also gave private lessons to musicians such as Enrique Jordá and Camargo Guarnieri. He passed away on June 8, 1948, in Paris (France).