New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 2026 Season

Violin superstar María Dueñas and conductor Rodolfo Barráez make their New Zealand debuts in a concert of lush, unforgettable music. The programme includes Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 and a playful tribute to our Aotearoa’s birdsong skies in Eve de Castro-Robinson’s Aurora.

Conductor André de Ridder returns for a concert featuring Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 — a poignant reflection on the tragedy of war. There’s also a world premiere performance of American composer Andrew Norman’s Trombone Concerto. This features trombonist extraordinaire Jörgen van Rijen.

Violinist James Ehnes performs Korngold’s dazzling Violin Concerto before NZSO Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor Gemma New leads the orchestra in Mahler’s magnificent Titan symphony. The Origin Of The Harp, by modern British composer Thomas Adès, opens the concert in atmospheric style.

Benjamin Northey conducts a programme pulsing with the power of love. Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet has one of the greatest ballet scores of all time. Its emotional depth is matched in Barber’s Cello Concerto with cellist Li-Wei Qin. Sweet nostalgia reigns in Kiwi composer Kenneth Young’s Douce Tristesse.

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra brings together Aotearoa’s best young musicians to perform four exceptional works. These include Four Sea Interludes from Benjamin Britten’s famous opera Peter Grimes and Debussy’s La Mer, considered one of the most influential masterpieces of the 20th century.

The premiere of Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak’s work Let There Be Light is inspired by the war in Ukraine. This brooding work precedes New Zealand piano prodigy Shan Liu playing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Tchaikovsky’s magisterial Symphony No.4 rounds out an epic journey with hope.

 Two extraordinary Wagner specialists combine to bring to life excerpts from two of Wagner’s most heroic and magnificent operas: Parsifal and Tannhäuser. Audience favourites, conductor Pietari Inkinen and New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill, reunite in what promises to be a radiant Wagner extravaganza.

Arctic North meets Pacific South in a programme of heart-stirring Finnish works. Dramatic landscapes portrayed in music will resonate with Kiwi audiences. Two works from Sibelius feature, along with a New Zealand premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Stamp the beat and feel the heat in this concert of pan-American dance and jazz music. The irrepressible American swagger of gangland New York is captured in Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and John Adams’s The Chairman Dances also feature.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s brightest young musicians perform as soloists and side-by-side with the NZSO in a concert celebrating the next generation of performers. Previous young artists have gone on to perform as soloists with the NZSO, NYO and other orchestras across Aotearoa New Zealand.

One of the world’s most acclaimed conductors, Sir Donald Runnicles, returns to conduct a concert of ravishing beauty. Richard Strauss’s Rosenkavalier Suite evokes the decadence of 18^th-century Vienna, while his sublime Four Last Songs are interpreted by the silver-voiced soprano Madeleine Pierard.

Mozart’s last piano concerto (No. 27) receives an intelligent and elegant interpretation by the dynamic British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. To round out the programme, the NZSO performs two works that deserve a wider audience — Brahms’ Serenade and Elfrida Andrée’s Andante Recitative.

NZSO Principal Conductor Gemma New and legendary pianist Sir Stephen Hough present a concert of charm and mystery. Elgar’s masterpiece Enigma Variations is considered a work of compositional genius. It’s programmed with Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 and Ross Harris Concerto for Orchestra.

The grand finale of the NZSO’s season involves a monumental work of emotional power. For his 9^th symphony, Beethoven used an audacious juxtaposition of styles and forces. This included a choir, which was revolutionary at the time. Join four soloists and The Orpheus Choir in a thrilling end to the year.