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Sakari Oramo’s guest conducting engagements in 2025-26, comprising dates in Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg and Leipzig, reinforce his fruitful creative association with Germany’s leading orchestras

Finnish conductor marks his 60th-birthday year with Mendelssohn and Elgar with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in debut performances with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra

Season includes six concerts as Artistic Partner of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and a visit to Paris to perform monumental works by Saariaho and Mahler with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France

The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet’s recording of Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Höllander has won the 2025 Opera Award from Gramophone, the world’s leading magazine for classical record reviews. The coveted accolade, chosen from a formidable shortlist of six nominees, was awarded to the Company by an expert panel of Gramophone critics.

The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is proud and honoured to receive the 2025 Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award. The prestigious accolade, presented during the annual Gramophone Awards at the De Vere Connaught Rooms in London on 15 October, was chosen by public vote from a shortlist of six nominees. It represents heartening recognition of the Orchestra’s achievements on record and in the concert hall, both at home in Norway and through its many international tours. The Award also reflects the popular appeal of the Bergen Philharmonic’s discography, which broadened during Edward Gardner’s inspirational term as Chief Conductor (2015-24) to deliver landmark interpretations of large-scale choral and orchestral works and live recordings of operatic masterworks, among them Britten’s Peter Grimes, winner of the 2022 Gramophone Recording of the Year and Opera Recording of the Year Awards.

Critically acclaimed conductor’s Barbican series includes UK premiere of Camille Pépin’s Inlandsis and first performance of Detlev Glanert’s revised Harp Concerto, together with Cecilia Damström’s ICE, violin concertos by Adès and Magnus Lindberg, and Stravinsky’s rarely heard Persephone

Other highlights include eight-concert East Asia tour, Pierre-Henri Dutron’s revised version of Mozart’s Requiem and a celebration of works by composers exiled from Europe to the United States

Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor András Keller, returns for its third UK tour this November, with performances in Dublin, Warwick, Birmingham, London, and Edinburgh. The tour features masterworks by Beethoven, Liszt, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky, including Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 with acclaimed soloist Paul Lewis.

Acclaimed British tenor Ed Lyon continues his celebrated work with Garsington Opera, starring as Ulysses in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (June–July 2026). He will also make his Italian opera house debut at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma as Tempo in Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (April 2026). Known for his intense character portrayals and collaboration with top directors, Lyon brings a unique emotional depth shaped by his background in psychology and therapy.

The Oslo Opera House is set to present an enthralling programme across the course of its 2025-26 season. A broad selection of its opera, ballet and concert productions are now available for sale.

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is thrilled to announce the ten talented quartets to compete in the 2025 Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC). Competitors in the 15th Banff International String Quartet Competition will travel to Banff from August 25-31, 2025, from their home bases in Asia, Europe, and North America, with players hailing from 14 different countries.

The Hallé announces its 2025/26 season of concerts at The Bridgewater Hall and across Manchester. This season will see Kahchun Wong in his second season as Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor of the Hallé and showcase feature titled positions including Anna Lapwood (Featured Artist), Unsuk Chin (Featured Composer) and Jonny Greenwood (Hallé Presents Featured Artist).