Carnegie Hall has unveiled its 2025-26 season, featuring a diverse lineup of orchestras, ensembles, and soloists. Among the highlights is a season-long tribute to composer Arvo Pärt in his 90th year.
Arvo Pärt as Composer-in-Residence
Throughout the season, Arvo Pärt will serve as Carnegie Hall’s composer-in-residence, holding The Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair. The Estonian Festival Orchestra, led by Paavo Järvi, will open the celebration, joined by violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, composer-pianist Nico Muhly, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir in a program tracing Pärt’s musical evolution. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir will also present an all-Pärt program at Zankel Hall with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste. Additional performances of Pärt’s works will be presented by violinist Gidon Kremer, the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, The Knights, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt with lutenist Thomas Dunford, and Ensemble Connect.
Orchestral Highlights
The season opens in October with Daniel Harding conducting the NYO-USA All-Stars, an ensemble affiliated with Carnegie Hall, in works by Bernstein and Stravinsky. The concert will also feature Yuja Wang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 from the keyboard.
Marin Alsop will lead the Philharmonia Orchestra in Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, known for its vivid instrumental colors. Alexandre Kantorow will join for Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Alsop returns later in the season to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra in a program featuring a new work by John Adams, Prokofiev, and Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, with Hayato Sumino as soloist.
Other orchestral performances include:
- Rafael Pichon conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
- Manfred Honeck leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, with pianist Seong-Jin Cho in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini.
- Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring pianist Víkingur Ólafsson.
- The Mahler Chamber Orchestra, led by Yuja Wang from the keyboard, making its Carnegie Hall debut in this double roll.
Other orchestras scheduled to appear include the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Chamber Music and Recitals
Carnegie Hall’s chamber music offerings include:
- Matthias Goerne and Daniil Trifonov performing Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin.
- Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu presenting an all-Schubert recital.
- The Belcea Quartet giving the world premiere of a new work by Brett Dean, alongside pieces by Mozart and Beethoven.
- Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu offering a tribute to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
- Nicolas Altstaedt and Thomas Dunford performing works by Bach, Marais, Antoine Forqueray, and Pärt.
- Hilary Hahn and Lang Lang playing works by Saint-Saëns, Schumann, and Beethoven.
Other chamber ensembles appearing this season include the Modigliani Quartet, Takács Quartet, Danish String Quartet, and Kronos Quartet.
Piano Recitals
A variety of pianists will be featured in solo recitals, including:
- Andras Schiff performing an unannounced program.
- Igor Levit playing Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations alongside Rzewski’s The People Will Never Be Defeated.
- Víkingur Ólafsson presenting Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas.
- Yunchan Lim performing Schubert’s Piano Sonata in G Major and fantasy works by Schubert and Schumann.
Notable Soloists
A roster of soloists will appear throughout the season, including pianists Nobuyuki Tsujii, Beatrice Rana, Yeom Eum Son, Benjamin Grosvenor, Daniil Trifonov, Seong-Jin Cho, Leif Ove Andsnes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Emanuel Ax, Bruce Liu, Mao Fujita, Alexandra Dovgan, and Alexandre Kantorow. Other featured artists include cellist Alisa Weilerstein and tenor Juan Diego Flórez.
To explore the whole season, click here
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