The Cleveland Orchestra has unveiled its 2025–26 season, running from September 2025 to May 2026 at Severance Music Center. Marking the Orchestra’s 108th season and the 24th year of Music Director Franz Welser-Möst’s tenure, the programming reflects a blend of tradition and innovation, with a wide range of works from classical repertoire to world premieres and contemporary commissions.
“After 24 years with The Cleveland Orchestra, we have developed a relationship of great depth and understanding, and I am tremendously proud of what we’ve built,” said Welser-Möst. Among the season highlights he noted is Beethoven’s Fidelio, which will be presented in three concert performances in May 2026 as part of the fourth annual Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival.
Welser-Möst leads season highlights
The Music Director opens the season (Sept 26–28) with Ravel’s Boléro, Strauss’s Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome, and the U.S. premiere of Bernd Richard Deutsch’s Urworte, a co-commission by The Cleveland Orchestra.
Later programs led by Welser-Möst include:
- Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Oct 2 & 5) with Limmie Pulliam and Iurii Samoilov
- Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Oct 23–26) with The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and soloists Joëlle Harvey, Taylor Raven, Miles Mykkanen, and Dashon Burton
- Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11 (Jan 8–10)
- Verdi’s Requiem (Jan 13–15) with Asmik Grigorian and the Chorus
- Wagner excerpts from Götterdämmerung (May 7–9)
- Beethoven’s Fidelio (May 16, 21 & 24)
- Adolphus Hailstork’s Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed and Dvořák’s Hero’s Song (May 22)
Premieres and commissions
In addition to Deutsch’s Urworte, the season includes:
- Geoffrey Gordon’s Mad Song (U.S. premiere, Nov 13–15), featuring English hornist Robert Walters
- Olga Neuwirth’s Zones of Blue (U.S. premiere, May 22), conducted by Welser-Möst and featuring Jörg Widmann on clarinet
- Jörg Widmann conducts three of his own works including the U.S. premiere of Danse macabre (Apr 30 & May 2)
- World premiere of Jüri Reinvere’s Concerto for Violin, Harp, and Orchestra (May 22), performed by Leila Josefowicz and Trina Struble
Debuts and guest appearances
The season features debuts by soprano Asmik Grigorian (Verdi’s Requiem), violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja (Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Mar 19–21), and conductor Tugan Sokhiev (Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, Nov 13–15).
Other returning guests include:
- Pianist Daniil Trifonov (Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Oct 9–11)
- Pianist Garrick Ohlsson (Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, Oct 30, Nov 1–2)
- Yuja Wang (Ligeti and Ravel concertos, Nov 28–30)
- Dalia Stasevska, Bernard Labadie, Antonello Manacorda, Barbara Hannigan, John Adams, Alain Altinoglu, Jakub Hrůša, Elim Chan, Daniele Rustioni, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and Daniel Harding
Touring and festivals
The Orchestra tours to Carnegie Hall (Jan 20–21) for Verdi’s Requiem and a program of Mozart and Shostakovich. In Miami, the ensemble performs Requiem, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with Yefim Bronfman, and The Rite of Spring with Rafael Payare. The 2026 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival centers on Fidelio.
Recital series
Severance in Recital returns with:
- Beatrice Rana (Oct 29)
- Mao Fujita (Feb 17)
- Isata & Sheku Kanneh-Mason (Mar 17)
- Alexandre Kantorow (Apr 16)
- Marc-André Hamelin & Maria João Pires (date TBA)
Tickets
Subscriptions are now available, with prices starting at $96. Individual tickets go on sale August 14, 2025. The Orchestra’s flexible Members Club continues for 2025–26, offering $10 tickets for a monthly fee.
Single tickets go on sale beginning August 14, 2025.
Complete details and concert listing can be found at clevelandorchestra.com
Subscribe to our newsletter