BBC Philharmonic Orchestra 2025-26 Season Events
Sat 10 Jan 2026
- 19:30Royal Northern College of Music
The RNCM Strings Festival celebrates the versatility, beauty, and brilliance of string music through a weekend of inspiring performances and collaborations.
The RNCM Strings Festival celebrates the versatility, beauty, and brilliance of string music through a weekend of inspiring performances and collaborations.
Programme
- Pearly, goldy, woody, bloody, or, Abundance
- Cello Concerto No 1 in C major
- Violin Concerto in D major
- Don Juan Op 20
Performers
- Naomi WooConductor
- Ning Fengviolin
- Li-Wei Qincello
- RNCM Students
Also part ofBBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the RNCM
Wed 14 Jan 2026
- 13:25MediaCityUK Salford
A full orbit of the sun with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
A full orbit of the sun with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Programme
- Orion: II. Winter Sky
- d’un matin de printemps
- Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream [Overture, Intermezzo, Nocturne, Scherzo]
- Grieg In Autumn, Op.11
Performers
Also part ofLive from the BBC Philharmonic Studio
Sat 17 Jan 2026
- 19:30The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
City Noir is John Adams’s musical tribute to half-lit rooms, venetian blinds, desperate men, dangerous women, secrets, lies, and the City of Angels.
City Noir is John Adams’s musical tribute to half-lit rooms, venetian blinds, desperate men, dangerous women, secrets, lies, and the City of Angels.
Programme
- The Unanswered Question
- Piano Concerto No. 4
- City Noir
Performers
- Alim Beisembayevpiano
- John StorgårdsConductor
Sat 24 Jan 2026
- 19:30The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók sits somewhere between a gothic tale of horror and a psychological dissection of a twisted relationship.
Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók sits somewhere between a gothic tale of horror and a psychological dissection of a twisted relationship.
Programme
- D’un soir triste
- Dances of Galánta
- Bluebeard’s Castlewill be sung in English with English surtitles
Performers
- Anja Bihlmaierconductor
- Jennifer JohnstonJudith
- Christopher PurvesBluebeard
Composers
Fri 30 Jan 2026
- 20:00Royal Northern College of Music
Music from the court of Versailles begins and ends this sparkling exploration of the baroque.
Music from the court of Versailles begins and ends this sparkling exploration of the baroque.
Programme
- Suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
- Selections from The Art of Fugue
- Concerto for Two Trumpets
- Concerto for Oboe and Violin
- Selections from Les Indes Galantes, Naïs, Hippolyte et Aricie, and Dardanus
Performers
- Jonathan Cohendirector
- Gwyn Owentrumpet
- Tom Fountaintrumpet
- Zoë Beyersviolin
Also part ofBBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the RNCM
Fri 19 Dec 2025
- 19:30The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Step into a winter wonderland as we bring the magic of Christmas to life with a dazzling evening of festive music.
Step into a winter wonderland as we bring the magic of Christmas to life with a dazzling evening of festive music.
Programme
- Les patineurs
- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
- Who Would Imagine a King
- A Christmas Festival
- Nutcracker Suite No. 1
- Sleigh Ride
- arr. Richard Hayman - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- O Holy Night
- Wintersong
- Nutcracker Suite
- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
- All I Want for Christmas is You
Performers
- Leslie Suganandarajahconductor
- Sam Oladeindevocalist
- YolanDa Brownpresenter
Tue 16 Dec 2025
- 14:25MediaCityUK Salford
The irresistible sway of Johann Strauss’s An der schönen blauen Donau has made it arguably the most famous waltz of all time.
The irresistible sway of Johann Strauss’s An der schönen blauen Donau has made it arguably the most famous waltz of all time.
Programme
- An der schönen blauen Donau
- Tanzwalzer op. 53
- Straussiana
- Rosenkavalier Suite
Performers
- Leslie Suganandarajahconductor
Also part ofLive from the BBC Philharmonic Studio
Tue 9 Dec 2025
- 14:25MediaCityUK, Salford
*Laniakea* is Hawaiian for ‘immeasurable celestial paradise’, a term that perfectly describes the music of Camille Pépin.
*Laniakea* is Hawaiian for ‘immeasurable celestial paradise’, a term that perfectly describes the music of Camille Pépin.
Programme
- Laniakea
- Une barque sur l'océan
- Petite suite
- La mer
Performers
- Joshua WeilersteinConductor
Also part ofLive from the BBC Philharmonic Studio
Fri 5 Dec 2025
- 20:00Royal Northern College of Music
Tonight, our string section takes centre stage. Written in 1939 as Europe teetered on the brink of war, Bartók’s Divertimento fuses Hungarian folk-rhythms with his signature spiky harmonies and driving momentum.
Tonight, our string section takes centre stage. Written in 1939 as Europe teetered on the brink of war, Bartók’s Divertimento fuses Hungarian folk-rhythms with his signature spiky harmonies and driving momentum.
Also part ofBBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the RNCM
Sat 29 Nov 2025
- 19:30The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
In Steve Reich’s endlessly tessellating music, shapes emerge, solidify, uncouple, drift away, and begin to emerge anew.
In Steve Reich’s endlessly tessellating music, shapes emerge, solidify, uncouple, drift away, and begin to emerge anew.
Programme
- Variations for Winds, Strings, and Keyboards
- Frenzy: a short symphony
- f(x)=sin²x-1/x
- The Four Sections
Performers
- Colin Currieconductor
Composers









