On Wednesday night we had an important double treat: a “Symphonic Send-Off” in the form of a preview of some of the works to be played during the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s European Tour, and the “2026 Season Unveiling”.
Between the three items played: a very lively Overture to Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla, then Elgar’s In the South and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6, the MSO’s popular Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín spoke about the Tour and what was in store for 2026. The personal nature of Martín’s relationship with both orchestra members and the audience was evident when he spoke about how much he was looking forward to the MSO’s participation in the Santander International Festival in Spain. It is his home town, and his elderly father will be in the audience.
Photos of major artists were projected onto giant screens we saw that the Maestro himself would be among their number, this time as a flautist – his job before conducting took precedence. Charmingly self-deprecating, he said that he was advised to play “before you forget everything”. “It looks as though I hired myself” he continued, confessing to be “so nervous already”. His enthusiasm for the program was infectious as he spoke about his relationship with the composer John Williams and drew our attention to the merits of various artists.
After Head of Planning, Katharine Bartholomeusz-Plows had taken the remaining audience through the 2026 program, Donor Liaison, Keith Clancy, amusingly simplified things by giving us his top five choices: Dvořák 7, Mahler 6 (he’s obviously keen on symphonies, and these are two beauties), the Metropolis program (he likes sound effects), The Jussen Brothers piano duo (the Maestro highlighted them too), and the Brahms Festival (Clancy thinks Brahms has the best beard in classical music). I too have my top choices, including the Brahms Festival (I immediately bought a ticket) and the violinist María Dueñas, but as you will see below there is “something for everyone”.
Classic Melbourne will be taking a keen interest in new works, especially by Australian artists. The season begins with the Cybec Showcase on January 24 – a fabulous initiative that resulted in a terrific work by Klearhos Murphy (Cybec Young Composer in Residence) heard in a recent MSO concert. It will be interesting to hear the new work by James Henry (Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence) in August (along with the Mahler 6). New works by Andrew Aronowicz (2026 Cybec Young Composer in Residence) and Joe Chindamo (2026 Composer in Residence) are bound to be exciting and popular.
Also note: an anonymous benefactor has enabled the price of tickets to remain at 2025 prices, which is especially welcome in these times. Grab one of the MSO’s handsome booklets as soon as you have a chance and make your selections.
The following extracts from the MSO’s media release (it’s a long one) provide some of the idea of the highlights.
Season 2026 – Celebrating 120 Years
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Season 2026 celebrates 120 years of music-making with a bold new look and a program shaped by powerful emotion, musical innovation, and exceptional artistry. Spanning centuries and genres, the season features timeless masterworks alongside groundbreaking new compositions, showcasing celebrated Australian and international artists—including three making their Australian debut and 12 appearing with the MSO for the first time.
In a year rich with musical discovery, the MSO pays tribute to Australian artistry, highlighting First Nations voices, emerging talent, the exceptional musicians of the Orchestra and MSO Chorus, and new Concertmaster Natalie Chee. The season features 29 new MSO commissions including 26 world premieres, with works by leading composers and fresh voices alike. Highlights include four new works by First Nations artists, the highly popular NAIDOC Week celebrations and two world premieres by award-winning Melbourne composer and MSO Composer in Residence for 2026 Joe Chindamo.
“I am thrilled to be performing in Melbourne with our wonderful orchestra and our recently appointed Concertmaster Natalie Chee,” says Chief Conductor Jaime Martín. “Our distinguished international guests include French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, UK cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, American pianist Kirill Gerstein, soprano Danielle de Niese and Spanish violinist María Dueñas.
Season 2026 welcomes a host of additional exciting international artists making their MSO debuts. Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong leads Mahler & Tchaikovsky, featuring Sergei Nakariakov’s flugelhorn rendition of Variations on a Rococo Theme, Mahler’s First Symphony Titan, and a world premiere by Cybec Young Composer in Residence Andrew Aronowicz. Americans, conductor Jonathan Heyward and saxophonist Steven Banks, also debut with Hope & Bravery: Shostakovich & Tomasi, pairing Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony with Tomasi’s Saxophone Concerto; while cellist Zlatomir Fung makes his Australian debut during the Year of the Horse at MSO’s iconic Chinese New Year concert.
Dutch brothers, pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen debut performing Poulenc under the baton of Nodoka Okisawa. Acclaimed Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan will conduct the Orchestra’s annual performances of Handel’s Messiah, and A Classical Christmas, featuring the Australian premiere of movements from his own Christmas Oratorio – an MSO co-commission.
The MSO brings music to more communities – from the Bowl to Broadmeadows
In its 120th year, the MSO reinforces its commitment to sharing orchestral music with more people, with additional no-to low-cost concerts that proudly embed the MSO within a range of communities across the state, including the world premiere of Joe Chindamo’s Flute Concerto at the Broadmeadows Town Hall.
Melbourne’s much-loved Sidney Myer Free Concerts will return to tradition in February – for the first time since 2013, the MSO will present four free concerts at the Bowl across one week in a festival-style model. This hugely popular annual event will showcase artists and composers form Melbourne, Victoria and Australia:
A year of festivities and festivals as the MSO celebrates 120 years
The MSO will expand upon February’s week of Free Concerts with more ‘binge-listening’ opportunities throughout the year, with multi-day orchestral festivals and new immersive venue takeovers providing a fresh variety of different ways to experience the MSO.
The superb acoustics of Melbourne Recital Centre set the stage for an immersive weekend of MSO Ensemble performances. String Spectacular, curated and directed by Concertmaster Natalie Chee, with works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Grieg and Ella Macens. Mass of Deliverance, conducted by Warren Trevelyan-Jones, pairs choral works by John Rutter and Dan Walker with musicians of the MSO Chorus and Orchestra. The weekend concludes with Gran Partita, showcasing the MSO Wind Ensemble with music by R. Strauss and Mozart.
Melbourne Town Hall, home to the largest romantic organ in the southern hemisphere, hosts the Grand Organ Festival with acclaimed organist Joseph Nolan for three extraordinary concerts. Making her MSO debut, Finnish conductor Emilia Hoving leads a program of classical dance music followed by Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Nocturne (one of the first works the MSO performed in this venue a century ago), and Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony No.3 which includes that thundering Town Hall Organ. In the second concert, Warren Trevelyan-Jones conducts the brilliant singers of the MSO Chorus for Duruflé’s Requiem, while the final concert sees Nolan’s award-winning virtuosity centre stage for Guilmant’s Organ Sonata No.1 and Widor’s Symphony for Organ No.5.
Building on the success of 2024’s Beethoven Festival, Jaime Martin’s Season 2026 concludes with a Brahms Festival in November, six concerts across two weeks dedicated to this remarkable composer. Martín leads the Orchestra through all four Brahms symphonies, with internationally acclaimed pianist Denis Kozhukhin who will perform both Brahms Piano Concertos with the Orchestra and Brahms Sonata No.3 and Horn Trio in a special chamber music concert of intimate works.
The Spring Gala: Brahms’ German Requiem concludes the festival with acclaimed Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel opening the concert with a selection of spiritual works, then joined by the MSO Chorus for Brahms’ transcendent Ein Deutsches Requiem. Brahms enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to experience returning conductor Tianyi Lu leading the MSO with MSO Young Artist in Association Christian Li performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto alongside performances of Tchaikovsky’s enchanting Swan Lake Suite and Elfrida Andrée’s rarely heard Andante Quasi Recitativo.
Chief Conductor Jaime Martín makes his Melbourne Recital Centre debut
Returning for his fifth year as Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín revisits his musical beginnings to lead Mozart’s Flute Concerto No.1 as both soloist (flute) & director in Strauss & Mozart at the Melbourne Recital Centre next February. He’ll also guide the MSO in a series of unmissable concerts across the year, including headline concerts with international symphonic superstars and continued exploration though the symphonies of Dvořák and Mahler.
The highly anticipated Gala Series – the centrepiece of the MSO’s yearly program, helmed by Martín – begins with the Season Opening Gala, featuring French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s performance of Gershwin’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto in F, alongside John Williams’ Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra and Rachmaninov’s lively Symphonic Dances. The Winter Gala features Melbourne-born superstar soprano Danielle de Niese bringing drama and joy to the stage with selections from classic musicals by Gershwin, Porter and Bernstein.
Martín returns to the works of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, in Dvořák Smetana & Coll with Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein. Great Passions: Radulović plays Khachaturian marks the MSO debut of Serbian violin virtuoso Nemanja Radulović, and features musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). UK Cellist Sheku Kanneh–Mason joins Martín to perform the Australian premiere of Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto, an MSO co-commission.
Martín will also continue his Mahler cycle with his spectacular Sixth Symphony alongside the world premiere of a new work from Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence James Henry.
Continuing a tradition of supporting women in orchestral music
In 2026, the MSO continues to celebrate extraordinary women in music, including the Australian premiere of Melbourne composer Melody Eötvös The Deciding Machine, honouring women’s suffrage and Ada Lovelace’s pioneering computer work in a special International Women’s Day program.
Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund makes her Australian debut in a Nordic-inspired program with Andrea Lam performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1; while Also sprach Zarathustra includes the Australian debut of Spanish violinist Maria Duenas playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Anja Bihlmaier returns to lead the Orchestra in A Trip to Vienna performing works by R. Strauss, Mozart, and Bartók.
Championing a symphonic new wave in Australia
The MSO continues its deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of musical talent through a diverse suite of programs for emerging artists, composers, conductors, and instrumentalists, to help build a sustainable future for orchestral music and shape the musical voice of our state.
This year unveils 29 new works commissioned by the MSO across our 2026 Season, contributing to an oeuvre of new and modern orchestral music by the composers of our time.
Annual programs include the MSO Academy, Side by Side concerts with both Melbourne Youth Orchestra and Australian National Academy of Music, Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers’ Program, Cybec Young Composer in Residence, the First Voices Composer Program and First Voices Showcase, conducted by Aaron Wyatt, the Ensemble Dutala Residency, in partnership with Short Black Opera and the Snare Drum Award for tertiary percussionists. The MSO also fosters future orchestral leadership through the Australian Conducting Academy, led by Benjamin Northey.
Family-favourite series Jams for Juniors and Classic Kids – which introduce the joy of orchestral music to a younger generation – will continue across the year.
More of the screen moments that Victorians love
MSO’s foray into film music includes the return of Metropolis Festival, Art of the Score and a series of cinematic blockbusters performed live to screen.
Art of the Score celebrates legendary Hollywood composer James Horner while Metropolis: Sounds of Cinema explores the fascinating world of Foley – the art of creating sound effects for film.
The hugely popular MSO at the Movies concerts celebrate legendary scores with Disney’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast featuring Alan Menken’s Academy Award®-winning score, John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 and iconic titles featuring John Williams masterpieces including Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Home Alone with the MSO Chorus.
Subscription packages to the MSO’s Season 2026 are now available. Individual concert tickets will be available from October 30. For further information visit mso.com.au
Photo credit: Samantha Mueleman
