From Herbert Blomstedt conducting Bruckner at 99 to Taylor Mac’s genre-defying 24-Decade History of Popular Music, the Philharmonia Orchestra’s autumn 2026 season at the Royal Festival Hall is packed with unmissable dates.
The Philharmonia Orchestra has announced the first half of its 2026/27 London season at the Southbank Centre — a line-up of eleven concerts running from September to November 2026 that balances symphonic heavyweights with bold contemporary premieres. Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali leads the opening, and this season’s Featured Artists are Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta and Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (“Nobu”). There are welcome returns from Herbert Blomstedt, Seong-Jin Cho and Nicola Benedetti, plus UK premieres from Taylor Mac and Julia Wolfe.
Marking 250 Years of American Independence
Three concerts in the season mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. First up, on 22 September, is the London premiere of Fire in my Mouth by Julia Wolfe — a powerful multimedia elegy for the 146 garment workers who died in New York’s 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Conducted by Marin Alsop and co-presented with the Southbank Centre, it follows the work’s acclaimed world premiere at the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival.
On 26 November, MacArthur Genius Award winner Taylor Mac brings the UK orchestral premiere of A 24-Decade History of Popular Music — a dazzling, genre-defying journey through 240 years of American history that combines iconic songs with bold theatrical storytelling.
The American thread completes with Dvořák’s New World Symphony, written during the composer’s American sojourn, which anchors the official season opener on 24 September.
Three Greatest Hits in One Night
The official season opening on 24 September packs three audience favourites into a single programme: Brahms’s boisterous Academic Festival Overture, Elgar’s deeply poignant Cello Concerto with Featured Artist Sol Gabetta as soloist, and Dvořák’s New World Symphony — all under the baton of Santtu-Matias Rouvali. The evening ends with a post-concert set from the Philharmonia Jazz Quintet.
A Legend at 99
On 4 October, the Philharmonia welcomes back the extraordinary Herbert Blomstedt — loved and revered by the Philharmonia players in equal measure — to conduct Bruckner’s mighty Fifth Symphony. Blomstedt is now 99 years old, and this is the sort of concert that makes a season.
Star Soloists
Seong-Jin Cho reunites with his “musical soulmate” Santtu on 22 October for Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, alongside Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony and Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia.
Canadian violin titan James Ehnes performs Dvořák’s Violin Concerto on 29 October, in a vibrant programme that also features Dora Pejačević’s Overture for Large Orchestra, Suk’s Scherzo Fantastique, and Janáček’s blazing Sinfonietta, conducted by Kevin John Edusei.
Nicola Benedetti takes centre stage on Sunday 1 November for Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto, with Jakub Hrůša conducting Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony to bring the afternoon to a radiant close.
Featured Artist Nobuyuki Tsujii — “Nobu” — returns on 5 November for Shostakovich’s playful Piano Concerto No. 2, paired with Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s shimmering Primal Message and highlights from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, conducted by Xian Zhang.
American piano legend Emanuel Ax makes a rare UK appearance on 12 November, joining Manfred Honeck for Mozart’s majestic Piano Concerto K.503, alongside the Die Fledermaus overture and an intense orchestral suite from Strauss’s Elektra.
Symphonic Drama with Marin Alsop
Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop — the first woman to lead major orchestras in four countries and a MacArthur Fellow — returns on 19 November with a supersized double-bill: Bernstein’s philosophical Serenade after Plato’s Symposium (with Esther Yoo on violin) and Mahler’s epic Sixth Symphony.
Season Finale: A German Requiem
The autumn half closes on Sunday 29 November with Brahms’s A German Requiem — a deeply personal work written after the death of the composer’s mother, replacing the traditional Latin with German Bible passages to offer comfort to the living. Soprano Diana Damrau and bass-baritone Gerald Finley are the soloists, with Damrau also performing songs by Richard Strauss, whose music has a long and special association with the Orchestra.
Booking and Information
All eleven concerts take place at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX. The nearest Tube station is Waterloo. Full programme details and tickets are available at philharmonia.co.uk and via the Southbank Centre box office.
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