Boston Philharmonic Announces Its 47th Season: October 19, 2025-May 3, 2026 at Symphony Hall

The Boston Philharmonic, under the direction of Founder and Conductor Benjamin Zander, announces its 47th season—an exploration of bold, optimistic, and colorful music, with several works infused with American spirit in honor of the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Running from October 19, 2025, through May 3, 2026, at Boston’s Symphony Hall, the season includes four performances by the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) and three by the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO).

Continuing a long-standing tradition, Zander will present his engaging, pre-concert “Guide to the Music” prior to the BPO concerts, offering audiences a deeper understanding of the works on the program.

The season welcomes several acclaimed artists making their debuts with the organization:

• Makoto Ozone, a unique force in both jazz and classical music, the Japanese pianist (and Berklee College of Music alum) brings his "thrilling, unabashedly personal rendition" (New York Times) take on Rhapsody in Blue to the BPYO’s May 3 season finale.
• Four of today’s most celebrated operatic voices, each of whom has graced the world’s leading opera stages—Ailyn Perez, the trailblazing soprano and first Hispanic recipient of the Richard Tucker Award; Daniela Mack, the Argentine mezzo-soprano standing at the forefront of a new generation; John Osborn, the American tenor acclaimed for his master of “bel canto” and French Grand Opéra; and Maharram Huseynov, the young, Baku-born bass and Mariinsky Theatre guest soloist—join Chorus pro Musica and the BPO for a performance of Verdi’s Requiem on November 23.
• Kristian Bezuidenhout, the London-based pianist, conductor, and renowned Mozart interpreter, who was born in South Africa and educated at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in C Minor with the BPO on February 13.
• Zvi Plesser, the Israeli-born cellist, known for his chamber music performances, as well as solo work with such orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Saint Martin in the Fields, the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, under conductors such as Zubin Mehta and Sir Neville Mariner, performs the Brahms Double Concerto with the BPYO on November 7.

Returning favorites from recent seasons include:

• Alessandro Deljavan, the Italian pianist who made a much-heralded Boston debut with the BPO in 2019 playing Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, opens the BPO’s season on October 19 with Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
• Guy Braunstein, the former Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster who has performed the Elgar and Brahms Violin Concertos with the BPO, joins cellist Zvi Plesser for the BPYO’s performance of the Brahms Double Concerto on November 7.
• Dame Sarah Connolly, after her memorable appearance in Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony this past April the acclaimed Mahler interpreter and mezzo-soprano returns as the Mahler Symphony No. 3 soloist on April 11.

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra Programs includes works by some of the greatest composers in the classical canon, including Brahms, Verdi, Mozart, and Mahler, brought to life by world-class artists.

• Sunday, October 19, 2025, 3 PM: The season opens with an all-Brahms program: the Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Alessandro Deljavan and Symphony No. 1.
• Sunday, November 23, 2025, 3 PM: A quartet of superstar vocal soloists, including soprano Ailyn Perez, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, tenor John Osborn, and bass Maharram Huseynov, join Chorus pro Musica for a performance of Verdi’s Requiem.
• Friday, February 13, 2026, 8 PM: Pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout, who’s recorded the complete keyboard music of Mozart (mostly for harmonia mundi), as well as an ongoing cycle of the complete Mozart piano concertos with the Freiburger Barockorchester, make his Boston Philharmonic debut with the Piano Concerto No. 20 in C Minor. Bruckner’s majestic and rarely performed Symphony No. 7 concludes the program.
• Saturday, April 11, 2026, 8 PM: The season closes with Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. Acclaimed as one of the greatest Mahler singers in living memory, Dame Sarah Connolly returns to sing the poignant setting of Nietzsche’s Midnight Song, accompanied by Chorus pro Musica, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and The Choristers of Saint Paul’s Choir School.

Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Programs: After performing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 on its recent five-city, six-concert Mexican tour and cultural exchange, the music of the 13th season offers the opportunity to tackle other works rarely performed by a youth orchestra.

• Friday, November 7, 2025, 8 PM: The season kicks off with Bernstein’s Candide Overture followed by Brahms’s Double Concerto, with violinist Guy Braunstein and cellist Zvi Plesser, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, one of the greatest and most challenging works in the orchestral repertoire.
• Friday, February 27, 2026, 8 PM: Takemitsu’s Green, Debussy’s La Mer, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 comprise a program that not only explores nature but also challenges the young musicians to achieve new heights of virtuosity and sophistication.

• Sunday, May 3, 2026, 7 PM: In a salute to America’s 250th anniversary, the season finale includes Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston composer John Harbison’s Remembering Gatsby (Foxtrot for Orchestra), Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Makoto Ozone’s unique take on the renowned tribute to the kinetic energy of America's cities in the 1920s, and Copland’s Symphony No. 3, an unmistakably American masterpiece.

BPO tickets are $125, $95, $65, $32/pay-what-you-can, and students $12; BPYO tickets are $75, $50, $25/pay-what-you-can, and students $12. Tickets are available at www.bostonphil.org or by calling 617-236-0999. Subscription packages are also available.