“We are beginning the journey from our 120th year towards our 125th with a clear sense of purpose – it’s all about great music,” says Melbourne Symphony Chief Executive Officer Richard Wigley, as the MSO unveils a 2027 program marking the bicentennial of Beethoven’s death, a major Mahler focus and bold new Australian works.

The season also introduces a new Icons of the 20th Century series, welcomes Melbourne-born conductor Nicholas Carter as Chief Guest Conductor, and presents 14 new MSO commissions – 12 by Australian composers.

Across the year the Orchestra will feature more than 40 Australian soloists, continue its First Voices and Cybec composer development programs, and expand community initiatives including First Look Seats, the Sidney Myer Free Concert Series and neighbourhood performances across Victoria.

Jaime Martín. Portrait supplied

MSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Jaime Martín describes the season – his sixth with the MSO – as one built on discovery.

“One of the things I love most about music is that it is never fixed,” says Martín. “Every time I return to a piece I know well, I discover something different – a new colour, a different emotion, a fresh way of listening.”

“Whether we are revisiting cherished masterpieces or introducing music audiences may be hearing for the first time, our hope is that every concert offers something to surprise, move and inspire.”

Jaime Martín and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Photo © Laura Manariti

Summer: Beethoven, Australian creativity and orchestral favourites

The season begins even before the formal opening, with the annual Cybec Showcase (23 January) unveiling four world premieres by emerging Australian composers Angela Zhang, Grace Wellik, Jakob Bragg and Paul Nicolaou.

Chinese New Year celebrations follow on 6 February under conductor Dane Lam, featuring percussion virtuoso Le Yu in Ye Xiaogang’s Cranes Chirping, before the Orchestra returns to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for its annual free concerts from 12 February.

The Bowl series ranges from the heroic optimism of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony with pianist Sheng-Yuan Lynch, to the family-friendly Call of Adventure concert of cinematic orchestral favourites and Under the Canopy, a First Nations-focused program curated by Aaron Wyatt featuring a new musical Acknowledgement of Country by William Barton.

The official season opens in late February with Martín conducting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Ah! Perfido, which spotlights the MSO Chorus and an international quartet of star soloists: soprano Meechot Marrero, mezzo Stefanie Irányi, tenor Simon O’Neill and bass James Clayton.

Paul Lewis and Andrea Dariescu. Portraits supplied

Beethoven continues to shape the early months, with British pianist Paul Lewis performing the “Emperor” Concerto alongside Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances (4-6 March).

Martín also conducts one of the emotional high points of the season, pairing Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony with Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (11-13 March).

Throughout autumn, audiences can choose between familiar masterpieces and more adventurous programming.

The ever-popular Classical Spectacular returns with orchestral favourites spanning Wagner, Tchaikovsky, John Williams and Bernstein (3-4 April), while chamber music features prominently through appearances by 2027 MSO Featured Artist Alexandra Dariescu.

The Romanian pianist performs Schumann’s Piano Quintet with MSO musicians, joins Beethoven’s Triple Concerto alongside Concertmaster Natalie Chee and cellist Charlotte Miles (9-10 April) and stars in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G under Japanese conductor Yutaka Sado (15-17 April).

French impressionism also receives a showcase in Sado’s debut program (19 April) combining Debussy’s La Mer, Ravel’s La valse and Germaine Tailleferre’s rarely heard Ballade.

Among the season’s major innovations is the launch of the Icons of the 20th Century series, opening in late May under Martín’s baton with Janáček’s Sinfonietta, Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Stravinsky’s complete Firebird ballet. 

Australian music remains central throughout, from Lucy Blomfield’s commissions to works by Elena Kats-Chernin, Anne Cawrse and Vanessa Perica.

Vanessa Perica and Selina Ott. Portraits supplied

Winter: Epic symphonies, world premieres and Australian voices

The winter season broadens the Orchestra’s ambitions, beginning with the First Voices Showcase, celebrating emerging First Nations composers through performance and conversation.

One of the year’s most significant new works follows with The Valley of the Dry Bones (5 June), composer Yitzhak Yedid‘s large-scale oratorio setting of a libretto by journalist and Wiradjuri man Stan Grant. Bringing together orchestra, chorus and The Consort of Melbourne, the work explores themes of conflict, reconciliation and shared humanity.

Jazz and classical traditions intersect in Symphonic Swing (10, 12 June), where Austrian trumpeter Selina Ott performs Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto alongside a new commission from Vanessa Perica.

Popular programming continues on 17 June with An Evening on Broadway: Divas, following the sell-out success of the Orchestra’s 2025 Broadway concerts.

The 2027 ABC Classic Concert, a much anticipated staple of MSO programming, takes place on 25 and 26 June.

July begins with conductor Andrew Manze exploring English music through Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony and George Butterworth’s Shropshire Lad songs, before Aaron Wyatt conducts country music icon Troy Cassar-Daley in a special NAIDOC Week collaboration (10 July) featuring orchestral arrangements by Alex Turley.

Nicholas Carter. Photo © Admill Kuyler

International guests feature heavily for the the second half of the winter season. Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen makes her Australian debut leading Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony and Bruch’s Violin Concerto with South Korean violinist Inmo Yang, while Nicholas Carter officially begins his tenure as Chief Guest Conductor with Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony.

General Music Director of the Staatsoper and Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Melbourne-born Carter has emerged as an internationally sought-after opera and concert hall conductor, acclaimed for his arresting presence in the pit and wide array of symphonic repertoire.

“The MSO gave me my first experience of orchestral music and first inspired me to become a conductor, so to return as Chief Guest Conductor is an enormous privilege,” Carter says. “I’m particularly looking forward to conducting Bruckner’s monumental Eighth next year. In our fragmented, anxious and increasingly digital world, this music offers us a rare opportunity to reconnect with the magnificence of the human mind and spirit.”

The English choral tradition receives a spectacular celebration later in August when Martín conducts Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Li-Wei Qin and Walton’s monumental Belshazzar’s Feast.

Behzod Abduraimov returns to perform Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto alongside Mary Finsterer’s Lumen Prime Aurore, while Christian Li features in Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto.

Among the year’s most anticipated premieres is Finsterer’s full-scale oratorio Joan of Arc, based on the 15th-century trial transcripts and featuring narrator, soloists, two choirs and orchestra. Conducted by Benjamin Northey, the work forms one of the centrepieces of the MSO’s Australian commissioning program.

Late-season highlights include Verdi’s Requiem under Umberto Clerici, violinist James Ehnes performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto before Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, and the Australian premiere of Brett Dean‘s The World’s Wife paired with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony.

The year concludes with traditional favourites including Bruckner’s Mass in E minor, Handel’s Messiah under renowned Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki, and community collaborations such as Find Your Voice Collective x MSO: Sonder.

For more information visit mso.com.au or call (03) 9929 9600 (Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm). In-person subscription enquiries are welcome at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall from 18 August – 24 September (Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm)