57 concerts across 12 Venues – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announces full season to celebrate its 80th anniversary

• 57 concerts spanning 12 UK venues, plus international festivals and tours
• 4 new music premieres
• 8 performances celebrating the Beethoven Bicentenary
• Beyond classical: Concerts celebrating video games, Motown, soul, Broadway, tango and film music
• An extended season for Vasily Petrenko, conducting masterworks at Cadogan Hall, Hull City Hall,  Royal Albert Hall, Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, The Glasshouse in Gateshead and The Hexagon in Reading.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) today announces details of its full season for 2026–27. As the orchestra celebrates 80-years of music-making, the new season presents diverse programming and new concert formats that recognise and celebrate the changing face of today’s concert audience.

The new season announcement reflects insights from the RPO’s annual audience trends report, which reveals how significantly the UK orchestral audience is changing. Nationally, 46% of orchestral music’s audience describe themselves as new to the genre or starting journeys of discovery – compared to 38% who say they have enjoyed classical music for many years. With a broadening audience, so concert preferences are also changing. Whilst the allure of core classical repertoire holds firm for the fourth consecutive year at 24%, there is growing interest in film music concerts (29%), orchestral hits from the musicals (28%), pop/orchestral collaborations (28%) and video game music (13%).

The new anniversary season will see the RPO deliver on the public’s desire for wide-ranging concert formats and the Orchestra will spread its season across multiple venues, maximising support for music venues at a challenging time – and also giving more people local access to a world-class ensemble. This season’s venues include Cadogan Hall (London), the Royal Albert Hall, Hull City Hall, Royal & Derngate (Northampton), The Hawth (Crawley), The Hexagon (Reading), Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, G Live (Guildford), the Royal Concert Hall (Nottingham), The Glasshouse (Gateshead) and the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall (London).

The Bicentenary of Beethoven’s death will be marked by performances of the Triple Concerto; Piano Concertos Nos.1, 4 and 5; the Violin Concerto; Symphonies Nos.5 and 9 – and the Egmont Overture. Six major works by Tchaikovsky will be celebrated, as well as symphonic landmarks, including Mahler Symphony No.2, Ein Heldenleben and Also sprach Zarathustra by Strauss, Symphonies Nos.1 and 4 by Brahms, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Stravinsky’s The Firebird. 

The RPO’s 80th anniversary season will also feature four premieres: World premieres of Errollyn Wallen’s FLARE commissioned by the RPO for its 80th anniversary and Sun Sundered Head: Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra by Laurence Osborn. There will also be the UK premiere of Joe Hisaishi’s Concerto for Orchestra – and the London premiere of Swarm Fanfares by Dobrinka Tabakova.

A powerful thread of artistic intensity that will unite the season, RPO’s acclaimed Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, will lead the Orchestra at more venues this season; making his London debut at Cadogan Hall, and conducting further performances at Hull City Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, The Glasshouse in Gateshead and The Hexagon in Reading. Building on the emphatic critical reception to his recent Mahler concerts, Petrenko’s RPO season includes: Mahler’s Resurrection, Beethoven’s Symphony No.5, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances – as well as conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at 80 concert to open the season.

Sarah Bardwell, Managing Director at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra comments: 'From film and video game music, Broadway and soul classics, Joe Hisaishi conducting live – to our new hour-long 'Revealed' concerts, and a host of orchestral masterpieces – there’s something for all musical tastes for our new season. Add to this our community, health and education work in communities across the UK, plus our international touring schedule, and our 80th anniversary season showcases an orchestra that is proud to excite audiences, to enrich society and fly the flag for UK culture on the world stage. For the last 80 years, we have been proud to push the boundaries on what an orchestra can do, and our new season is a 'thank you' to all those that have kept music alive over the last 80 years by attending our concerts, whilst also being a celebration of what orchestral music is today. From the classic to the modern, the serious to the fun – our new season is all about giving concert-goers a great night out: And in today’s troubled world, that’s probably more important than ever.'

Vasily Petrenko, Music Director at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra adds: 'For the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, turning 80 is both a celebration and a milestone as we look ahead to the next chapter. After eight decades, it’s safe to say that the Orchestra feels younger and fresher than ever. But it also has many stories to tell, and this 80th Anniversary Season places a waymarker on our journey of discovery, giving us the opportunity to share those stories anew, together. It’s a season full of reflections, remembrances and evocations: music that celebrates music, and the musicians who make it. And above all, music that celebrates our audience – the people who make the music complete.'

The RPO would also like to thank the many guest musicians, soloists and ensembles that will join it for the 2026–27 season.