RPO x Vasily Petrenko

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 way marker 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 you, our audience – the people who make the music complete.

We’re launching our anniversary season in the magnificent Royal Albert Hall, with a brand-new fanfare from Errollyn Wallen CBE and Richard Strauss’ epic Ein Heldenleben. And the series continues across London, with performances at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as well as my debut concerts as Music Director of the RPO at our Resident Home, Cadogan Hall. Stravinsky’s The Firebird: Suite, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture – these are just some of the musical tales we’ll be telling anew as the season unfolds. They’re pieces that we love to play and you love to hear, each with an unforgettable story of its own. Let us bring them alive for you in vivid colours.

But we won’t be doing it alone. From the Philharmonia Chorus to pianists Jan Lisiecki and Eric Lu, violinist Julia Fischer, presenter Leah Broad (hosting a concert of Mozart’s music in a brand-new format at Cadogan Hall) and many more of our friends, we’re making music with the artists we admire the most. And with you too, as we extend a huge, tuneful invitation to the musical celebration of the year. Come and join the party. 

Vasily Petrenko
RPO Music Director