The Hallé 2025-26 Season

With its 2025-26 season, The Hallé invites audiences to a year of classical masterpieces, world premieres and appearances by electrifying artists and composers from across the genre spectrum. From an organ installation by Jonny Greenwood to an immersive work by Anna Meredith and a full festival celebrating John Adams, this might be the orchestra’s most eclectic season yet.

It marks Kahchun Wong’s second season as Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor. He launches it with a bang at The Bridgewater Hall: Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Norway’s great Truls Mørk, and Rachmaninov’s sweeping Second Symphony (25 Sep 2025). Wong then kicks off the ‘Rush Hour’ series with Elgar’s classic Enigma Variations, paired with a Hallé co-commission, Cosmology by Max Richter, performed by superstar organist and Featured Artist Anna Lapwood (2 Oct 2025).

Wong goes on to conduct music by many of the greats, including Beethoven, Verdi, Mendelssohn, Holst, Wagner, Brahms, and Bartók, before closing the season with Mahler’s enigmatic Symphony No. 6 on 28 May 2026. On the contemporary front, he presents the UK premiere of a new work by Unsuk Chin, who features throughout the season as Featured Artist – including the world premiere of a dazzling new piece (19 Feb 2026). He also welcomes a stellar lineup of international soloists: Akiko Suwanai with Tchaikovsky’s showpiece Violin Concerto (30 Nov 2025), Jan Vogler in Shostakovich’s blistering First Cello Concerto (12 & 15 Feb 2026), and Viktoria Mullova performing Brahms’ fiery yet lyrical Violin Concerto (19 & 22 March 2026).

But there’s another familiar hand on the hallowed Hallé baton this season. Sir Mark Elder returns for two special concerts, briefly stepping back onto the podium he held for over two decades. In the first, he reunites with long-time collaborator Dame Imogen Cooper for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, alongside Dvořák’s Fifth Symphony (9 Nov 2025). He returns in May with the Hallé Choir and Ukrainian baritone Andrii Kymach – a welcome reunion for those who watched their acclaimed performance at the 2023 BBC Proms (7 May 2026).

Increasingly known for bold, boundary-pushing collaborations, the Hallé also teams up with a number of major artists this season – with some of today’s most exciting musical voices making repeat appearances. Right across the series, the aforementioned Anna Lapwood performs some of the finest music written for the organ, from Olivia Belli’s Limina Luminis to Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar, Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie concertante to Poulenc’s Organ Concerto.

Jonny Greenwood – Oscar-nominated composer, genre-straddling innovator, and yes, Radiohead guitarist – joins ‘The Hallé Presents’ series to perform Steve Reich’s Pulse alongside two of his own works, including the world premiere of his latest revision of Horror Vacui (26 Feb 2026). He returns in June with more – much more – Steve Reich (27 Jun 2026). But it’s the takeover of Manchester Cathedral that’s the most ambitious. Greenwood’s 605 Years of Reverb is an epic, eight-hour sound installation blending Indian music and live organ performance – brought to life by Anna Lapwood and James McVinnie in one of the city’s most atmospheric spaces (28 Feb 2026).

Want more minimalism? Have a whole three days of it. In autumn, world-renowned composer and conductor John Adams comes to Manchester for a festival celebrating his music (30 Oct-1 Nov). He’s curated and will conduct two concerts featuring some of his most popular works, including Slonimsky’s Earbox, Harmonium, The Chairman Dances, and Scheherazade.2 with celebrated violinist Leila Josefowicz. The Hallé also makes its debut at Aviva Studios this season with Anno – an immersive, visually rich production that fuses fragments of Vivaldi with Anna Meredith’s signature electronica (2 May 2026). It’s another bold step into new territory, in a space made for exactly this kind of work.

With boundary-pushing projects, returning legends, and a roster of world-class artists, the Hallé’s 2025–26 season offers something for every listener.

David Butcher, Hallé Chief Executive, said:

‘We are thrilled to be launching another incredible and innovative season of music. This year we have such an extraordinary range of music to explore, and we are honored to be working and collaborating with such an impressive line-up of talented artists. We’ve had an exceptional response from audiences over the last few seasons, and we hope to continue welcoming more people to experience the incredible power of their Hallé orchestra.’