New Zealand Symphony Orchestra 2025 Season

The NZSO kicks off the year with an evening of Baroque brilliance. Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen leads an ensemble of musicians through 18th-century masterpieces full of pure musical delight and timeless beauty.

Paintings come to life in Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’. In this evocative performance, Principal Conductor Gemma New musically describes a series of Viktor Hartmann paintings in glittering detail.

Experience one of the pinnacles of the piano concerto repertoire. Described by The Times as “without question the most astounding pianist of our age”, Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov makes his New Zealand debut. His rendition of Rachmaninov’s extraordinary ‘Third Piano Concerto’ is sure to be unforgettable.

The work of a living legend will be on display when Japanese maestro Masaaki Suzuki picks up his conductor’s baton. In a programme of great works by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear a true master at work. 

In this expression of love for home, Hungarian conductor Gábor Káli interprets Bartók’s repertoire. Paired with Douglas Lilburn’s ‘Aotearoa Overture’ and Dvořák’s ‘Seventh Symphony’, the evening will be an expression of love for the places the composers called home. 

An exciting selection of masterworks makes for a magical evening. Beethoven’s famous Symphony No.6 (Pastoral) and Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite lead the programme.

The NZSO National Youth Orchestra presents an adventurous programme of works by pillars of the Romantic era alongside new work by this year’s NYO Composer-in-Residence, Luka Venter.

Spanish flare and Russian myth make for a night of fireworks. Conductor Joana Carneiro leads a tour of highly pictorial works, including Stravinsky’s ‘Suite from the Firebird’ and Ravel’s ‘Piano Concerto in G major’. 

Fall under the spell of music in an evening full of enchanting pieces that evoke witches’ sabbaths and young wizards. Featuring Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ and Paul Dukas’ ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’. Both pieces are considered highlights of Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film ‘Fantasia’.

Join the NZSO for a celebration of Papatūānuku, the earth mother. A work co-created by Kiwi composer Salina Fisher and Grammy-Award-winning taonga puoro artist Jerome Kavanagh Poutama. 

A matinee concert celebrating wild animals and creepy crawlies. Oscar-winning songwriter and funny man Bret McKenzie leads an afternoon that is guaranteed to make the kids laugh, smile, and squirm. 

The hammer of fate strikes in this colossal masterpiece. Maestro Gemma New continues NZSO’s cycle of Mahler symphonies with his Sixth Symphony, nicknamed “Tragic”.

 Aotearoa’s brightest young musicians perform as soloists and side-by-side with the NZSO in a concert celebrating the next generation of performers.

Choirs New Zealand and four extraordinary voices show their range in Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’. This majestic work is based on the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion of her son. Kiwi composer Victoria Kelly’s contemporary appraisal of Mary, motherhood, and women will stand in dialogue. 

Lazy summer afternoons and brisk winter winds are invoked in this evening of Vivaldi. Pekka Kuusisto, a one-of-a-kind violinist delivers his take on an old classic and a new favourite. 

Be swooned by an evening rich with Romanticism. With a cello concerto performed by Iranian-Austrian Kian Soltani and Conductor Simone Young’s interpretation of Wagner’s Prelude to ‘Lohengrin’.

The youngest instrument in the orchestral whānau, the saxophone, gets its name in lights. UK saxophonist Jess Gillam shows her range with the late Romantic style of Glazunov’s concerto and Milhaud’s Brazilian-influenced ‘Scaramouche’.

American treasure Joyce DiDonato graces New Zealand shores with her luminous mezzo-soprano voice. Described by the New Yorker as ‘increasingly incomparable’, DiDonato heralds the summer with Berlioz’s ‘Les nuits d’été’ (Summer Nights).

In this final performance for the year, NZSO sounds the trumpets. American Gail Williams leads an evening of bold classics, fantastic fanfare, and even the odd Christmas carol or two.