Name: Season Finale: Ode to Joy
Start: 2026-06-13T19:30:00
Location: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is set to present an exciting lineup of events for the 2025-2026 season, featuring a diverse array of choral masterpieces, film concerts, and festive celebrations. From the contemplative choral works of Poulenc and Mozart to the cinematic scores of John Williams and Hans Zimmer, the RSNO promises an unforgettable musical experience. With performances by acclaimed artists like Polly Beck, Ben Palmer, and Rushil Ranjan, audiences will be treated to a blend of classical and contemporary sounds, ensuring each event is a unique celebration of musical artistry.

A Harmonious Year: RSNO's Musical Journey from Choral Masterpieces to Festive Celebrations

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is set to offer an eclectic and rich concert season, featuring choral masterworks, cinematic experiences, and cross-cultural musical fusion. From Rachmaninov's beloved Vespers to the epic soundscapes of 'Gladiator,' and the soul-stirring Orchestral Qawwali Project, this season promises a delightful auditory experience. Topping it all off is a grand finale with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, ensuring a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation for music lovers.

A Harmonious Journey: RSNO's Diverse and Captivating Concert Season

Step into a world where music transcends its traditional boundaries with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as they present a captivating series of musical events. From Rachmaninov’s Vespers to the timeless Gladiator soundtrack, these performances promise to be unforgettable. Experience the rich blend of orchestral and Sufi music in the Orchestral Qawwali Project, and revel in the grandeur of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony during the Season Finale. Each event is a unique tapestry woven with cultural richness and artistic excellence.

A Symphony of Sounds: Exploring RSNO's Spectacular Musical Events

Andrew Hamilton

Karen Cargill

Eleanor Dennis

Patrick Hahn

Joshua Ellicott

Stephen Doughty

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

RSNO Chorus

‘With desire and passion,’ wrote Tchaikovsky on the score of his Fifth Symphony. From its stirring opening to its triumphant finale, this is music that comes straight from the heart and speaks straight to the heart. Thomas Søndergård won’t hold back today, and he welcomes not one but two charismatic soloists – cellist Bruno Delepelaire and violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley – to play a masterpiece inspired by friendship: Brahms’ nostalgic, intensely emotional Double Concerto.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Perth Concert Hall

What would you do for love? Romeo and Juliet risked everything, and Tchaikovsky poured all of this passion into his music. The Little Mermaid also followed her heart, and Zemlinsky’s gorgeous retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale is a colourful – and gripping – masterpiece. Kevin John Edusei conducts, Gillian Moore hosts, and RSNO favourite Makoto Ozone is the soloist in Rachmaninov’s dazzling, deliriously romantic Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The perfect date night? We think so! 

Love & Fairy Tales Rachmaninov & The Mermaid

Music Hall, Aberdeen

Phenomenal horn player Felix Klieser takes the spotlight in tonight’s concert. He’s the perfect soloist for Richard Strauss’ swashbuckler of a concerto, and even that is just the upbeat to what comes next, as Thomas Søndergård and the full RSNO embark on one of the greatest adventures in 19th-century music; Bruckner’s colossal Eighth Symphony. It’s been compared to a cathedral in sound and a mighty mountain range. Either way, you simply have to hear this breathtakingly beautiful music live. 

Felix Klieser Plays Strauss

If symphonies are like big-screen blockbusters, chamber music is like a composer’s personal diary: thoughts and feelings that are too special to share with just anyone. Emotions run deep and strong in Brahms’ haunting Horn Trio, written as he mourned the death of his mother. But in Beethoven’s youthful Quintet Op16, they simply bubble and dance with glee. A handpicked team of RSNO players join the phenomenal Felix Klieser to share their secrets today – and you get to listen in. 

Felix Klieser with the RSNO Chamber Ensemble

Musician extraordinaire, Jörg Widmann’s talents know no bounds. Experience his dynamism tonight as he returns to the RSNO to conduct Mendelssohn’s historical thriller of a symphony, his own explosive homage to Beethoven, Con brio, and joins the ‘extraordinary’ (Gramophone) violinist Veronika Eberle in a very personal performance of Beethoven’s radiant Violin Concerto.

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto

Luminous, serene, and rooted in a profound and quiet faith, Rachmaninov’s Vespers were the composition that he loved the most. They gave their composer “an hour of the most complete satisfaction”, and every performance creates a quite unmistakable atmosphere. For RSNO Chorus director Stephen Doughty it’s a labour of love; his is music that glows in the dark, and in the beautiful surroundings of a historic church, it should speak straight to the heart – and soul.

RSNO Chorus All-Night Vigil

Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery Edinburgh

St Aloysius' Church, Garnethill

Beauty, passion and the miracles of nature – there’s no tale that an orchestra can’t tell, and there’s definitely no symphony quite like Tchaikovsky’s shattering Fourth. Raw tragedy, roof-raising triumph: it’s explosive stuff, so guest conductor Kristiina Poska begins with something a little more tranquil. Arvo Pärt’s haunting Cantus is the perfect complement to a wonderful new set of songs from Elena Langer, inspired by the songs of birds and the nature poetry of Glyn Maxwell. Experience musical history in the making. 

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony

Caird Hall

‘We find it hard to love what we cannot give a name to,’ says Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words. ‘And names, good names, well used can help us see and they help us care.’ The book has become a bestseller. Now British composer James Burton has set its message to music. It’s a tuneful celebration of a vanishing natural world, created for young voices and sung today by the RSNO’s inspirational Youth Chorus. Discover a newly minted classic this lunchtime. 

The Lost Words

If you caught Ethan Loch’s performance with the RSNO last Season or in the final of BBC Young Musician 2022, you’ll already know that there’s something magical about this young Scottish pianist. And if you didn’t, what better way to discover him than in Gershwin’s fabulous Rhapsody in Blue? The enchantment doesn’t stop there, as Music Director Thomas Søndergård conjures up the wizardry of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and introduces the dancing crockery and singing squirrels of Ravel’s ravishing mini-opera. Sounds extraordinary? Just wait until you hear it. 

Ethan Loch Plays Gershwin

Sir Stephen Hough: a pianist whose effortless brilliance at the keyboard has been described as little short of genius. John Wilson: the Newcastle-born conductor who knows how to make an orchestra sound like a million dollars. Put them together and sparks will fly – whether in Rachmaninov’s showstopping concerto, Ravel’s sumptuous dream waltz or Vaughan Williams’ glorious technicolour portrait of a great city in all its bustling, glittering life. Trust us: this is going to be special. 

Sir Stephen Hough Plays Rachmaninov

The Orchestral Qawwali Project joins the musicians of the RSNO and RSNO Chorus for a special one-off show. Created and led by critically acclaimed composer Rushil Ranjan and renowned singer Abi Sampa, the project breathes new life into centuries-old traditions, reframing the spiritual rapture of Sufi music through Rushil’s rich orchestral scores, blending Western classical with South Asian music and Indian classical dance. Within just three years of its founding, the ensemble has performed several sell-out shows, including the Royal Albert Hall in 2024, following which the RAH appointed Rushil and Abi as its new Associate Artists.

Orchestral Qawwali Project

No one writes a movie theme like John Williams. It’s no wonder he’s the world’s most popular film composer. Join Hollywood conductor Richard Kaufman and the full might of Scotland’s National Orchestra for hit after hit. From Schindler’s List, E.T. and Superman to the music of Harry Potter, we’ve got your favourites covered. If you think it sounds good in the cinema, wait until you hear it played live by the RSNO!

The Music of John Williams

With its unforgettable Ode to Joy, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is always a special occasion – a glorious way to end any concert season. Tonight, Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Hahn makes it the climax of a very special (and distinctly Scottish) celebration; starting with Mendelssohn’s Hebridean journey and pausing for a song or three with Sir James MacMillan and Scottish star, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill. As Beethoven himself put it: here’s a kiss for all the world! 

Season Finale: Ode to Joy

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