Name: String Quartet Masterclass with members of the Carducci Quartet
Start: 2026-03-14T13:00:00
Location: St Edward’s School

The Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra presents a captivating series of events this season, bringing together a stellar lineup of artists and an eclectic mix of classical works. From Richard Strauss's autobiographical 'Ein Heldenleben' to Brahms's consolatory 'Ein deutsches Requiem', and the vibrant Spanish pieces led by guitarist MILOŠ, the orchestra offers an ambitious program. Join the likes of violinist Maxim Vengerov and cellist Mischa Maisky in exploring unforgettable musical landscapes across these events.

Oxford Philharmonic's Orchestral Odyssey: A Season of Musical Mastery

In 2026, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has curated an exquisite series of events that promise to captivate classical music lovers. From insightful masterclasses with renowned figures like Marios Papadopoulos and the Carducci Quartet to vibrant orchestral performances featuring stars like Miloš Karadaglić, Mischa Maisky, and Nicola Benedetti, the lineup celebrates both traditional and contemporary works. Each event, from choral masterpieces by Brahms and Mozart to family-friendly interstellar adventures, offers unique musical narratives set against the historic backdrop of Oxford.

A Symphony of Events: Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra's 2026 Line-up

Matthew Denton

Emma Denton

Carducci Quartet

Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

In 1857, grieving his late mother, Johannes Brahms began work on his choral masterpiece Ein deutsches Requiem. Brahms’s colleague Schumann believed Brahms would deliver ‘wonderful glimpses of the spirit world’. Brahms obliged with a Requiem unlike any other: a piece that carries the gift of spiritual comfort rather than the threat of impending judgment – a glowing message of brotherhood and consolation, a work of its time and place but with universal resonance. Two outstanding soloists and the Crouch End Festival Chorus join the orchestra and Music Director Marios Papadopoulos for Brahms’s consolatory masterpiece.

Brahms German Requiem

University of Oxford

World class cellist Mischa Maisky joins Christoph Eschenbach as he returns to the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for an evening of captivating Romantic works. Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture sets a dramatic tone, followed by Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra, where Maisky’s emotive playing brings the lyrical beauty to the forefront. Bruch’s Kol Nidrei showcases the cello’s rich, mournful voice, before Respighi’s Adagio con variazione offers a moment of reflective tranquillity. The concert culminates with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, a powerful work full of warmth and energy.

Maisky and Eschenbach

Join members of the Carducci Quartet, violinist Matthew Denton and cellist Emma Denton for a String Quartet Masterclass.

String Quartet Masterclass with members of the Carducci Quartet

St Edward’s School

The great violinist Fritz Kreisler rated Edward Elgar alongside Beethoven and Brahms. When Kreisler said as much in a 1905 newspaper interview, Elgar picked up the threads of a concerto he’d begun nearly two decades earlier. The piece he finished five years later, performed in this concert by the exceptional Nicola Benedetti, is as epic and emotive as it is personal and elusive, ‘enshrining the soul’ of an unknown person. A more famous enigma is found in Elgar’s dazzlingly virtuosic set of variations for orchestra. His Enigma Variations are portraits of friends and celebrations of orchestral panache. But they also offer glimpses into the soul of an artist who might have been careful not to reveal his secrets but was never afraid to show his emotions.

Nicola Benedetti

Marios Papadopoulos conducts and performs in an evening devoted to the genius of Mozart. The programme opens with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, where Papadopoulos’s delicate yet dynamic piano playing brings this lyrical masterpiece to life. The second half of the concert features Mozart’s Requiem, a profound and dramatic work, performed by the Oxford Philharmonic Choir, capturing both the composer’s deep spirituality and his unparalleled gift for orchestral and choral texture.

Mozart Requiem

St Edward's School

Calling all space rangers young and old to join Captain Alasdair Malloy and the brave crew of the Oxford Philharmonic on a musical voyage through the stars to infinity and beyond. Visit some of the planets, join a galactic gathering and do battle with the dastardly Darth Vader. Hear some out-of-this-world music by stellar superstars such as John Williams, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Richard Wagner and others. Come along in your coolest cosmic costumes!

FUNomusica Family Concert: An Interstellar Odyssey

Oxford Town Hall

Join the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra for a joyful evening celebrating a significant birthday of one of Britain’s most beloved composers and conductors, Sir John Rutter. A cherished friend of the Orchestra, John returns to the podium to lead a programme featuring his celebrated works.

Sir John Rutter Birthday Celebration

Members of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra come together for an exhilarating evening of supersized chamber music, guaranteed to set the pulse racing. Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence is a work of turbulent anguish masquerading as one of utter joie de vivre, in which a thick-set ensemble dances its way around a tune the composer noted down during an otherwise fruitless trip to the Tuscan capital. Brahms’s own sextet for strings is an early work that combines Mozart’s charm, Beethoven’s exuberance, Mendelssohn’s momentum and Brahms’s own luxuriance – and to quite magnificent effect.

Brahms and Tchaikovsky

Wadham College

In the second of our Oxford Union series, Anne-Sophie Mutter takes centre stage in a conversation with Marios Papadopoulos followed by a performance of Brahms’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor in the Union’s Debating Chamber.

In conversation with Anne-Sophie Mutter

The Oxford Union

After writing two light but entertaining violin concertos, Saint-Saëns upped his game in 1880. In his Violin Concerto No. 3, he delivered a deliciously scored masterpiece characterised by its brilliant solo part, building intensity, room-stilling slow movement and finale inspired by the music of the country it was written in: Spain. Alexandra Conunova plays perhaps the greatest French violin concerto in between music that finds hope from grief: Ravel’s etched memorials to fallen comrades and the symphony in which Sibelius wrestles the most inspiring optimism from music born of tragedy.

Sibelius Symphony No. 2

Johannes Brahms looked out over an Austrian lake as he worked on his Symphony No. 2. The music captures the menacing yet mellifluous view of nature he saw, as the passing clouds of day gave way to the infinite beauty of the sunset, the dark stillness of night and a glorious awakening to a new day. Before this, Sir Stephen Hough joins Marios Papadopoulos and the orchestra for a performance of his own piano concerto, a work ‘of jaw-dropping complexity and finger-crunching virtuosity’ for orchestra and pianist, in the words of one critic. The concert opens with purifying music by Ralph Vaughan Williams: his serene and somehow wholly English Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

Hough plays Hough

Join us for an unforgettable performance as the acclaimed conductor Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra in a programme that promises to blend musical depth with dramatic flair. Harding, known for his dynamic interpretations, brings fresh energy to this prestigious ensemble, creating a perfect fusion of talent and tradition. ‘First-rate talent’ (Cadenza NYC) Tony Siqi Yun takes to the stage for the Tchaikovsky’s iconic first piano concerto, followed by the joyful and triumphant Symphony No. 8 by Dvořák.

String Quartet Masterclass with members of the Carducci Quartet

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