Name: Mikkeli Music Festival 2026
Start: 2026-08-08T00:00:00
Location: TBA

Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Gabriela Montero

Erkki Lasonpalo

Silja Aalto

Lilja Haatainen

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia’s Principal Viola Scott Dickinson and friends play one of the masterpieces of the Baroque era.  

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music continues to captivate listeners nearly three centuries after it was written. His works for strings showcase his genius for structure, balance, and emotional depth — combining technical brilliance with a profound sense of humanity.

In this free Philharmonia Chamber Players concert, Bach’s masterly counterpoint (music composed from lines of melody that interlock in different patterns) is performed by three of the orchestra’s outstanding string players.  

Philharmonia Chamber Players: Bach

Southbank Centre

Two classics of the orchestral repertoire contrast with a heartfelt recent work by our Featured Composer Gabriela Ortiz. 

The story goes that Beethoven’s fifth Piano Concerto got its nickname from a comment by an officer in Napoleon’s army, who attended one of the first performances and declared it ‘an Emperor of a concerto’. It gives soloist Denis Kozhukhin the opportunity to display the different facets of his skill, from the rule-breaking creativity of the first movement, through the serenity of the second, to the dancing virtuosity of the finale.    

Denis Kozhukhin plays Beethoven

The Philharmonia and Barts Choir join forces for an iconic piece in the classical canon: Verdi’s epic Requiem.

Verdi poured all his expertise in depicting human emotion into this choral masterpiece. There is violence in the ‘Dies Irae’ movement, and grandeur in the ‘Tuba Mirum’, heralded by eight trumpets. Joyful praise resounds in the ‘Sanctus’, and the ‘Agnus Dei’ opens with a spine-tingling unaccompanied duet for the soprano and mezzo soloists.

Barts Choir: Verdi Requiem

The Philharmonia welcomes outstanding pianist Bruce Liu to Bedford.  

Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G was inspired by the jazz he heard on a tour of the United States. Ravel frames a serenely beautiful Adagio with outer movements of carefree, effervescent energy. It’s the perfect showcase for the “magician’s fingers” (Le Monde) of Bruce Liu, winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition.  

Tchaikovsky himself said that his Fifth Symphony represented “a complete resignation before Fate”, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming a firm audience favourite. It opens with the sound of funereal footsteps on the clarinet. A singing horn melody gives the second movement a more hopeful mood, but the fateful ‘footsteps’ theme returns in the third movement waltz, and triumphs in the stormy finale.  

Bedford: Bruce Liu plays Ravel

Bedford Corn Exchange

The Philharmonia welcomes outstanding pianist Bruce Liu to Leicester.  

Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G was inspired by the jazz he heard on a tour of the United States. Ravel frames a serenly beautiful Adagio with outer movements of carefree, effervescent energy. It’s the perfect showcase for the “magician’s fingers” (Le Monde) of Bruce Liu, winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition.  

Tchaikovsky himself said that his Fifth Symphoy represented “a complete resignation before Fate”, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming a firm audience favourite. It opens with the sound of footsteps on the clarinet. A singing horn melody gives the second movement a more hopeful mood, but the fateful ‘footsteps’ theme returns in the third movement waltz, and triumphs in the stormy finale.  

Leicester: Bruce Liu plays Ravel

De Montfort Hall

The Philharmonia welcomes outstanding pianist Bruce Liu back to London.  

Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G was inspired by the jazz he heard on a tour of the United States. Ravel frames a serenely beautiful Adagio with outer movements of carefree, effervescent energy. It’s the perfect showcase for the ‘magician’s fingers’ (Le Monde) of Bruce Liu, winner of the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition.   

Tchaikovsky himself said that his Fifth Symphony represented ‘a complete resignation before Fate’, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming a firm audience favourite. It opens with the sound of funereal footsteps on the clarinet. A singing horn melody gives the second movement a more hopeful mood, but the fateful ‘footsteps’ theme returns in the third movement waltz, and triumphs in the stormy finale. 

Bruce Liu plays Ravel

What impact does a composer’s sexuality have on the music they write? Does awareness of a composer’s sexuality affect a performer’s or listener’s response to their work? Speakers from the world of classical music and beyond lead the discussion, ahead of our concert featuring music by Britten, Ravel and Tchaikovksy – come and have your say.

Philharmonia debates… Music & Sexuality

Superstar violinist Nicola Benedetti joins the Philharmonia in Elgar’s tempestuous and tender Violin Concerto.  

Nicola Benedetti is one of the best-loved violin soloists of our time, and a regular and popular collaborator with the Philharmonia. Her chart-topping recording of this formidable work was praised for “a sure sense of direction and lots of heart” (The Guardian) – an accurate description of Benedetti’s approach to everything she does. 

Basingstoke: Nicola Benedetti plays Elgar

The Anvil

Superstar violinist Nicola Benedetti joins the Philharmonia in Elgar’s tempestuous and tender Violin Concerto.  

Nicola Benedetti is one of the best-loved violin soloists of our time, and a regular and popular collaborator with the Philharmonia. Her chart-topping recording of this formidable work was praised for ‘a sure sense of direction and lots of heart’ (The Guardian) – an accurate description of Benedetti’s approach to everything she does. 

Nicola Benedetti plays Elgar

Epic. Loud. Flamboyant. Classical music and heavy metal have more in common than you might think.

Drawing inspiration from metal’s industrial roots, the 100-strong Philharmonia Orchestra brings its powerful sound to some of the biggest pieces of orchestral music ever composed – think Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries –  and orchestral versions of rock and heavy metal anthems.

Forged in Sound: Heavy Metal Orchestrated

Two world-class musicians join forces for a charming programme of classical hits.  

Schumann’s Cello Concerto remains a beloved favourite in the cello repertoire. The three movements seamlessly flow as one continuous piece of music packed with emotional intensity. Full of tender lyricism, soulful melodies and a daring solo cello part, it’s perfectly suited to Kian Soltani’s “piercingly beautiful tone and utterly pure intonation” (The Times).  

Brahms’s magnificent First Symphony was many years in the making. And it may never have seen the light of day without the support and friendship of Robert Schumann and his wife Clara – an article by Robert Schumann launched Brahms’s composing career when the three first met, and they soon became devoted friends. The symphony is a 45-minute journey through all the poetry and power an orchestra can conjure.   

Leicester: Leonidas Kavakos and Kian Soltani

The theme of the 2025/26 Orchestra Unwrapped concerts is centered around the history of the Philharmonia Orchestra, which was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge and celebrates its 80th birthday in 2025. Legge worked for a company called EMI, who was responsible for making recordings of classical music. 

The pieces you’ll hear take us on a journey through time linking to the exciting history of the Philharmonia, from 1945 to today – a history you are all part of by being part of Orchestra Unwrapped in its 80th year!

Leicester: Orchestra Unwrapped

Our annual visit to Mikkeli Music Festival in Finland is a highlight in the Philharmonia’s concert calendar.