Embark on a captivating journey through orchestral music with the WDR Sinfonieorchester's 2026 concert series. Spanning from Cologne to Hamburg, this series features renowned conductors, celebrated soloists, and an array of musical masterpieces. Highlights include Mahler's dramatic Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky's emotive cello pieces, and Ravel's provocative piano concertos. Experience the blend of Romanticism and Modernism, Slavic Romanticism, and Hollywood's grandeur through the performances and creative works of distinguished artists like Cristian Măcelaru, Kian Soltani, and Simone Young.

Orchestral Journey: Exploring the WDR Sinfonieorchester's Captivating Concert Series

This February, music enthusiasts have a treat on their hands with a series of captivating performances by the renowned WDR Symphony Orchestra. From intimate rehearsals at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall to enthralling concerts in Hamburg, and a sweeping tour across Spain, this musical journey features distinguished artists like conductor Ryan Bancroft, violinist Arabella Steinbacher, and cellist Pablo Ferrández. Offering a blend of time-honored classics and contemporary masterpieces, these events promise to resonate with audiences, transcending geographical boundaries through the universal language of music.

Harmonies Across Europe: The February Musical Odyssey of WDR Symphony Orchestra

February promises an orchestral feast with a series of compelling performances across Europe. From the PhilharmonieLunch concerts in Cologne to the mesmerizing 'Music of the Time' series and the evocative 'Fate - Tchaikovsky's Fifth', the WDR Symphony Orchestra is set to take audiences on a musical journey that spans cultural landscapes and historical contexts. Renowned musicians like Ryan Bancroft, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Arabella Steinbacher, and Pablo Ferrández lead these captivating performances, ensuring an unforgettable experience for classical music enthusiasts.

Exploring February's Orchestral Extravaganza: From Cologne to Spain

March 2025 is set to be a symphonic delight with the WDR Symphony Orchestra presenting an array of events that celebrate classic and contemporary musical masterpieces. From the innovative creations at the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik to the monumental tributes at Pierre Boulez's centennial, these performances explore a rich palette of sounds and stories. Featuring renowned artists such as Nicolas Altstaedt, Anna Prohaska, and Cristian Măcelaru, and works by composers like Brigitta Muntendorf and Johannes Brahms, the events promise to captivate audiences with their artistic brilliance and emotional depth.

Harmonious Journeys: Exploring the WDR Symphony's March 2025 Concerts

The WDR Symphony Orchestra invites music lovers on an enthralling journey through a series of breathtaking concerts, each offering a unique blend of historical recognition and contemporary brilliance. From honoring underrated composers to exploring the juxtaposition of classical and modern styles, these events held in distinguished venues across Germany promise to captivate audiences with their artistic depth. With performances ranging from Brahms to Rachmaninoff, and featuring renowned artists like Cristian Măcelaru and Fatma Said, the orchestra's lineup is a testament to musical excellence and cultural enrichment.

WDR Symphony Orchestra: A Harmonious Journey Through Time and Talent

Cologne is set to become a symphony of vibrant sounds and artistic expression as the WDR Sinfonieorchester takes center stage with a series of captivating performances. From the modern orchestral innovations of 'Music of the Time' to the soulful notes of 'The Dream of Gerontius,' each event promises a unique experience. As performers like Christian Karlsen and Bruce Liu lead the charge, audiences will enjoy compositions that span from classical staples by Beethoven and Elgar to contemporary pieces by Thomas Adès and Daniel Schnyder.

A Harmonious Journey: Exploring the Vibrant Sounds of Cologne's Diverse Musical Events

June 2025 promises to be a delight for classical music enthusiasts as the WDR Sinfonieorchester presents a series of captivating events across Germany. From the symphonic works of Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky to the romanticism of Brahms and the groundbreaking compositions of contemporary artists, each event offers a unique musical journey. Highlights include performances by distinguished conductors Nicholas Collon and Cristian Măcelaru, and acclaimed violinist Hilary Hahn. Whether you attend a chamber concert or a grand symphony, the orchestra's June lineup is set to leave a lasting impression.

A Symphony of Sounds: WDR Sinfonieorchester's June Events

The revered WDR Sinfonieorchester is set to present a series of spellbinding concerts, each showcasing an eclectic mix of chamber music and orchestral masterpieces. From the elegant strains of Georg Philipp Telemann to the intense emotional landscapes of Dmitri Shostakovich, audiences will be treated to performances by world-renowned artists such as pianist Alexander Malofeev and violinist Augustin Hadelich. These events promise to captivate and inspire, offering audiences a rich tapestry of sounds and stories, set in iconic venues across Germany.

A Symphony of Events: WDR Sinfonieorchester's Upcoming Concerts

Four decades of musical excellence: 40 years ago, on September 14, 1986, the Cologne Philharmonic Hall was opened – with a program of romantic classics and contemporary music.

EPSG:4326

Anniversary concert - 40 years of the Cologne Philharmonic

Cologne Philharmonie

The Mouse takes you on a journey through the life of the child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – with captivating music and exciting stories about the Austrian composer.

The Concert with the Mouse

Philharmonic Essen

Philharmonie Berlin

Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr

Konzerthaus Dortmund

Musik der Zeit - Das heilige Antlitz | Musikfest Berlin

Berliner Philharmonie

Guest performance in Essen | Ruhr Piano Festival

Guest performance in Bad Kissingen | Kissinger Summer

Regentenbau

Dmitri Shostakovich's Second Violin Concerto is sonically intense and moving. Although it is in a minor key, it also radiates great hope. Shostakovich's concerto is a favorite work of Isabelle Faust, who is associated with the WDR Symphony Orchestra as Artist in Residence. This is no surprise, since her unique playing combines perfection and brilliance on the one hand, with tremendous depth on the other. As a highlight of the season's closing performance, Cristian Măcelaru conducts the Third Symphony by his Romanian compatriot George Enescu. This opulent work for orchestra and choir overwhelms with its power and strength.

Universes - Măcelaru & Isabelle Faust

Museum Ludwig

Academy Matinee

WDR Funkhaus

Music of the time #HOTPINK

Guest performance Viersen

Festhalle Viersen City

Few works begin as majestically as Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto. Pianist Alexander Melnikov is able to unleash his highly emotional virtuosity right from the start. The most beautiful melodies and subtle nuances follow on the path to the thrilling finale. Felix Mendelssohn's overture "Ruy Blas" was also once described as "brilliantly chivalrous," opening the program with solemn wind sounds and stormy vehemence. The evening then embarks on a grand journey with Mendelssohn's atmospheric "Scottish Symphony." The evening will be conducted by the celebrated Maxim Emelyanychev.

Spirit of Romanticism - Beethoven & Mendelssohn

WDR Happy Hour - Mendelssohn

Guest performance in Würzburg | Mozart Festival Würzburg

Würzburg Residence

Guest performance in Essen

Felix Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" combines feather-light ghost dances and sparkling gaiety. The music, composed in 1843, is arguably the most beautiful musical setting of Shakespeare's comedy of the same name. In it, young people lose themselves in a fairy world and experience turbulent emotional turmoil. 150 years earlier, the British composer Henry Purcell composed his equally heartwarming stage work "The Fairy Queen" on the same subject. Marie Jacquot, the future WDR chief conductor, also leads the musical mythical creatures of Norwegian conductor Kristine Tjøgersen through the enchanted summer night forest.

Marie Jacquot - Midsummer Night's Dreams

Visit the WDR Symphony Orchestra's free rehearsal at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on Thursday from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m. and whet your appetite for an evening of concerts.

PhilharmonieLunch

Whether with Till Eulenspiegel's funny pranks by Richard Strauss, Haydn's "Sinfonia concertante," or Darius Milhaud's "Le boef sur le toit" – fun is a must! And not only in the music itself, but also in the world of orchestral musicians, there's plenty of humor at play, as presenter Johannes Büchs will discover.

Classical music with a twist: Have you laughed today? | WDR@Philharmonie

Guest performance in Dortmund

His Fifth Symphony depicts "the development of personality," explained Dmitri Shostakovich. But the highly emotional music from 1937 also documents his threatening situation during the Stalin era. At times pleading, at times hectically overexcited, the music culminates in an overwhelming finale. Franz Liszt's First Piano Concerto is similarly captivating. It is a welcome challenge for the up-and-coming Israeli pianist Yoav Levanon, making his debut with the WDR Symphony Orchestra. The conductor is the Greek Constantinos Carydis. He opens the evening with a work by his fellow countryman Periklis Koukos: a sonorous prologue to Homer's "Odyssey."

Between the Lines - Shostakovich's Fifth

Chamber Concert 5

Experience a new adventure with Inspector Krächz and his feathered assistant Dr. Kläver. In the mysterious Burg Castle, you'll solve an exciting musical puzzle featuring knights, damsels, and dragons together with a cello quartet from the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Inspector Krächz at the castle

Schloss Burg

Guest performance in Dortmund | Ruhr Piano Festival

Music of the time #GRAPE

Music of the Time #SMALT | Witten Days for New Chamber Music

Saalbau Witten

The German-American Augustin Hadelich is considered one of the world's most outstanding violinists. He has enjoyed a special friendship with the WDR Symphony Orchestra for a long time. Now, together, they will perform Dmitri Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto – a work full of gripping emotion, ranging from deep pain to grotesque humor and feverish energy. Dima Slobodeniouk will conduct from his adopted home of Finland, performing two magnificent orchestral works by Jean Sibelius: the enchanting tone poem "Pohjola's Daughter" opens the concert, before the Second Symphony concludes with a radiant finale.

Resonances - Hadelich & Shostakovich

WDR Happy Hour - Sibelius

A new star in the classical music world is the Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev, who now lives in Berlin. He won his first international competition at just 13 years old. Camille Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto, with its pathos and sparkling virtuosity, is the perfect choice for Malofeev's WDR debut. The other two works on the program are French: Maurice Ravel's "La Valse," a brilliant tribute to the Viennese waltz. Lionel Bringuier also conducts Albert Roussel's brilliant, yet rarely heard, Third Symphony.

Daring - Ravel & Saint-Saëns

Chamber Concert 4

Guest performance

Rudolf Oetker Hall

Peter Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony fascinates with its stirring musical language. The symphony also recounts an eventful artistic life, for the Russian composer's biography was a rollercoaster of emotions. Premiered in Moscow in 1878, the symphony soon conquered the entire world. Just nine years later, Johannes Brahms composed his rousing "Double Concerto" for violin, cello, and orchestra. The work once celebrated its premiere in Cologne. The demanding solo parts are performed by the South Korean violinist Seohyun Kim and the award-winning German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott.

String splendor - Tchaikovsky & Brahms

Chamber Concert 3

Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto begins with a crack of the whip. It conjures up a provocative and colorful music in the hall. The French-Canadian Louis Lortie ignites the necessary keyboard fireworks, while Simone Young conducts the WDR Symphony Orchestra for the first time. She began her career at the Cologne Opera. Today, the Australian is one of the world's most distinguished conductors and was the first woman to conduct the Bayreuth "Ring." With Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Symphony in F-sharp, she offers the opulent late work of an Austrian who, after fleeing the Nazis, rose to global fame in Hollywood's dream factory.

Shimmering - Simone Young & Ravel

What should drive an artist? Curiosity, says cellist Kian Soltani. There's room for it everywhere – especially in classical music. The fact that the Austrian with Persian roots is full of thirst for knowledge and a love of experimentation is evident in every one of his concerts. This evening he takes on Tchaikovsky's cello cosmos and presents a piece of Russian late Romanticism with the Nocturne in D minor, originally written for piano and later reworked for cello and orchestra, as well as the famous Rococo Variations. Gustav Mahler, on the other hand, walks the border between Romanticism and Modernism. His Fifth Symphony symbolizes a turning point. From the somber opening funeral march to the radiant final chorale, this masterpiece offers a journey through melancholy, passion, and triumph and is in the best hands of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and Cristian Măcelaru.

WDR Symphony Orchestra / Kian Soltani / Cristian Măcelaru

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

CityPalais

Alte Oper

The "Adagietto" from Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony is a transcendent heavenly music. It is said to have been a declaration of love to his young wife Alma. The symphony premiered in 1904 in Cologne's Gürzenich. Mahler's work spans the spectrum from energetic marching episodes to Viennese sounds to a boisterous, dancing finale. It is a dramatic symphony tailor-made for Cristian Măcelaru and the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Two works for cello and orchestra by Peter Tchaikovsky, including the famous "Rococo Variations," also focus on Slavic Romanticism.

Declaration of Love - Măcelaru & Mahler's Fifth

WDR Happy Hour - Prokofiev

Music of the Time #ATELIER

The "Babylon Suite" by Munich composer Jörg Widmann sets the entire concert hall vibrating. The work is an orchestral excerpt from his opera "Babylon," which premiered in 2012 and advocates for a heterogeneous society. The "fascinating simultaneity" of cultures, according to Widmann, is reflected in the richly staffed orchestra with its effervescent energy and electrifying tension. The composer himself conducts this concert, as this all-rounder of the classical music scene works equally as a composer, clarinetist, and conductor. He is particularly passionate about the works of Robert Schumann. Therefore, he also performs his Second Symphony, in which fiery verve blends with whispering elegance.

Sounds of Life - Schumann's Second

Dvorana Union

Musikverein

Forum am Schlosspark

Gasteig HP8

Meistersingerhalle

Isabelle Faust, one of the most impressive violinists of our time, sums it up: "It's always about conveying the magic of music in the moment." The current "Artist in Residence" of the WDR Symphony Orchestra presents Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Violin Concerto in this concert. The work has everything that makes the hearts of music fans beat faster: warming lyricism, breathtaking virtuosity, and intoxicating sonic splendor. Robert Schumann was a close friend of Mendelssohn. Isabelle Faust also interprets his exciting violin fantasy, before Schubert's mysterious "Unfinished" concludes the concert, conducted by the British conductor Andrew Manze.

Longing - Isabelle Faust & Mendelssohn

Richard Strauss created a truly ecstatic tone poem with "Ein Heldenleben." The 34-year-old promptly declared himself a hero – the music sounds confident and aggressive. For in this symphonic epic, the hero quarrels with his "adversaries." These were all those who rejected Strauss's highly Romantic art. His work creates intoxicating imagery full of love melodies and daring adventures. Every instrument on the stage is called upon in this fervent plea for artistic freedom.

WDR Happy Hour - Heroes' Lives

Future Chief Conductor Marie Jacquot arrives in Cologne with a room-filling classic. The Frenchwoman will take over as the WDR Symphony Orchestra's conductor in the summer of 2026. She's already stoking anticipation with Anton Bruckner's Seventh. The symphony electrifies with its sky-high verve. Bruckner was himself a church musician and plays the orchestra's instruments like the stops of an organ. Thus, the combination with works for the "Queen of Instruments" is a natural fit. Parisian organist Thomas Ospital will enrich the program with music by Handel and Jehan Alain.

Marie Jacquot - Bruckner's Seventh

Music of the time #TANGERINE

Chamber Concert 2

Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto sounds soulful, exuberant, and embracing the world. Few celebrate it quite like violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. The highly acclaimed, exceptional musician even wrote a letter to the late composer some time ago. In it, he wrote: "Dear Ludwig, without your music, life would be poorer." Without Mozart's magical sounds, our lives would also be much poorer. Therefore, guest conductor Marek Janowski offers the touching variations that the Romantic composer Max Reger invented in 1914 on a catchy Mozart melody.

Great Masters - Janowski & Zimmermann

Music of the time #THULIAN

WDR Happy Hour - The Planets

Chamber Concert 1

Night, as a shadowy realm between dream and reality, has always fascinated us humans. Gustav Mahler was also captivated by it. His Seventh Symphony therefore features two "Night Musics." With Rembrandtian chiaroscuro and a Viennese serenade tone, they conjure a mysterious atmosphere into the concert hall. Mahler's Seventh, premiered in Prague in 1908, is alive with extreme contrasts between melancholy and awakening, between longing and exuberant joy. As a musical premonition of Mahler's nocturnal sounds, the piece "Near Midnight" by the Scottish composer Helen Grime resounds.

Night Music - Mahler's Seventh

The mouse takes you on a journey through the life of the child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – with rousing music and exciting, funny and factual stories about the Austrian composer.

Music of the Time #KEPPEL

Guest performance Bad Kissingen | Kissinger Sommer

Max Littmann Hall

Is Shostakovich facing further disaster? Three days after the premiere of his tenth symphony, the Soviet Composers' Union is discussing whether the work is too modern, too old-fashioned or too critical - after all, the composer had been ostracized by Soviet cultural policy a few years earlier. But the committee missed the grim satire with which Shostakovich ironically expressed his anger at Stalinism. Brahms' Violin Concerto, on the other hand, is presented in a sunnier light - a true celebration of the violin sound in close integration with the orchestra and a rhythmically well-seasoned "Hungarian" finale, performed by world star Hilary Hahn. This program was put together by Cristian Măcelaru, who is using this evening to celebrate his departure as chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra after six years.

Masterful - Măcelaru & Hilary Hahn

Music of the Time - Children of Europe

Before Dmitri Shostakovich became a composer-critic of the Stalin dictatorship, the music world experienced him as a carefree, talented child prodigy: for example in his first piano trio, which the seventeen-year-old wrote during his studies - a one-movement, grand, racing flight of thought by a genius who had perfected his skills at an early age. Also worth discovering is the piano quintet by the far too unknown Polish romantic composer Juliusz Zarębski, which he dedicated to his teacher Franz Liszt.

The viola emerges from the depths of the orchestra into the spotlight much less often than its high-pitched sister. The Englishman William Walton gave it the opportunity for a particularly grand performance with his concert. The warm tone of the solo instrument nestles here against a colorful orchestral part that can also be heard in the other two contributions to the program - the sparkling sound of Lyadov's "enchanted lake" or Stravinsky's ballet about the love-struck fairground puppet Petrushka. These fairy-tale sounds are brought to life by Marie Jacquot, the designated chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Fairy Tale Sounds - Marie Jacquot

WDR Happy Hour - Strawinsky

Attend an orchestra rehearsal of the WDR Symphony Orchestra in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on Thursday afternoon from 12:00 to 12:30 with free admission and whet your appetite for an evening of concerts.

WDR Happy Hour - Rachmaninoff

Konzerthaus

In 1995, the music press was shaken up: Thomas Adès, just 24 years old, had brought the opera "Powder her Face" to the stage, which satirically describes the extravagant, dissolute life of an upper-class lady. Adès established a musical style that effortlessly alternates between avant-garde and ironically broken quotations from older works, while at the same time combining catchiness with great imagination. Sergei Rachmaninov's "Symphonic Dances", on the other hand, are a farewell work: behind the harmless title lies an entire symphony, an impressive statement that musically recalls moments from a rich composer and virtuoso's life.

When you have your music college diploma in your pocket, learning is not over. On the contrary: at the first rehearsal in a professional orchestra, it starts all over again! Since 2013, young instrumentalists have been able to gain practical experience in the WDR Symphony Orchestra's Orchestra Academy - with experienced mentors from the orchestra at their side, they take part in symphonic performances for two years, work on chamber music and learn the special traditions that have grown over the orchestra's 75 years of history. In the academy's matinee, the stage belongs to these young musicians.

Matinee of the Academy

Performances are rare in Germany, but in England Edward Elgar's oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius" ranks just behind Handel's "Messiah" or Mendelssohn's "Elijah". This masterpiece in particular shows the true side of the English romantic, who is known here above all as the creator of the "Pomp and Circumstance" marches. The existential theme of the monumental composition is the journey of a soul to heaven - from the moment of death through encounters at the side of a guardian angel to the climax: it reaches the afterlife and sees the glory of God.

Heaven and Hell - The Dream of Gerontius

Guest performance Wuppertal | Piano Festival Ruhr

Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal GmbH

Beethoven's Trio op. 11 was called the "Gassenhauer Trio" because of the variation theme, which was very popular at the time. With Max Bruch's virtuoso pieces for clarinet trio and Poulenc's duo, the program draws a connection to the sound worlds of saxophonist Daniel Schnyder, who has found his own way in "Worlds Beyond" on a fine line between classical, avant-garde and jazz. Four bassoons "speak" in the composition by Wynton Marsalis, who is at home between classical and jazz, bringing an instrument that is rarely heard as a soloist from the back rows of the orchestra to the podium ramp.

I long for the Alps / This is how the lakes are created (2022/2025)
for soprano, speaker, electronics and large orchestra based on a text by Händl Klaus

Music of the Time - Man / Woman / Unicorn / Lakes | EIGHT BRIDGES | Music for Cologne

This year, the WDR Symphony Orchestra is organizing the Federal President's benefit concert. The concert series, the proceeds of which support social and cultural organizations, has been held annually since 1988 - from 1988 to 2005 in Berlin and since 2006 in rotation in the federal states. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst have decided to use the proceeds from the 2025 concert to support the Elly Heuss-Knapp Foundation - German Mothers' Recovery Foundation. The foundation aims to strengthen the health of mothers, fathers and caring relatives through preventive and rehabilitation measures. All tickets for the Federal President's benefit concert include a donation to the Elly Heuss-Knapp Foundation.

Benefit concert of the Federal President

For a long time, the composer Fanny Hensel was overshadowed by the work of her famous brother Felix Mendelssohn - her work received the recognition it deserved far too late. Schumann's violin concerto suffered a similar fate: the virtuosos filed it away as an allegedly unsuccessful contribution to the concerto genre by a composer in the last phase of his life. The heirs even banned its publication for 100 years. Today it has finally found its place in the repertoire. Brahms's pathetic, monumental first symphony concludes the evening.

Guest performance in Bielefeld

Guest performance in Munich

Prinzregententheater

Guest performance in Friedrichshafen

Graf-Zeppelin-Haus

Intimacy - Măcelaru & Brahms' First

His multifaceted interpretations are characterized by impressive effortlessness: Alexandre Kantorow, winner of the 2019 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, will be presenting himself in Cologne with a large romantic repertoire. Liszt's second piano concerto is a true tour de force in constant competition with the orchestra, a drama between poetry and exuberant virtuosity. Schumann and Wagner provide a framework of illustrative color with the famous "Rhenish Symphony" and the rarely heard but worth discovering Faust Overture.

Guest performance Antwerp

Queen Elisabeth Hall

In the River - Liszt & The Rhenish

Commissioned by WDR, Radio France, Ircam-Centre Pompidou and Lucerne Festival with the support of the Pierre Boulez Foundation

Music of the Time - Pierre Boulez's 100th birthday

Musik der Zeit - Schöpfungen im Frühling | Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik

Theatersaal

guest performance in Madrid | Spain tour

National Music Auditorium

guest performance Valencia | Spain tour

Palau de la Música de València

Guest performance in Zaragoza | Spain tour

Auditorio de Zaragoza

Guest performance in Barcelona | Spain tour

L'Auditori

guest performance Girona | Spain tour

Auditori Palau de Congressos de Girona

The theme of "man and fate" has fascinated many composers. Beethoven, for example, in his music for Goethe's drama "Egmont", in which a hero tries to win freedom for his country but tragically fails. In his fifth symphony, Tchaikovsky illuminates the tragedy of his emotional distress: a dark, whispering motif runs through the work, which the composer sees as an expression of "complete surrender to fate". In between there is a pearl of romantic concert literature that many have yet to discover: immediately after taking up his post as music director in Düsseldorf, Schumann wrote his cello concerto full of euphoria - a work that is played far too rarely today.

Fate - Tchaikovsky's Fifth

Music of Time - Guest Performance Hamburg | Elbphilharmonie Visions

Exceptional violinist Arabella Steinbacher inspired the Luxembourg composer Georges Lentz to write an unearthly and beautiful violin concerto. In it, the sound of the violin spreads out in the Philharmonie like starlight under the sky of the Australian outback, where Lentz composed his piece. In her large orchestral piece "Masaot", Olga Neuwirth enters a river of memories and associations: music as both home and foreign. Georges Aperghis instigates a new celebration of orchestral virtuosity with his eighth etude.

Music of the Time - Distantly Familiar

Great emotionality and the highest technical demands make Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto one of the pianistic touchstones. The multi-award-winning, 20-year-old Yunchan Lim takes on this challenge. Afterwards, the dazzling jazz star Wynton Marsalis shows what creative power he can extract as a composer from a classical formation.

Sound Power - Rachmaninoff & Marsalis

A completely different quartet line-up! Anyone looking for an alternative to the usual version of two violins, viola and violoncello or the wind instruments can discover something new - such as the suite for four horns by Eugène Bozza, whose music captures the beauty of his Provençal homeland. Constantin Homilius and the American Kerry Turner, both virtuosos on the full-sounding brass instrument, wrote for the same line-up.

Waltzes, polkas, blissful operetta charm, sparkling like the sound of champagne: this is what the Viennese masters from the great Strauss family stand for, as does Franz Lehár. Atmospheric opera moments by contemporary Giacomo Puccini introduce the gala before the imaginary curtain rises to forays into operetta classics such as "The Merry Widow", "Giuditta" and "The Bat". Waltzes and lively polkas then provide the furious finale. The star guest is the Polish soprano Magdalena Lucjan, who studied in Vienna and thus brings the flair of the Danube metropolis directly to the Rhine.

New Year's Splendor - Strauss & Puccini

WDR Happy Hour - Vienna Furioso

A musical trip to America at the end of the year - with the composers Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, in whose works the new sounds of the West and jazz are mixed with the traditions of European classical music. Between Bernstein's festival music "Divertimento" and Gershwin's Southern opera "Porgy and Bess" one of the strongest female voices in America has her say: the composer Jessie Montgomery, born in New York in 1981. Her "Freedom Songs" were written especially for the soprano Julia Bullock and are modern arrangements of traditional Afro-American music.

New Year's Eve Concert - Bernstein & Gershwin

Philippe Jordan is better able to stage great symphonic drama than almost any other conductor of his generation. The music director of the Vienna State Opera is an expert in musical theater, but is also in demand as a guest conductor of international orchestras. When he conducts Anton Bruckner in his anniversary year, the music of the Austrian late romantic will be transformed into a great symphonic narrative, full of references to Richard Wagner, whom he admired so much. Bruckner's Eighth, his last completed symphony, was described by the composer himself as a "mystery." Jordan will surely reveal some of its secrets.

Mystery - Bruckner's Eighth

"Rejoice, be glad!" sings the choir at the beginning, ushering in the Advent season for many every year. With rousing choirs, atmospheric solos and contemplative chorales, Bach's Christmas Oratorio finds a tone and gesture that delights audiences and singers alike and has made the work a favorite piece during the Christmas season. A star cast of soloists, the WDR Radio Choir, the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the charismatic conductor Simon Halsey allow the great music to unfold its full radiance and together tell a timeless story of peace on earth.

Bach: Christmas Oratorio

Rejoice, be glad! Bach's Christmas Oratorio is as much a part of the holidays as mulled wine and the Advent wreath. In this concert, however, the audience must actively help to experience the popular and famous Christmas music: the appropriate music will only be heard if the puzzles of the exclusive Bach Escape Room game are solved.

Bach with a twist: Christmas Escape Room | WDR@Philharmonie

Bach mal anders: Christmas Escape Room

With an evening brimming with sonic magic and visionary power, Marie Jacquot celebrates her inaugural concert as the new chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. From the ethereal prelude to Wagner's opera "Lohengrin," the program spans Chopin's Piano Concerto in F minor to the evocative tone poems of the late Romantic era: "Andromède" by the Irish-French composer Augusta Holmès and "Le poème de l'extase" by the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin. Let yourself be captivated by this dramatic program – and experience the exceptional pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, a former winner of the prestigious Warsaw Chopin Competition.

Departure - Marie Jacquot & Yulianna Avdeeva

Music of the Time - Oceanic Feelings

WDR Happy Hour - Marie Jacquot

PhilharmonieLunch becomes PhilharmonieProbe. PhilharmonieProbe opens the doors for a special insight: You can experience the Cologne Philharmonic's resident orchestras, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Symphony Orchestra, and their guests directly at work, for 30 minutes as they prepare the current concert program.

Philharmonic rehearsal

Two classical music stars grace this extraordinary program: Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna elevates Camille Saint-Saëns' sublime "Organ Symphony," while French violist Antoine Tamestit takes center stage in Thierry Escaich's sophisticated viola concerto "La Nuit des Chants." Composed especially for him, the work explores the dazzling expressive possibilities of his instrument. The concert opens with Richard Wagner's majestic "Tannhäuser" Overture.

Majestic - Marie Jacquot & Iveta Apkalna

Guest performance in Linz | Tour with Marie Jacquot

Brucknerhaus Linz

Guest performance in Innsbruck | Tour with Marie Jacquot

Congress Innsbruck

Guest performance in Salzburg | Tour with Marie Jacquot

Great Festival House

Music of the Times - Partly Cloudy | NOW! Festival

It is the reaching for the stars, the yearning for the infinite, that Alexander Scriabin ignites in his music. His Third Symphony bears the title "Le Divin Poème" – the Divine Poem. In opulent musical language, it tells of the awakening of humankind, of the shattering of earthly bonds: darkness dissolves into light, doubt transforms into ecstatic dance. Scriabin unfolds a mythical heroic tale as an orchestral flight to heaven. The tone poem will be conducted by the Latvian conductor Andris Poga, a familiar guest of the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

WDR Happy Hour - Divine Game

Uncompromising expression, stark rhythms, and overwhelming virtuosity characterize Sergei Prokofiev's Second Piano Concerto. It is a work of eruptive power, simultaneously captivating as a powerful psychological drama – seemingly tailor-made for the Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg, whose narrative interpretive artistry is truly compelling. This is followed by a furious reach for the stars: Alexander Scriabin's Third Symphony, "Le Divin Poème" – the Divine Poem. This iconic tone poem about humanity's liberating flight to heaven is unleashed by the Latvian conductor Andris Poga.

Border crossings - Poga & Prokofiev

When Marek Janowski conducts Bruckner, the concert hall is transformed into a place of musical revelation. Few conductors of our time have dedicated themselves so uncompromisingly to the symphonic repertoire. At the heart of the program is Bruckner's Ninth, the unfinished final symphony of the Austrian late-Romantic composer – a legacy of compelling energy. It culminates in an Adagio that hints at distant worlds. An ideal complement is Richard Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll," which Bruckner also admired. Wagner's music listens to the inner self and touches the listener with its exquisite sound.

Monumental - Wagner & Bruckner

Handel's "Messiah" was billed as "Grand Musical Entertainment" at its Dublin premiere: Sweeping choruses, including the famous "Hallelujah," and catchy arias continue to captivate audiences today. On the podium is the renowned British conductor Jonathan Cohen, an expert in Baroque music. His keen understanding of the oratorio's beauty creates both festive grandeur and personal devotion.

Hallelujah - Handel's Messiah

Dreamlike moments characterize this special concert evening under the direction of Cristian Măcelaru, the former chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra. At its heart is Richard Strauss's tone poem "Don Quixote." Led by cello and viola, the sonic imagery of chivalric adventures unfolds, oscillating between irony and profundity. Anton Webern's early Passacaglia unites late-Romantic fervor with architectural clarity, while Richard Wagner's rapturous prelude and the ardent "Liebestod" from the opera "Tristan und Isolde" captivate the audience time and again.

WDR Sinfonieorchester

Sep 18, 2026

Departure - Marie Jacquot & Yulianna Avdeeva

Sep 6 - Oct 1, 2026

The Concert with the Mouse

Oct 9, 2026

Music of the Time - Oceanic Feelings

Oct 11, 2026

Chamber Concert 1

Oct 14, 2026

WDR Happy Hour - Marie Jacquot

Sep 14, 2026

Anniversary concert - 40 years of the Cologne Philharmonic

Sep 6 - Oct 1, 2026

The Concert with the Mouse

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WDR Sinfonieorchester