From premieres and tributes to classical giants, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra is set to captivate audiences with a series of remarkable concerts in early 2025. Featuring world premieres, celebrated artists, and powerful works, the lineup includes conductor Alan Gilbert leading new compositions, viola star Lawrence Power's electrifying performances, and Anja Bihlmaier's debut conducting Beethoven and Schumann. With a spotlight on cultural narratives and musical mastery, these events promise an unforgettable experience for music enthusiasts across Germany.

An Orchestral Journey: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra's 2025 Highlights

March 2025 promises a symphonic feast at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester hosts a series of captivating performances. From the masterful interpretations by Manfred Honeck and Francesco Piemontesi to the dynamic debuts of Elim Chan and star cellist Steven Isserlis, music enthusiasts are in for an enriching experience. The lineup includes works by Brahms, Dvořák, Strauss, and Stravinsky, offering a profound journey through classical music. Each event uniquely celebrates the synergy between conductors, soloists, and the orchestra, highlighting the timeless appeal of orchestral music.

Classical Confluence: A Harmonious March at Elbphilharmonie

Spring 2025 is set to be a harmonious celebration as the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra presents a captivating series of concerts in Hamburg, Germany. From the debut of conductor Elim Chan to the evocative sounds of Jonathon Heyward and the celestial themes of 'Galactic Music,' each event promises a unique musical experience. With renowned artists like Steven Isserlis and Håkan Hardenberger, these performances will explore the depths of classical and modern compositions, resonating with audiences and showcasing the timeless art of orchestral music.

Melodic Journeys: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra's Spring Serenade

The Hamburg International Music Festival is set to captivate audiences with a stunning array of performances, featuring renowned artists like Alan Gilbert and Leif Ove Andsnes, and ensembles like the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. From the intricate compositions of Debussy and Franck to the dramatic opera of Alban Berg, these events promise a rich exploration of musical creativity and expression. Join us as we delve into the festival's highlights, showcasing the immense talent and unique interpretations that bring these masterful works to life across various venues in Germany.

Hamburg's Melodic Tapestry: A Symphony of Talent and Passion

Embark on a journey through a series of captivating orchestral and chamber music events orchestrated by the renowned NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. From the enchanting collaboration of James Ehnes and Antoine Tamestit with conductor Louis Langrée, to the intimate club concert featuring Tamestit's solo prowess, and the grand interpretations under Herbert Blomstedt's baton, this musical odyssey promises unforgettable experiences. With performances spanning renowned venues like the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Die Glocke in Bremen, each event offers a unique glimpse into the world of classical music, drawing audiences into a world of artistic brilliance.

Exploring the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester's Musical Odyssey: A Grand Tour of Artistry

A beautiful tradition: The scholarship holders of the 2024/2025 season of the Academy of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will present themselves on June 22nd with their own chamber concert in the Rolf Liebermann Studio.

Chamber Concert of the Academics

 Rolf-Liebermann-Studio

A long-awaited reunion with the revered old master among the old masters, Herbert Blomstedt! The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra plays music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven - on June 12th and 15th.

EPSG:4326

Herbert Blomstedt & Regula Mühlemann

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Chamber music with works by Brahms, Glinka, Kim and Shostakovich: The Elphier Quartet, together with double bassist Benedikt Kany and pianist Haiou Zhang, invites you to the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie on June 10th.

Chamber music: Elphier Quartet with Shostakovich and Brahms

Impressions from France and a detour to Salzburg. In the festival concert conducted by Louis Langrée, works by Ravel and Saint-Saëns meet Mozart with Antoine Tamestit - on June 8th in the Elbphilharmonie.

International Music Festival: Langrée, Tamestit, Ehnes & Cornelius

Experience Artist in Residence and violist Antoine Tamestit up close: Welcome to the club concert on June 7, 2025 - at Uebel & Gefährlich in St. Pauli and with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.

Horribly unreinforced: Antoine Tamestit

ByteFM - Radio für gute Musik

Visiting Bremen: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will be on stage in the Glocke together with Antoine Tamestit, James Ehnes and Thomas Cornelius. Conductor: Louis Langrée.

Langrée, Tamestit, Ehnes & Cornelius

Die Glocke

Sala de Música y Congresos Lübeck

Antoine Tamestit, violist and Artist in Residence 2024/25 of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, will play a special chamber concert in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie on June 1. He will interpret works by Bach, Brahms and Waksman, among others.

Chamber music with Antoine Tamestit in the Elbphilharmonie

Off into the musical ring! Pablo Heras-Casado conquers Wagner, Artist in Residence Antoine Tamestit puts Gubaidulina's viola concerto in a new light - on May 30 and 31 with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.

International Music Festival: Pablo Heras-Casado & Antoine Tamestit

A look into the "abyss of man": 100 years after the premiere, Alan Gilbert conducts the opera "Wozzeck" by Alban Berg at the Hamburg International Music Festival. On May 23 and 25 in the Elbphilharmonie.

IMF: Alan Gilbert conducts Alban Berg's "Wozzeck"

Schubert's String Trio in B major and his Piano Quintet in A major as well as Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 3: Musicians of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will play in the Recital Hall of the Elphi on May 13th.

Chamber Music: Schubert and Brahms

A chamber music concert with musicians from NDR EO in the Rolf Liebermann Studio. On the program on May 12th: Schubert's string trio in B major, his piano quintet in A major and Brahms' piano quartet no. 3.

Chamber music in the RLS: Schubert and Brahms

With a colorful foray through music history, Ljudmila Minnibaeva (violinist in the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra) and pianist Tinatin Gambashidze will perform for the "Dance into May" on May 11th.

NDR Family Concert: Dance into May

Members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will be performing chamber music works in St. George's Church in Wismar on May 10. They will be performing one work each by Boccherini and Schubert.

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra: Chamber Music in Wismar

St. George's Church Wismar

Alan Gilbert on the viola: Together with the Elphier Quartet, the trained violinist and violist will perform works by Britten, Bruch and Schulhoff in the Small Hall of the Elphi on May 10th.

Special Concert: Alan Gilbert & Elphier Quartet

French sensuality as part of the Hamburg International Music Festival: Concerts with Alan Gilbert, Leif Ove Andsnes and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra on May 8, 9 and 11 in the Elbphilharmonie.

IMF: Alan Gilbert & Leif Ove Andsnes

Better than gaming: game music and cinema soundtracks, played by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in the Great Hall of the Elphi! Conductor Stefan Geiger brings science fiction to life - on April 25th, 26th and 27th.

"Galactic Music" in the Elbphilharmonie

Program change: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Jonathon Heyward will perform Rachmaninoff's Second instead of Holst's "The Planets" in the Elbphilharmonie. Trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger will play Weinberg's Trumpet Concerto in B flat major.

Jonathon Heyward & Hakan Hardenberger

An hour with Elim Chan: In the series "Klassik Kompakt" the conductor makes her debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra with Lutosławski's "Concerto for Orchestra". Star cellist Steven Isserlis plays Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major.

Klassik Kompakt with Elim Chan and Steven Isserlis

Cello in the club: British star cellist Steven Isserlis and members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will be getting up close and personal at Uebel & Gefährlich in St. Pauli on April 5, 2025.

Horribly unreinforced: Steven Isserlis

Animals in music and literature: Podcast hosts Daniel Kaiser and Jan Ehlert will meet musicians from the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Lüneburg on April 4, 2025. A chamber concert evening with literary added value.

The sound of books: eat.READ.sleep. meets NDR EO

Culture Forum Luneburg e.V.

Conductor Elim Chan makes her debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra on April 3 with works by Haydn, Lutosławski and Koide. Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major will be performed by star cellist Steven Isserlis.

Elim Chan & Steven Isserlis

Bird sounds at the NDR family concert on March 29th, heard in Antonio Vivaldi's flute concerto "Il Gardellino" (The Goldfinch).

NDR Family Concert: All-rounder!

Proven dream team: Chief conductor Alan Gilbert and piano legend Emanuel Ax interpret Mozart's D minor concerto, plus Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben" - on March 27, 28 and 30 in the Elbphilharmonie.

Alan Gilbert & Emanuel Ax

On March 16, the NDR Youth Symphony Orchestra invites you to two "orchestra favorites" in the Elbphilharmonie: Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 4 and Stravinsky's suite "The Firebird".

Elbphilharmonie: Orchestra Favorites with the NDR JSO

At first there was bewilderment, then thunderous applause! Tearful learning, then a sensational success!

Eckernförde: The NDR JSO plays "Orchestra Favorites"

Eckernförde town hall

Among good friends: Manfred Honeck returns to the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and conducts works by Brahms and Dvořák on March 6 and 9. Franceso Piemontesi takes on the demanding solo part in Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.

Manfred Honeck & Francesco Piemontesi

Club concert in the Bunker Feldstraße: Pianist Francesco Piemontesi will play with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra at Uebel & Gefährlich in St. Pauli on March 5, 2025.

Terribly unreinforced: Francesco Piemontesi

Hard work for the violin and a reckoning with Stalinism: Frank Peter Zimmermann and Andris Poga present works by Elgar and Shostakovich – on 27 and 28 February in the Elbphilharmonie.

Andris Poga & Frank Peter Zimmermann

Sparkassen-Arena

Please note the program change: Antonín Dvořák's Quartet and Quintet: Musicians of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will devote themselves to Dvořák's piano music in a chamber concert in the Rolf Liebermann Studio on February 24th.

Chamber music by Dvořák

Double debut: Conductor Anja Bihlmaier and pianist Javier Perianes will be appearing for the first time with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra on February 23. In addition to Beethoven and Schumann, there is a discovery by Louise Farrenc.

Anja Bihlmaier & Javier Perianes

Debut in Lübeck: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will play Schumann's Second Symphony on February 21st under the direction of Anja Bihlmaier. Javier Perianes will interpret Beethoven's Piano Concerto in G major in his first guest appearance with the NDR EO.

Anja Bihlmaier & Javier Perianes in Lübeck

Visions 2025: The last concert on February 16 combines a solo concert for viola star Lawrence Power with a musical tribute to Johannes Brahms and a work for the world-renowned music education project "El Sistema" in Venezuela.

Elbphilharmonie Visions: Alan Gilbert & Lawrence Power

Viola star Lawrence Power is a guest at the Bunker Feldstraße: On February 15, 2025, the Brit will meet members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in the club in St. Pauli.

Terribly unreinforced: Lawrence Power

News from the north: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert will premiere a new work by Alex Paxton on February 7. The MDR Radio Choir and NDR Vokalensemble will be part of the second part.

Elbphilharmonie Visions: Gilbert conducts Paxton and Deutsch

Visiting Lübeck: James Gaffigan makes his debut with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and will also be coming to Lübeck on January 24th. Violinist Vadim Gluzman will join him for Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2.

James Gaffigan & Vadim Gluzman in Lübeck

James Gaffigan conducts the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra for the first time with works by Haydn, Mussorgsky and Beethoven - on January 23 and 26. Violinist Vadim Gluzman joins him for Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2.

James Gaffigan & Vadim Gluzman

Ernie and Bert are back in the Elbphilharmonie: Together with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the stars from Sesame Street will present a New Year's concert on January 19th with well-known melodies by Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss.

NDR Family Concert: New Year's Concert with Ernie & Bert

Change of conductor: Jonathan Bloxham is now taking over from Semyon Bychkov at the podium of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. He conducts two Romantic works in one hour: Dvořák's concert overture "Othello" and Schubert's Symphony No. 2.

Classic Compact with Jonathan Bloxham

Violinist Karen Gomyo will also make her debut "terribly un-amplified": On January 11, 2025, she will be performing up close and personal with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in the club in St. Pauli.

horribly unreinforced: Karen Gomyo

Change of conductor: Jonathan Bloxham will lead works by Dvořák and Schubert instead of Semyon Bychkov with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. Violinist Karen Gomyo will make her debut with Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 - on January 9th and 10th.

Jonathan Bloxham & Karen Gomyo

When classical music rocks: Esa-Pekka Salonen and Pekka Kuusisto celebrate the New Year in the Elphi with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, two repertoire classics and an exciting discovery.

New Year's Eve and New Year's concerts with Salonen & Kuusisto

Out of the concert hall and into the Feldstrasse bunker: violinist Pekka Kuusisto will perform together with members of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra at the Club in St. Pauli on December 29, 2024.

Worst unamplified: Pekka Kuusisto

Christmas program with the brass players of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra: On December 17th they will play works by Bach, Howarth and Humperdinck in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie.

Chamber music: Christmas concert of the brass players of the NDR EO

Christmas classics and more in the Rolf Liebermann Studio: Brass players from the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will play works by Bach, Howarth and Humperdinck on December 16th.

Chamber music in the RLS: Christmas concert of the brass players

Visiting Lübeck: The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra plays Schumann's Fourth Symphony under the direction of Marek Janowski. Jean-Yves Thibaudet will perform a piano concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns on December 14th.

Janowski and Thibaudet in Lübeck

Masters of their craft: Marek Janowski conducts Schumann and Ravel, Jean-Yves Thibaudet interprets Saint-Saëns – in the NDR EO concerts in the Elbphilharmonie on 12 and 15 December.

Marek Janowski & Jean-Yves Thibaudet

His thrilling reading of Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto was the absolute high point of the last season: Augustin Hadelich, Associate Artist of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, convinced with playing that was at once utterly precise, of breathtaking virtuosity and deeply emotional. Now the German-American top violinist is returning to Hamburg for the International Music Festival, where he will perform the violin concerto by another great »B« of music history: Ludwig van Beethoven’s key work in the genre.

The name Arnold Schönberg triggers anxiety among some music lovers: the inventor of the twelve-tone technique has the reputation of a complex modern composer who provoked several scandals with his radically short pieces, where the music is reduced to essentials. But there was also another side to Schönberg: in 1902/03, just a few years before he abandoned the stable world of tonality, the Viennese composer wrote his monumental tone poem »Pelleas und Melisande«, based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s Symbolist play of the same name about the doomed love of the title characters. The 45-minute score for a gigantic orchestra shows the future twelve-tone composer as a Late Romantic successor of Wagner, Mahler and Strauss.

Schönberg’s later road to the dissolution of conventional harmonies and intervals was followed all the more rigourously in 1960 by György Ligeti: his »Apparitions« for orchestra no longer adhere to the established movements of notes, but instead – so the Hungarian composer said – to »ramified musical labyrinths filled with sounds and gentle noises«.

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester

1 - 3 May, 2026

Guest Concert

Jun 22, 2025

Chamber Concert of the Academics

12 - 15 Jun, 2025

Herbert Blomstedt & Regula Mühlemann

Articles & News

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester