The Philadelphia Orchestra was founded in 1900, which means it’s celebrating 125 years in the current concert season. It stands to reason that the 2025-26 season, details of which were just announced, will also feature many resonances with the past, highlighting milestones in the orchestra’s exalted history. At the same time, the coming season brings new works by leading contemporary composers, and appearances by prominent soloists and guest conductors.
“The 2025–26 season of The Philadelphia Orchestra is a joyful celebration — of the Orchestra’s 125 years of musical brilliance and of America’s 250th birthday,” declares music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in a statement. “In this year-long musical fête, we will illuminate works by Bartók, Ravel, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Stravinsky, and more — many of which The Philadelphia Orchestra introduced to America.”
Coming to America
Indeed, a series titled “Coming to America” will highlight works that received either their world or United States premiere by The Philadelphia Orchestra. The series begins on Opening Night, Sept. 25, when Nézet-Séguin leads the Orchestra and pianist Yuja Wang in Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, which had its first U.S. performances on April 22, 1932. (It was a dual-city premiere: Leopold Stokowski led the Philadelphians, and Serge Koussevitzky led the Boston Symphony Orchestra.) Also on the program are Márquez’s Danzón No. 2 and Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé.
Among the other works gathered under the banner of Coming to America are Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 (Nov. 29-30) and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which will feature soloist Seong-Jin Cho (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2026). Both of those pieces will be led by Nézet-Séguin. Principal guest conductor Marin Alsop will take the helm for two pieces that had their world premieres in Philadelphia: Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Yunchan Lim (Oct. 3-5) and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini, with Haochen Zhang (March 20-22, 2026).

Dalia Stasevska will conduct Barber’s Violin Concerto, another work that had its world premiere by The Philadelphia Orchestra, in a program featuring violin soloist Augustin Hadelich (Jan. 9-11, 2026). Stéphane Denève will lead Ravel’s Une Barque sur l’Océan, commemorating the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary (Nov. 29-30). And Stravinsky, who had a longstanding relationship with the Orchestra, will be represented by his landmark The Rite of Spring, which had its U.S. premieres (apparently with no rioting) in 1922 (concert version) and 1930 (staged version); Nézet-Séguin will conduct those concerts (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2026).
Voices of the New Millennium
To counterbalance its historical focus and underscore its commitment to the future of the art form, the Orchestra will perform eight works by leading contemporary composers, most of them commissioned world premieres.
Alsop will open the subscription season with the world premiere of John Adams’ The Rock You Stand On, in a concert that also includes selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Yunchan Lim (Oct. 3-5). Alsop will also conduct the acclaimed ensemble Time for Three in Contact, by Kevin Puts, which was an Orchestra co-commission, and won a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (April 23-25).

Jennifer Higdon wrote her Concerto for Orchestra on a commission from The Philadelphia Orchestra, which premiered it in 2002; it will once again be performed, now with Nézet-Séguin at the podium (Oct. 24-26). And Du Yun’s Ears of the Book will receive a Philadelphia premiere, with Wu Man on pipa and Elim Chan at the podium (Jan. 22-24, 2026).

Tyshawn Sorey, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music last year, wrote his Piano Concerto as a Philadelphia Orchestra commission — specifically for Aaron Diehl, who has longstanding ties to both the composer and the ensemble. This will be another world premiere (May 15 and 16, 2026).
Another offering in the series is Terence Blanchard’s Orchestral Suite from Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which Nézet-Séguin originally premiered as a co-commission with The Metropolitan Opera (and also featured in the Orchestra’s Opening Night this past season).
A longtime colleague of Blanchard’s, his fellow trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, composed his Symphony No. 5 (“Liberty”) for the Philadelphians with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. It will make for a natural complement to Julia Wolfe’s Liberty Bell Overture, in its Philadelphia premiere (May 28-31, 2026).
Voices of America
The Philadelphia Orchestra has demonstrated a commitment to celebrating historically underrepresented composers from the American canon. “We will honor the significant yet often overlooked voices of Amy Beach, Julius Eastman, Louis Ballard, and William Grant Still, whose contributions to American music reflect the cultural landscape of our nation,” says Nézet-Séguin in a statement.
Those composers and their works will be honored in a series titled Voices of America, which begins with the first subscription performances of William Grant Still’s Wood Notes, presented in a new edition that was prepared by Principal Librarian Nicole Jordan and former Assistant Conductor Austin Chanu (Oct. 30-Nov. 2).
Nézet-Séguin will also lead the Orchestra in Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” Symphony (March 12 and 14), and later in a season-closing tribute to Leonard Bernstein, featuring the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story as well as his Symphony No. 1 (“Jeremiah”) and the Overture to Candide. (June 4-7, 2026). As an interlude, Hélène Grimaud will join the Orchestra to perform Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F.

Also under the Voices of America series, Dalia Stasevska will conduct Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Jan. 9-11, 2026) as well as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s first performances of Julius Eastman’s Symphony No. 2 (“The Faithful Friend: The Lover Friend’s Love for the Beloved”), with John Williams’ Tuba Concerto, featuring Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch (Jan. 16-17, 2026).
Devil’s Promenade, by the Native American composer Louis Ballard, will receive its first Orchestra performances, led by Rafael Payare (Feb. 5-7). And in a pairing sure to be popular with audiences, Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3 will share a concert bill with excerpts from Williams’ score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, led by Matthias Pintscher (April 30-May 2).
Symphonic Masterpieces
Each new season by The Philadelphia Orchestra includes some monumental works, and this one will be no exception. The 2025-26 season will include Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe (Sept. 25); Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, led by Esa-Pekka Salonen (Oct. 16-18); and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, led by Stasevska and featuring soprano Joélle Harvey (Jan. 9-11, 2026).
Nézet-Séguin will conduct no fewer than three Brahms symphonies: No. 4 (Oct. 30), No. 3 (Nov. 1-2), and No. 2 (April 7, 2026). Yannick, who has lately embarked on an exploration of Mahler symphonies, will also lead that composer’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) featuring soprano Ying Fang, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, and the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir (March 6-8, 2026); and his Symphony No. 5 (May 15–16).
Spotlight Recital Series

In addition to The Philadelphia Orchestra's main season, the Spotlight Series will showcase some of the leading names in classical music in a solo or chamber setting. The series begins with violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Lang Lang in a concert performing works by Schumann, Beethoven, Still, and Saint-Saëns (Dec. 6).
Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson will perform Selections from Bach’s The Art of Fugue and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Nos. 30, 31, and 32 (March 19, 2026). And violinist Itzhak Perlman will bring his 30th anniversary celebration of the PBS special In the Fiddler’s House to Marian Anderson Hall, with guests including Hankus Netsky and Andy Statman (May 3, 2026).
“Since its creation in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has been a global emblem of artistic excellence,” Ryan Fleur, interim president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, says in a statement. “From the bold vision of the pioneering founding members to the development of the iconic Philadelphia Sound to the unmatched talent of the musicians of today, our legacy has been shaped by the power of music to inspire and connect.”
To encounter the full sweep of the Orchestra’s 2025-26 season, visit its website.