2026 Symphonic Season

Symphonic season: Milan Symphony Orchestra

Saturday 31 January
Rachmaninov-Beethoven
Spanning two centuries, this programme combines two cornerstones of the repertoire with a new composition. On the one hand, Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 2, a piece overflowing with typically post-Romantic pathos, in the wake of Tchaikovsky’s most authentic legacy; on the other, Beethoven’s Seventh, a symphonic masterpiece in which the four movements offer the listener four precious gems.
Nicola Campogrande Gioco di squadra (World premiere) Commissioned by the Milan Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Saturday 28 March
Intersezioni series “The planets of the solar system”
The music of Gustav Holst, who in 1918 interpreted the planets symbolically in his suite The Planets, meets science and astrophysics. With narration by Matteo Miluzio, astrophysicist and populariser, the audience will be taken on a journey that combines knowledge and imagination: each planet will be described through its astronomical characteristics, while the music will convey its evocative power. From tiny, fiery Mercury to giant Jupiter, from mysterious Neptune to our fragile Earth, this is a story that intertwines scientific data and emotions to convey the extraordinary variety of our planetary system.Symphonic season: Milan Symphony Orchestra.

Saturday, 11 April
Beethoven-Rimsky-Korsakov
Rimsky-Korsakov’s wonderful Scheherazade, from the very first chords played by Luca Santaniello, concertmaster of the Milan Symphony Orchestra, transports us to unknown and distant worlds, allowing us to experience through our senses and emotions the story of a woman who enchanted a sultan with her tales from One Thousand and One Nights. In this programme, thanks to the multifaceted talent of pianist and conductor Sunwook Kim, this gem coexists with one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire of all time: Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, in which, for the first time in history, it is the piano that breaks the initial silence, anticipating the canonical orchestral exposition.

Saturday 25 April
Haydn-Strauss
A plunge into the atmosphere of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a musical excursion that takes us from the remotest corners of the empire straight to Vienna. Who better than Alfred Eschwé, kapellmeister and custodian of Austrian tradition par excellence? Eschwé offers a journey that begins with Bartók and his evocative Hungarian Pictures, continues with Haydn’s last symphony, Con il rullo di timpani, and continues with a selection of Strauss’s most iconic works, including the Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka and the Kaiser-Walzer.

Saturday 9 May
The science of Star Wars
A symphonic journey through distant galaxies, science and the magic of cinema. With the release of Star Wars in 1977, science fiction cinema not only conquered the general public: it also inspired generations of scientists, posing fascinating and visionary questions. Can we really travel through hyperspace? Are there planets similar to Tatooine? Is a lightsaber just fantasy or a possible future? Astrophysicist and populariser Luca Perri will guide the audience on a journey through science and science fiction, accompanied by the unforgettable music of John Williams, performed by the Milan Symphony Orchestra. An experience that combines knowledge, emotion and imagination, celebrating a saga that changed the history of cinema and our idea of the future.