Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert marks eight seasons with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in 2026–27, tenth anniversary of orchestra’s residence in venue, with Artist in Residence Leif Ove Andsnes and NDR Artist Across Ensembles Missy Mazzoli
(May 2026) — The 2026–27 season marks Alan Gilbert’s eighth as Chief Conductor of Hamburg’s NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (NDR EO), as the orchestra celebrates its tenth season as the resident orchestra of Hamburg’s spectacular Elbphilharmonie. Season highlights under Gilbert’s baton include an opening night concert pairing Mahler’s “Tragic” Symphony No. 6 with James Oliverio’s Timpani Concerto, featuring principal timpanist Stephan Cürlis in his farewell season with the orchestra (Sep 4 & 5); this season’s Artist in Residence, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, playing the world premiere of a new piano concerto by Missy Mazzoli– NDR’s Artist Across Ensembles for the season – in the third Visions Festival, along with world premieres by Darcy James Argue (Feb 6) and Veljko Nenadić (Jan 29); concerts celebrating the 80th birthday of John Adams, including his iconic Harmonielehre (Jan 10 & 11) and Absolute Jest (June 25 & 26); performances of Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex together with the iconic ballet Le Sacre du printemps as part of the annual Hamburg International Music Festival (May 28 & 29); Brahms’s First (Sep 10–12) and Fourth (Feb 12) Symphonies, Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony (Oct 8–11), Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony (Feb 11), and Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony (April 8–11); collaborations with other soloists including violinists Janine Jansen, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Julia Fischer, and Lisa Batiashvili, percussionist Vivi Vassileva, and pianist Hayato Sumino; and much more. At a recent press conference in Hamburg, Gilbert commented:
“We at the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra might be the luckiest orchestra in the world having the Elbphilharmonie as our home. The hall has quickly become one of the most important stops for any touring orchestra, and we get to play here all the time! I love that the hall is so flexible as an arts space: it can absorb the largest orchestral sound mass and also works impeccably for a small chamber formation or even a solo instrument. The space is inspiring – the variety of what we have been able to imagine and realize is limitless.”
Andsnes, Mazzoli, and Visions Festival
Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, who has been a close artistic partner of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra for many years, serves as Artist in Residence for the 2026–27 season. Led by Gilbert, he will be featured this season in multiple performances of Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto, both in Hamburg and on tour in Budapest and Vienna, and during the third iteration of the Visions Festival he performs the world premiere of a new piano concerto by Missy Mazzoli (Feb 6).
During the 2026–27 season, Mazzoli inaugurates the newly established role of NDR Artist Across Ensembles. Bringing fresh perspectives on classical music, she works with the whole family of NDR ensembles: the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the NDR Vokalensemble, and the NDR Bigband, as well as leading a composition workshop. Her new piano concerto marks her first venture into the format, and was commissioned by NDR, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and other international partners.
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Gilbert founded the NDR’s biennial Visions Festival as a showcase – presented in compact one-hour performances – of cutting-edge composition that explores new forms of expression and pushes the boundaries of the traditional concert format. Short onstage talks during each concert feature the composers offering exclusive insights into their creative process. Besides serving as Artistic Director of the festival, this season Gilbert conducts the world premiere performances of Mazzoli’s piano concerto with Andsnes as soloist, sharing a program with the world premiere of a new work for big band and orchestra by Darcy James Argue, featuring the NDR Bigband (Feb 6); and the opening program of the festival, which pairs the world premiere of Six Caryatids – Epic for Orchestra by young Serbian composer Veljko Nenadić – winner of the Claussen-Simon Composition Prize – with Daníel Bjarnason’s Inferno / Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, featuring percussionist Vivi Vassileva (Jan 29).
Alan Gilbert and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra: 2026-27 season engagements
Sep 4 & 5
Hamburg, Germany
Season Opening
James OLIVERIO: Timpani Concerto (with Stephan Cürlis, timpani)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic”
Sept 7
Berlin, Germany
HENZE: Tristan: Preludes for piano, tape and orchestra (with Tamara Stefanovich, piano)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Sep 10–12
Sep 10, 11: Hamburg, Germany
Sep 12: Wismar, Germany
John ADAMS: Lollapalooza (Sep 10, 11)
SZYMANOWSKI: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 35 (with Janine Jansen, violin)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68
Oct 8–11
Oct 8, 11: Hamburg, Germany
Oct 9: Lübeck, Germany
Missy MAZZOLI: Orpheus Undone
WALTON: Violin Concerto (with Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin)
MOZART: Symphony in C, KV 551, “Jupiter”
Oct 15, 16
Hamburg, Germany
BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 (with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano)
DEBUSSY: La mer
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé
Oct 18 at 11 am
Hamburg, Germany
LISZT (arr. Karl Müller-Berghaus): Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor
DEBUSSY: La mer
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé
Oct 18 at 1:30 pm
Hamburg, Germany
BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 (with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano)
Oct 21
Budapest, Hungary
BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 (with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano)
LISZT (arr. Karl Müller-Berghaus): Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé
Oct 22
Vienna, Austria
BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 (with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano)
DEBUSSY: La mer
RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloé
Jan 10 & 11
Hamburg, Germany
Elbphilharmonie 10th Anniversary
Unsuk CHIN: Frontispiece for Orchestra (Jan 10)
WAGNER: Prelude to Parsifal (Jan 10)
BEETHOVEN: Overture in C, Op. 124, “The Consecration of the House”
John ADAMS: Harmonielehre
Jan 29
Hamburg, Germany
Visions Festival
Veljko NENADIĆ: Six Caryatids – Epic for Orchestra (world premiere)
Daníel BJARNASON: Inferno / Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (with Vivi Vassileva, percussion)
Feb 6
Hamburg, Germany
Visions Festival
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
NDR Bigband
Missy MAZZOLI: New Piano Concerto (world premiere; with Leif Ove Andsnes, piano)
Darcy James ARGUE: New Work for big band and orchestra (world premiere)
Feb 11 & 12
Hamburg, Germany
BEETHOVEN: Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 (Feb 11)
BRAHMS: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 (Feb 12)
GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue (version for piano and orchestra; with Hayato Sumino, piano)
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” (Feb 11)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (Feb 12)
Feb 17–28
Asia Tour
Feb 17: Taipei
Feb 18: Taipei (2 performances)
Feb 20: Tokorozawa
Feb 21: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
Feb 22: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
Feb 23: Yokohama
Feb 24: Nagoya
Feb 25: Hiroshima
Feb 26: Fukuoka
Feb 28: Osaka
Repertoire selected from:
BEETHOVEN: Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BRAHMS: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
GERSHWIN: Concerto in F (with Hayato Sumino, piano)
GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue (version for piano and orchestra; with Hayato Sumino, piano)
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World”
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
April 8–11
April 8 & 11: Hamburg, Germany
April 9: Kiel, Germany
BARBER: Second Essay for Orchestra, Op. 17
BARBER: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14 (with Julia Fischer, violin)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68, “Pastoral”
May 24
Paris, France
STRAVINSKY: Oedipus Rex
May 28 & 29
Hamburg, Germany
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra
MDR Rundfunkchor
Michael Schade, tenor
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Morris Robinson, bass
STRAVINSKY: Oedipus Rex
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring (Le sacre du printemps)
May 30
Prague, Czech Republic
STRAVINSKY: Oedipus Rex
June 25 & 26
Hamburg, Germany
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 61 (with Lisa Batiashvili, violin)
John ADAMS: Absolute Jest for string quartet and orchestra
R. STRAUSS: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28