New Year 2026 transports us – musically – westwards away from Vienna to America.

Inspired by the playful Cadavre exquis game - where each person writes a line, folds the paper, and passes it on - Anders Hillborg creates a wild, energetic musical collage in Exquisite Corpse.

Visions of Spain and songs of freedom from the BBC Symphony Orchestra – plus a musical stroll with a haunting difference, as baritone Andrew Hamilton becomes Mahler’s wayfaring lad.

The RNCM Strings Festival celebrates the versatility, beauty, and brilliance of string music through a weekend of inspiring performances and collaborations.

For the first time ever, the BBC's breakthrough podcast will be recorded in front of a live audience at the Old Fruitmarket, blending expert-led mindfulness techniques with its signature soothing orchestral soundscapes, performed by the BBC SSO.

Winter Daydreams: Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra share the seasonal freshness of Tchaikovsky’s magical First Symphony.

A full orbit of the sun with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

The BBC Singers are delighted to welcome Alexander Lüken, making his debut conducting the group in a programme of Germanic choral music to begin 2026.

Step into a world of musical magic with BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night, live from Chichester.

In 'Beyond The Tradition', five acclaimed Scottish folk song performers—Karine Polwart, Kris Drever, Emily Smith, Fiona Hunter and Lori Watson—join the BBC SSO for newly commissioned arrangements classic Scots folk songs and ballads.

Clemens Schuldt and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Shakespearean classics, Strauss at his most sumptuous, and a new British concerto for cellist Guy Johnston.

Inspired by the Italian sun and hearty dances he played with his Hungarian violinist friend in his youth, Brahms’ gloriously lyrical Violin Concerto seems to express the very soul of the violin.

City Noir is John Adams’s musical tribute to half-lit rooms, venetian blinds, desperate men, dangerous women, secrets, lies, and the City of Angels.

Experience Górecki’s profound and spiritual journey through loss and love, featuring soprano Francesca Chiejina (pictured) with the BBC SSO. The concert opens with the extraordinary vocalist, violinist, and composer Alice Zawadzki.

Multi-instrumental musical duo 'The Ayoub Sisters' celebrate their ten-year anniversary with a whirlwind evening of folklore and adventure. Paying homage to their Egyptian heritage, Sarah and Laura present the world premiere of their Arabic Symphony.

Join us in Nottingham for Bartók’s gripping one-act opera, Bluebeard’s Castle.

US composer Julia Wolfe’s new work unEarth receives its UK premiere, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, Finchley Children's Music Group, and Danish soprano Else Torp, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.

Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók sits somewhere between a gothic tale of horror and a psychological dissection of a twisted relationship.

Join us in York alongside presenter Sean Chandler for a magical, interactive performance of The Enormous Turnip, from the CBeebies series Musical Storyland at the National Centre for Early Music.

Join us in York alongside presenter Sean Chandler for a magical, interactive performance of The Enormous Turnip, from the CBeebies series Musical Storyland at the National Centre for Early Music.

Hana Chang joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo as part of the Anvil Arts International Concert Series.

Music that glitters, sings and dances for joy, as Sakari Oramo pairs two newly minted classics with Beethoven’s brightest symphony.

Music from the court of Versailles begins and ends this sparkling exploration of the baroque.

Conductor Gemma New returns to BBC NOW this January with a programme of Russian masterpieces, starting with a work which needs little introduction, Prokofiev’s exhilarating Classical Symphony.

Step inside your favourite games in the world premiere of a live concert celebrating two decades of BAFTA-nominated and award-winning games music.

“Goosebumps Galactica!” in the words of a BBC SSO audience member

Love, death and pomegranates: Sakari Oramo rediscovers Stravinsky’s epic retelling of the myth of Persephone.

Bursting with catchy tunes and drenched in joy, Dvořák’s firecracker Eighth Symphony pulses with life and vigour.

Technicolour dances and celestial legends

Bursting with catchy tunes and drenched in joy, Dvořák’s firecracker Eighth Symphony pulses with life and vigour.

“Goosebumps Galactica!” in the words of a BBC SSO audience member

Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen is a lament for strings, mourning the destruction of Europe in the World War II and the collapse of the musical civilisation that shaped and inspired him.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Discover the latest in composition in Wales this spring as composers deserving of wider exposure have the opportunity to work with Jac van Steen and Composer-in-Association Gavin Higgins on their latest orchestral composition.

Rachmaninov, Bernstein and Davóne Tines – a fresh perspective on America’s past, present and future from Daniele Rustioni and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Rachmaninov's First Symphony is a gripping climax to this concert which also features Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No.2: an afternoon that begins in the dream-world of Debussy’s mythical Faun, and ends at the gates of the inferno.

BBC NOW – NOW! is back this spring bringing you the best in new music from around the world. Presenting five UK premieres we kick off the evening with Isabella Gellis’ Valedictions.

A final farewell from Mozart - elegant, witty and nostalgic

A final farewell from Mozart - elegant, witty and nostalgic

Violist Lawrence Power returns to perform Cassandra Miller’s acclaimed Viola Concerto, a piece heralded on its 2022 premiere as an instant classic.

A screening of the BBC’s classic 2015 nature documentary Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire.

Hear from some of the composers whose music will be performed in the afternoon concert in Milton Court Concert Hall.

The BBC Singers and Guildhall Musicians explore Icelandic chamber and vocal music – sounds of wild beauty and quiet, luminous power.

Hear from some of the composers whose music will be performed in the afternoon concert in Milton Court Concert Hall.

Europe’s most northerly capital city pulses with creativity. Tonight, the BBC Symphony Orchestra embraces the Reykjavík new music scene in all its diversity and flair.

When it comes to symphonies, Beethoven's Third symphony was a real game changer.

Left handed piano sensation Nicholas McCarthy makes his debut with BBC NOW in Ravel’s emotionally powerfully and highly virtuoso Piano Concerto for the Left Hand.

The BBC Singers join the strings from the BBC Concert Orchestra, organist Iain Farrington and Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin for an emotive programme of music to touch the very heavens.

Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, and a UK premiere from Julia Adolphe. Big emotions and natural wonders from Kristiina Poska and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Experience the magic of Cinematic Soundtracks like never before — live and immersive with full orchestra.

Sir Donald Runnicles joins forces with Edinburgh Festival Chorus for Mahler’s epic Resurrection Symphony at the Usher Hall. A monumental musical event!

A landmark semi-staged opera by Shiva Feshareki and Karen McCarthy Woolf, exploring the Goddess through history and modernity. Featuring the Upper Voices of the BBC Singers and Vox Urbane with electronics and turntables.

Cardiff born Star of Stage and Screen, David Ivor Davies, known to millions as Ivor Novello, composed over 230 published songs in his lifetime, many from his eight West End Musicals which dominated British Musical Theatre for three decades.

Sakari Oramo pairs flair and exoticism with idyllic cheer in this dual outing of Romantic masterpieces: Saint-Saëns’ fifth piano concerto and Brahms’ Second Symphony.

Who knew Haydn and hot cross buns might be related?

Britten's playful 'Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra' is paired with the composer's Cello Symphony. Plus, there's music inspired by the enchanting imagination of William Shakespeare.

Marrying unmistakeable Britten with flavours of Copland and hints of jazz, Britten’s American Overture launches this evening conducted by the acclaimed Tomas Djupsjöbacka.

A magical bird, a dream of England, and the sheer magic of pianist Yeol Eum Son, as Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra bring a blaze of colour to the Barbican.

Rhapsodies on love, death, and lust

Puccini first showcased his operatic voice through the orchestra alone with his Capriccio Sinfonico. Marking the start of his signature musical style, it blends the lyrical and dramatic qualities that later came to define his iconic operas.

Dazzling woodwinds tarry with bustling strings, folk-like melodies weave with vibrant dance and climactic rushes make way to stately grandeur in Tchaikovsky’s charmingly wintery First Symphony, oozing his trademark symphonic craftsmanship from the off.

Pulse-raising passion and a teenage prodigy’s firecracker piano concerto

Dazzling woodwinds tarry with bustling strings, folk-like melodies weave with vibrant dance and climactic rushes make way to stately grandeur in Tchaikovsky’s charmingly wintery First Symphony, oozing his trademark symphonic craftsmanship from the off.

Tchaikovsky's pulse-raising passion and Mozart's 'Turkish' Violin Concerto

Following the success of the release of their fifth studio album Mynd A’r Tŷ am Dro and a sold-out tour, Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog’s stunningly beautiful music will be performed with the Orchestra in a career spanning concert arranged and conducted by John Qu

Grit courses through Julia Wolfe’s *Anthracite Fields*, her Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio for choir and ensemble that serves as a musical memorial to American miners and their struggle. *‘I guess I have a bias towards the grit.'* – Julia Wolfe

The BBC Concert Orchestra joins the mighty choruses of the universities of Nottingham for Verdi’s Requiem.

In a gentle and deeply personal work, Brahms’ lyrically uplifting Requiem stands as one of the world’s greatest choral works.

A dreamlike tale of love and fate, wrapped in Debussy’s hypnotic harmonies.

A dreamlike tale of love and fate, wrapped in Debussy’s hypnotic harmonies.

Guest Conductor Elim Chan reveals the deadly secrets of Bartók’s thrilling work 'Bluebeard’s Castle' with the help of two world-class soloists.

Influenced by Czech folk and expressionism, Haas’s Study for Strings is an energetic, introspective work now seen as a key piece of 20th-century Czech music.

Join us for a glittering evening of timeless melodies as BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night comes to Northampton with a special concert celebrating one of the greatest composers of the 20th century – Richard Rodgers.

Alice Coote & Gábor Bretz join conductor Elim Chan for Bartók’s thrilling work 'Bluebeard’s Castle' revealing deadly secrets. Plus pieces by Britten & Shostakovich in this dramatic concert!

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Variations are an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends plus an astute self-portrait; an enigma hidden within the score.

Joshua Weilerstein makes his triumphant return to the Philharmonic in this musical postcard celebrating the 250th anniversary of American Independence.

Striking a balance between the light-hearted and the noble, Elgar’s Variations are an ingenious collection of musical sketches of his friends plus an astute self-portrait; an enigma hidden within the score.

Elegant and virtuosic, Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D Major is celebrated for both its charm and technical brilliance, filled lyrical melodies, high-register passages and rapid runs.

Londoner Ayanna Witter-Johnson blends jazz & classical, teaming with Scottish pianist Fergus McCreadie & BBC SSO players at Glasgow’s SWG3. Celebrating Scottish jazz legends, their collaboration merges jazz, folk, & classical in a unique musical tribute.

Hollywood dreams meet all-American nightmares. Fabien Gabel conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in music from Vertigo and The Sea Hawk – and dives into the myths and memories of a new American century.

Wolfe was two blocks from the Twin Towers when the planes hit on September 11, 2001. *Big Beautiful Dark and Scary* is the sound of that aftermath: an ominous, awesome wall of sound.

Mat Collishaw’s video installation reimagines Liszt’s Dante Symphony, performed live by the BBC Concert Orchestra, with modern-day visions of collapse.

We continue our thrillingly up-close series at the RNCM with a heavyweight artistic collaboration – our Chief Conductor John Storgårds joins the acclaimed pianist Tamara Stefanovich in this exploration of the pure power of the piano.

Cursed by the goddess Hera, Echo may only repeat the last words spoken to her.

Dark ships and shining seas: John Adams’s Harmonielehre is the dazzling climax to a concert celebrating the American dream at its most terrible – and hopeful.