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Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Season 2025

Feel the connection

Music is all about connection – and it is the connection between the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the audience that makes a performance unforgettable.

In 2025, feel the connection with the world’s leading artists, including pianists Lang Lang and Daniil Trifonov and Chief Conductor Simone Young. It’s a season full of timeless favourites and tomorrow’s classics from the grand and exhilarating to the tender and intimate, including Beethoven Ninth Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony.

All brought to life by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

February

Simone Young conducts Mahler’s Third Symphony

19 – 22 Feb 2025

The eight horns opening Mahler’s Third Symphony set the tone for the monumental drama about to unfold. It’s a riveting introduction to the 2025 Season.

  • Classical Music
Conductor Simone Young stands with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as they receive applause

Simone Young conducts Elgar & Vaughan Williams

28 Feb – 2 Mar 2025

Experience the best of British with two rare gems by Elgar and Vaughan Williams, masterfully led by Sydney Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor Simone Young.

Simone Young conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

March

James Ehnes performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto

6 – 8 Mar 2025

The soaring first movement of Brahms’ Violin Concerto is worth the price of admission alone.

  • Classical Music
James Ehnes plays the violin in front of a black background

Boccherini & Berwald

7 & 8 Mar 2025

Discover two seldom-performed gems by Luigi Boccherini and Franz Berwald in this concert full of beautiful melodies.

  • Classical Music
Two violin players stand in front of an art deco wall

Daniil Trifonov performs Rachmaninov

28 & 29 Mar 2025

In his first appearance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra since 2017, the Grammy Award-winning performer tackles Rachmaninov’s final Piano Concerto.

  • Classical Music
Pianist Daniil Trifonov stands in a suit in front of a grand piano

April

Gladiator Live in Concert

3 – 5 Apr 2025

Experience a concert of epic proportions when the Sydney Symphony Orchestra presents Gladiator Live in Concert.

  • Classical Music
  • Contemporary Music

Mozart & Bruckner

9 – 12 Apr 2025

Experience the expressive range and power of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, from Mozart’s effervescent Piano Concerto No.19 to Bruckner’s magnificent Seventh Symphony.

  • Classical Music
Violin, french horn and clarient players sit in black playing at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Bach, Stravinsky & Spohr

11 Apr 2025

Bright and brimming with talent, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s 2025 Fellows join the musicians of the Sydney Symphony to perform chamber orchestra masterpieces.

A small chamber orchestra with Harpsichord stand at the Sydney Opera House concert hall

May

Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony

1 & 3 May 2025

From the power and passion of Tchaikovsky’s final symphony to Debussy’s dreamlike Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, this concert will leave you glowing.

  • Classical Music
A close up of conductor Roderick Cox

Sounds of Australia

2 & 3 May 2025

Experience the evocative soundworlds created by Australian composers in this fascinating concert.

  • Classical Music
A horn, bassoon, cello, and double bass musician play in the Utzon Room

Daniel Lozakovich performs Sibelius’ Violin Concerto

7 – 10 May 2025

Still only 23 years old, Swedish violinist Daniel Lozakovich has been captivating audiences worldwide for years.

  • Classical Music
Daniel Lozakovich plays the violin

Stephen Hough performs Brahms

16 – 18 May 2025

Passions flare and fates collide in this concert of palpable emotion, with Brahms’ fiery Piano Concerto No.1.

  • Classical Music
Stephen Hough wears a red shirt standing in front of a grand piano

June

Stephen Hough performs Mendelssohn

4 – 7 Jun 2025

Sir Stephen Hough is one of the world’s great pianists, captivating audiences with his sublime artistry.

  • Classical Music
Stephen Hough wears a pinstripe shirt as his eyes are closed playing the piano in front of the violin section of an orchestra

Donald Runnicles conducts Strauss & Beethoven

13 & 14 Jun 2025

Embark on an epic hero’s quest with Sydney Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles in this concert of myth and fantasy.

  • Classical Music
Donald Runnicles stands with his left hand raised as he conducts an orchestra

Lang Lang and the Sydney Symphony

18 Jun 2025

Dive into the swirling colour of Saint-Saëns with global sensation Lang Lang, and the Sydney Symphony performing some of the greatest Romantic pieces ever written.

  • Classical Music
Lang Lang plays piano in front of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Ravel & Debussy

20 & 21 Jun 2025

The harp is an instrument of extraordinary and distinctive musical colour. From one delicately plucked string to cascading sounds, it is capable of magic.

  • Classical Music
Two female violin players stand playing the violin

Signature Choir & the Sydney Symphony

20 & 21 Jun 2025

Be inspired by the spirit of the ocean in this joyous, uplifting concert that combines traditional and contemporary Pacific sounds.

  • Classical Music
The Signature Choir in matching black and white designed shirts sing in front of an orchestra

Lang Lang in Recital

22 Jun 2025

Lang Lang is a global phenomenon. He has performed for presidents, monarchs and on stage at the Grammy Awards.

  • Classical Music
Pianist Lang Lang stands in front of a wall with an intricate cutout forest design

Bernstein & Korngold

27 & 28 Jun 2025

Full of gorgeous strings, brilliant brass and the irrepressible energy of mid-century America, this concert brings together three iconic composers.

  • Classical Music
Australian violinist Christian Li in a blue collared shirt

July

Arabella Steinbacher performs Prokofiev

2 – 5 Jul 2025

From Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto to the dazzling colour in Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé, this concert is a celebration of what it means to be alive. 

  • Classical Music
Violinist Arabella Steinbacher in a pink sequin dress flourishes the violin in front of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra violin section

Ravel & Falla

10 – 13 Jul 2025

Spanish music is full of life. From Ravel’s heart-pounding conclusion to Bolero to Falla’s rousing The Three-Cornered Hat, this concert will thrill and transport you.

  • Classical Music
Image showing a Morrocan style mustard yellow hallway with red flowers graphically shown around it

Bruch & Gatti

25 & 26 Jul 2025

Chamber music is often intimate and intricate, but it can also be grand and sumptuous.

  • Classical Music
A female violinist plays the violin in front of a Chamber Orchestra

Javier Perianes performs Saint-Saëns

30 Jul – 2 Aug 2025

Prepare for a fascinating voyage through exotic landscapes to the great expanses of the human heart.

  • Classical Music
Pianist Javier Perianes sits in front of a grand piano

August

Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert

14 – 16 Aug 2025

Experience the iconic adventure that launched the legendary Star Wars franchise, accompanied by the full Force of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing John Williams’ Oscar®-winning score live to film.

  • Classical Music
  • Cinema
  • Contemporary Music

Stephen Layton conducts Bach, Mozart & Handel

21 & 23 Aug 2025

Stephen Layton is one of the world's greatest choral conductors, an expert in vocal music from the Renaissance to the modern day.

  • Classical Music
Stephen Layton conducts an Orchestra with arms outstretched

Schoenberg & Williams

29 & 30 Aug 2025

Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night is an intoxicating work. Influenced hugely by Brahms and Wagner.

  • Classical Music
A closeup of two violin players side by side

Mozart & Beethoven

29 & 30 Aug 2025

These brilliant masterpieces by Beethoven and Mozart are often overlooked, but no less accomplished.

  • Classical Music
A closeup headshot of violinist Akiko Suwanai

September

Simone Young conducts Richard Strauss

3 – 6 Sep 2025

Strauss’ sublime shifts from darkness to light in Thus Spoke Zarathustra are timeless, and jaw-dropping to experience live.

  • Classical Music
Simone Young conducts with baton in the hand in front of an orchestra

Donald Runnicles conducts Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony

12 – 14 Sep 2025

A mighty, sweeping masterpiece that unleashes the full power of the orchestra; a bold statement that found universal approval.

  • Classical Music
Donald Runnicles stands with baton in his left hand as he conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Donald Runnicles conducts Sibelius & Wagner

18 – 20 Sep 2025

Join the Sydney Symphony on this thrilling voyage across two striking visions of the ocean paired with Sibelius’ sweeping Symphony No.2.

  • Classical Music
Graphic showing a shell with stormy oceans within superimposed over waves crashing onto shore

October

Mozart & Harrison

10 & 11 Oct 2025

The combination of clarinet and strings is a perfect match, the mellow woodwind balanced beautifully against the sprightly strings.

  • Classical Music
Three violin players stand playing the violin in the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room with a cellist

Kutcha Edwards & the Sydney Symphony

14 Oct 2025

Come together at the Sydney Opera House as iconic activist and multi award-winning songwriter Kutcha Edwards presents Ngarli-Wangu.

  • Classical Music
Kutcha Edwards sings with microphone in hand

Daniel Müller-Schott performs Tchaikovsky

22 – 25 Oct 2025

The enchanting worlds of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Dukas are full of magic and mischief, and utterly captivating to experience firsthand.

  • Classical Music
Graphic showing the back of a peacock with red and green feathers with five other peacocks flying overhead

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

31 Oct – 2 Nov 2025

This concert is a celebration of everything stirring and sensuous in Romantic music, led by Chief Conductor Simone Young.

  • Classical Music
Brass section of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra play in front of the Timpani and percussion section

November

Simone Young conducts Siegfried

13 & 16 Nov 2025

Wagner’s Ring Cycle is one of the great achievements in Western art.

  • Classical Music
graphic showing a firey circle with a sharp dagger pointing towards a stone superimposed over gloomy clouds

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Simone Young

26 – 29 Nov 2025

The ‘Ode to Joy’, the finale of Beethoven’s irrepressible Ninth Symphony, is one of the most famous melodies ever written.

  • Classical Music
Simone Young stands with arms to the side in front of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with a full choir insider the Concert Hall

A Welcome to the 2025 Season from Sydney Symphony Chief Conductor Simone Young

Music is all about connection.

Individual notes connecting to form a mighty symphony. Musicians connecting to conjure entire universes of emotion. But it is the connection with and amongst the audience that makes a performance unforgettable. Sitting in the dark, immersed in

this remarkable music, we all experience something unique – and yet are connected in the profound experience of live music.

In 2025, we invite you to delve deeper into this extraordinary music as we re-connect with great works and great artists and make new connections with rising stars and less familiar masterpieces. Opening with Mahler’s Third Symphony and concluding with Beethoven’s Ninth, together we will rediscover great masterpieces and be reminded of their timelessness.

We will explore lesser-known works by great composers, including Elgar, Richard Strauss and Vaughan Williams, and encounter new aspects of their artistry. And we will experience exciting new works by brilliant contemporary voices, and hear some of what our world sounds like today. All this brought to life by our superb Orchestra in world-class concert halls.

Superstar pianist Lang Lang returns to Sydney for two very special concerts. We spend one big week with pianist Daniil Trifonov, including a Rachmaninov concerto and two recitals of Schubert songs with baritone Matthias Goerne. And we look forward to two weeks with Sir Stephen Hough, performing concertos by Felix Mendelssohn and Brahms.

We welcome back our Principal Guest Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles, and we reunite with pianists Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Javier Perianes; violinists James Ehnes and Arabella Steinbacher; and cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who bring their superb talents back to Sydney.

We forge new connections with artists making their Sydney Symphony debuts, from established stars such as Marc-André Hamelin, Edward Gardner, Sasha Cooke, Lise de la Salle and Akiko Suwanai to the new generation of talent including Kian Soltani, Daniel Lozakovich, Eva Gevorgyan, Finnegan Downie Dear and Roderick Cox.

And our multi-year Ring Cycle in concert continues with Siegfried. I am thrilled to bring a world-class cast of singers to realise the musical and dramatic centrepiece of Wagner’s epic work.

2025 promises to be a year of extraordinary excitement and richness. I hope you will join us.

Simone Young AM
Chief Conductor