Venue: Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris opened the Elbphilharmonie season with a vivid journey from Strauss’s dramatic energy, through a reflective new Horn Concerto, to Sibelius’s luminous, precise grandeur.

Under Jaime Martín, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra showcase Indigenous music through William Barton’s didgeridoo alongside Elgar and Mussorgsky, creating a visually and sonically vivid, if uneven, evening.

Rouvali and the Philharmonia dazzle with sunlit Tchaikovsky, intense Shostakovich and Say’s imaginative textures, while Gabetta’s physical, lyrical cello brings immediacy to an evening of virtuosity, warmth and playful energy.

From Mendelssohn’s intimacy to Bruckner’s monumental scale, Eschenbach’s young orchestra reveals chamber-like sensitivity and steely discipline, with Midori’s interpretation standing as the evening’s emotional and artistic highlight.

At the final stop of its European tour, the China NCPA Orchestra, led by Myung-Whun Chung with Bruce Liu, deliver luminous precision, refined Ravel and cinematic Prokofiev at the Elbphilharmonie. 

Kent Nagano’s farewell in Hamburg showcases a spiritual dialogue between tradition and innovation, pairing Brahms’ profound Fourth Symphony with the luminous world premiere of Alex Nante’s Anāhata. 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s charismatic leadership and the Orchestre Métropolitain’s seamless unity brought Ravel, Saint-Saëns, and Tchaikovsky to life in a gripping, deeply expressive Hamburg performance.