B:Music announces its 2025/26 Birmingham Classical Season

Major soloists and conductors feature in the season including Jennifer Pike, Paul Lewis, András Keller, Freddy Kempf, and Alexandra Dariescu.

Symphony Hall’s Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space continues to host the ECHO Rising Stars hour-long recitals on Sunday mornings.

Sir Simon Rattle brings the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to Birmingham on its first UK tour.

New work by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer Tan Dun receives its only UK performance outside London.

The new season will showcase some of the pinnacles of orchestral music as well as newer discoveries. There will be a host of world class soloists, orchestras and conductors taking to the iconic Symphony Hall stage and, as always, B:Music continues its mission to reach new audiences across the West Midlands and beyond by offering tickets at £15 for every single concert and, for most, the top price ticket is £40. B:Music is proud to continue to offer significant discounts to help make Birmingham Classical accessible to all. The popular Sunday morning concerts with coffee and cake will also continue to bring the freshest young talent to the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space.

Nick Reed, Chief Executive said, “Our new Birmingham Classical season brings a European tour of the finest orchestras- from the Czech Republic to Germany and Hungary- along with terrific soloists and exciting Rising Stars, right here to Symphony Hall. Among the season’s hottest tickets will be Sir Simon Rattle and the world-renowned Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra who are visiting just three cities on their first UK tour, and Birmingham is one of them. There are orchestral ambassadors, too, from Spain and Poland, all offering a rare chance to hear truly authentic performances of music from their own countries.

We’re delighted that multi award-winning composer Tan Dun conducts Beethoven’s mighty ‘Choral Symphony’ and unveils a major new work of his own in the only UK performance outside London. Among popular returning guest artists areJennifer Pike, Paul Lewis, and András Keller, while pianist Freddy Kempf is joined by a trio of musicians for Gershwin and Dave Brubeck in a fascinating classical-meets-jazz concert. There’s nothing like the experience of live music, and with some of the great names in classical music performing in Birmingham this season, we hope audiences will find plenty to tempt them to Symphony Hall soon.”

A wide array of leading soloists will perform in the new season including the internationally acclaimed pianist Freddy Kempf, who will perform with the Brno Philharmonic [15 October]. The Brno Philharmonic traces its roots to the 1870s when a young Leoš Janáček endeavoured to establish an orchestra in the city. Janáček remains close to the players’ hearts- his stirring and characterful regional folk dances open the concert- as does another of their compatriots, Antonín Dvořák. The huge success of his Slavonic Dances led to international fame, and triumphant visits to London and Birmingham saw him dubbed ‘The Bohemian Brahms’.

Giorgi Gigashvili hails from Georgia and, as a protégé of Martha Argerich and winner of eight prizes at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, it’s hardly surprising he has been selected as a Rising Star by ECHO (European Concert Hall Organisation). He will play in the Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space [9 November] as one of six ECHO Rising Stars concerts. Gigashvili brings an intuitive and creative personality to all he plays, from the romance of Chopin’s Fourth Ballade to Ravel’s glimmering Miroirs. Expect electric energy and sparkle in three technically demanding miniature sonatas by Scarlatti that Gigashvili chose for his acclaimed recording debut. The six ECHO Rising Stars Sunday recitals feature outstanding artists handpicked by the directors of Europe’s most prestigious venues. Each musician or group embarks on an international concert tour of halls in the ECHO network, and B:Music venues Symphony Hall and Town Hall have been there since the series began in 1995. The other superb musicians and groups who feature in the series are the Maat Saxophone Quartet [5 October], Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir [8 February], Valerie Fritz [29 March], Áron Horváth[12 April], and Trio Concept [17 May].

Without doubt one of the most anticipated concerts of recent years, Sir Simon Rattle makes a homecoming appearance at Symphony Hall with his new orchestra, the world-leading Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra [11 November]. It’s twenty years since the Orchestra last came to Birmingham and, since Rattle took the reins in 2023, they say he’s “blown fresh air under the wings of all of us.” The concert at Symphony Hall is one of just three dates on their first UK tour together.

The Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra make a welcome return to Symphony Hall with a programme including Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto (with Paul Lewis) and Shostakovich’s playful and cheeky Ninth Symphony[3 December]. With Conductor András Keller, Concerto Budapest is one of the most progressive and youthful ensembles in Hungary, despite being one of the oldest, with over 100 years of history. The unique and compelling violinist Jennifer Pike joins the master musicians of the CzechJanáček Philharmonic Orchestra to perform Bruch’s ever-popular Violin Concerto. The orchestra also play two delightful excerpts from Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen[12 February], based on a comic strip character. Praised for its musical excellence and flawless performances, the CJPO has a long musical tradition rooted in Czech culture.

B:Music is thrilled to welcome the London Philharmonic Orchestra [29 March] to Symphony Hall. They will play Beethoven’s visionary Ninth Symphony conducted by globally successful musician and composer Tan Dun. On its own, this would make this concert a hot ticket, but when it’s coupled with a major new work by the Grammy award-winning composer himself, the only performance outside London- it’s elevated to a new level. Roberto González-Monjaz conducts the superb musicians of the Spanish Galicia Symphony Orchestra- who reach a wide audience through extensive tours and the huge success of their online videos- when they come to Symphony Hall for the first time [11 April]. Their concert includes foot-tapping dances, evocative folk melodies, a Ravel classic, and the world’s most famous guitar concerto,with the dazzling French guitarist Thibaut Garcia as a soloist.

The 2025/26 Birmingham Classical season draws to a close with a performance by the Warsaw Philharmonic [17 May] and the trailblazing pianist Alexandra Dariescu. They open their sumptuous programme with Lutosławski’s delightful Little Suite – a musical snapshot of Polish folk culture- and close with Beethoven’s energetic Seventh Symphony, a deservedly popular work and the perfect symphony to end the season on a high.

Tickets for concerts in the Birmingham Classical season are priced from £15 and are available from www.bmusic.co.uk/bclassical