In the next pages you can see some of the highlights of the Oslo Philharmonic's 2020/21 season. Ticket sales opens 2nd June, but it is possible to purchase new subscriptions from 18th May. In our Concert Calendar you can see the entire program.
It is a great event when for, the first time, Klaus Mäkelä will lead the Oslo Philharmonic at Oslo Concert Hall as Chief Conductor.
“Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 is a celebration of playing together and the perfect work to commence a musical collaboration”, he says about the main work of the evening.
1st October 2020
Russian Fairy Tales
Igor Stravinsky's music to the ballet The Firebird describes a prince, thirteen enchanted princesses, an evil sorcerer, and the mythical Firebird
Sonoko Miriam Welde (photo) is the soloist in Sergei Prokofevs ethereal, fairylike Violin Concerto No. 1.
In Klaus Mäkelä's first season as our chief conductor he will conduct all Jean Sibelius' seven symphonies. The symphonies are a series of masterpieces with a great range in mood and sound.
8th and 9th October 2020
Film Music from the Top Shelf
Hollywood film music grew out of the romantic orchestra traditions and has, for many decades, been a vital arena of new orchestral music. In this concert you can hear music from Schindler’s List, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and several other classics.
Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre starts with twelve strokes of midnight on Halloween. Death itself awakens the dead from their graves, playing his violin, and the skeletons dance until dawn.
Klaus Mäkelä also conducts music with a death theme by Saint-Saëns, Sibelius and Penderecki.
At this concert, you can join Hogwarts’ Norwegian branch! Professor Grumblecore will guide us through the world of Harry Potter, with music from the films and script by Torstein Bugge Høverstad, the Norwegian translator of the book series. Dress up as your favorite character and celebrate with us!
Our former Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko here conducts the overture and the entire second act of the ballet The Nutcracker, with pieces such as Waltz of the Flowers and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The phenomenal Khatia Buniatishvili is the soloist of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.
Béla Bartóks Rhapsody No. 1 is based on folk tunes played by farmers in the Hungarian countryside.
During a walk, Jean Sibelius saw 16 swans fly by, a sight which resulted in the Swan theme of the last movement of Symphony No. 5. Swedish violin phenomenon Daniel Lozakovitch is the soloist.
Composers Ethel Smyth, Nadia Boulanger and Alma Mahler got fewer opportunities because they were women. This season you'll hear music from both them and some of the leading composers of our time: Ragnhild Berstad, Mette Henriette, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Sofia Gubaidulina, Anna Clyne and Betsy Jolas.
"Symphony orchestras have always played new music. Why should we stop now?" says the Oslo Philharmonic's new chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä. The season opens with a brand new work by Finnish Sauli Zinoviev, and later in the autumn comes new music by Norwegian Mette Henriette and Danish Bent Sørensen.
Each season you can choose from a variety of concerts for children and young people. This season it will include Halloween party with Harry Potter, Children's Christmas Concert and Family Day with Sergei Prokofiev's musical adventure Peter and the Wolf.
In 2020, it is 250 years since Ludwig van Beethoven (1770−1827) was born. We mark the anniversary with two concerts: Missa solemnis is a spectacular and innovative work for choirs, soloists and orchestra. At the second concert, Juanjo Mena directs Beethoven's milestone Symphony No. 5.
Herbert Blomstedt was the Oslo Philharmonic's chief conductor in the 1960s, and was both loved and respected for his efforts. In recent years he has been one of the orchestra's most popular guest conductors. Here he conducts Anton Bruckner's enigmatic masterpiece Symphony No 5.
Gustav Mahler's symphonies are a treasure trove of orchestral music. This season we play four of Mahler's central works: Symphonies No. 1, 2 and 6, and the symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde.
