With piano as the solo instrument

First up is the Norwegian star pianist Leif Ove Andsnes as the soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, «The Emperor Concerto». The last time Andsnes performed with the orchestra was at the season finale during the 22/23 Season, and the season opener for this year is the first of three concerts with Andsnes this season. Chief Conductor Klaus Mäkelä conducts.

Beethoven’s piano concertos will be a recurring theme when all of his piano concertos will be performed over three concerts with soloist Paul Lewis. Lewis has recorded a cycle of Beethoven's piano concertos, which has received international acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Eivind Aadland is the conductor when the piano concertos are performed 14-16 May 2024.

Igor Levit will make one of very few concert appearances next season when he, along with conductor Elim Chan, performs Robert Schumann’s most popular piece: Piano Concerto in A minor. This will be Levit's first visit since 2012, when he was a soloist in Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Javier Perianes will return for the first time since 2022 when, on 14 November 2024, he will be the soloist in Camilla Saint-Saën’s Piano Concerto No. 5, «The Egyptian.» Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 will also be on the program when Francesco Piemontesi will have his first performance with the orchestra since 2018.

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason has her soloist debut with the orchestra as the soloist in Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement. Jeneba is one of the seven Kanneh-Mason siblings, and is the sister of Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who was cello soloist in the 23/24 Season.

Emanuel Ax is one of classical music's piano legends and soloist in Anders Hillborg's Piano Concerto No. 2 "The MAX Concerto", which was written for the American pianist. Ax still tours regularly as a soloist and is a teacher at the Juilliard School in New York.