26/27 Season

The Stalin regime was not exactly thrilled when Dmitri Shostakovich wove his own initials into the music. Violin Concerto No. 1 had to wait seven whole years for its premiere, but in return became one of the most moving and philosophical works in the violin repertoire. In this concert, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla conducts when Janine Jansen is soloist in Shostakovich's first violin concerto.

• Dmitri Shostakovich  Violin Concerto No. 1

• Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla,  Conductor
• Janine Jansen,  Violin

The sea can be both beautiful and brutal, and when two of the greatest composers in modern music history depict it, the result is as fascinating as it is dangerous. Debussy's La Mer explores the shifting colours of the sea. Britten's Four Sea Interludes are drawn from the opera Peter Grimes, about an outcast fisherman who is slowly broken down by the condemnation of his community. In addition, Janine Jansen is the soloist in Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 from 1948, which was not premiered until seven years after its completion, with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla on the podium.

• Dmitri Shostakovich  Violin Concerto No. 1
• Claude Debussy  La Mer
• Benjamin Britten  Four Sea Interludes

• Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla,  Conductor
• Janine Jansen,  Violin

With Vasily Petrenko on the podium, the programme features three masterful portraits of some of the 20th century's great composers. Prokofiev's tribute to Haydn and Mozart meets Ravel's jazz-infused piano concerto, before Stravinsky's sparkling Petrushka closes out the concert. With French pianist Bertrand Chamayou as soloist, this becomes a journey from 18th-century elegance to modernism's boldest experiments, all wrapped in music that both challenges and delights.

• Sergei Prokofiev  Symphony No. 1
• Maurice Ravel  Piano Concerto in G Major
• Igor Stravinsky  Petrushka (1947)

• Vasily Petrenko,  Conductor
• Bertrand Chamayou,  Piano

When the Oslo Philharmonic celebrates Halloween, it's not only the musicians who dress up. The entire concert hall is transformed into an arena filled with characters, decorations and orchestral music worthy of a Halloween night. The audience is encouraged to come in costume, and before the concert begins, both young and old can go trick or treating in the foyer. This is classical music you can both see and hear, best suited for everyone aged 8 and up.

•  A musical performance featuring music by John Williams, Camille Saint-Saëns and Danny Elfman, among others

A dying man's final hours, the song of angels, and the soul's journey toward eternity. Cristian Măcelaru conducts the Oslo Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic Choir, the Oslo Philharmonic Choir, and soloists Jamie Barton, Robin Tritschler, and Derek Welton in Edward Elgar's magnificent oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, which has come to stand as one of the finest examples of late Romantic choral music.

• Edward Elgar  The Dream of Gerontius

• Cristian Măcelaru,  Conductor
• Jamie Barton,  Mezzosoprano
• Robin Tritschler,  Tenor
• Oslo Philharmonic Choir, 
• Bergen Philharmonic Choir, 
• Simon Halsey,  Artistic director of choral activities