Here’s Your First Look at Sydney Symphony’s Early 2026 Concerts

As the festive season approaches, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra offers a ready-made gift: tickets to its 2026 season at the Sydney Opera House (and beyond). Over the coming months, music lovers can enjoy the iconic scores of John Williams, the grandeur of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony and a selection of romantic classics on Valentine’s Day.

Here are our top six picks for the upcoming season.

Romantic Classics with Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Led by veteran British conductor James Judd, the Sydney Town Hall will be filled with romance for one night only on February 14. Romantic Classics brings moving melodies from both sides of the Atlantic, uniting the best of the European concert hall and the Broadway stage in a whirlwind of emotion that won’t leave a dry eye in the house. Expect everything from the elation of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty to the wonder of a galaxy far, far away in John Williams’s love theme Across the Stars.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet in recital

Opening the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s recital series of international pianists, celebrated French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet brings his distinctive touch to one of the piano repertoire’s most beloved works. Debussy’s Préludes – a set of 24 short pieces, each with its own mood and character – offers a rich introduction to the composer’s imagination. Thibaudet’s performance brings these iconic pieces vividly to life, highlighting their colours, textures and subtle emotional shifts.

Simone Young conducts Mahler’s The Song of the Earth

Orchestral music doesn’t come much more expansive than Gustav Mahler, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra chief conductor Simone Young is widely recognised for her interpretations of his work. She opens the season with The Song of the Earth, a powerful song cycle set to German translations of Tang-dynasty Chinese poetry.

The program also features Er Huang for piano and orchestra by Chinese-born, France-based composer Qigang Chen. Drawing on the lyrical contours of Peking opera, the piece receives its Australian debut with Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the piano. The pairing sets up a compelling start to the season, moving from Mahler’s scale to Chen’s contemporary voice.

Listen to This: Discover Tchaikovsky

Listen to This is an evening that blends performance and insight – part concert, part talk – designed to unpack why great music resonates. Across three events running from March to September, Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s conductor in residence Benjamin Northey guides audiences through landmark works at the Sydney Opera House.

The first instalment, Discover Tchaikovsky, examines the craft behind the composer’s enduring Symphony No. 5, breaking down its themes, structure and emotional pull. It’s an accessible way for curious listeners to understand how one of classical music’s most recognisable works comes together.

Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony

Featuring the full force of the Sydney Opera House’s imposing grand organ, British superstar soloist Anna Lapwood promises to shake the walls of the concert hall with her performance of Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony.

Virtuoso violinist María Dueñas joins Lapwood to perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, considered one of the most beautiful concertos ever written. Bringing these soloists together is the acclaimed and in-demand British conductor Alexander Soddy.

Anna Lapwood performs Max Richter

British composer Max Richter is one of contemporary classical music’s most recognisable voices, known for film scores, ballets and large-scale orchestral works. Following its world premiere at the BBC Proms, his new piece Cosmology – co-commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – comes to Australia for the first time, performed by organist Anna Lapwood.

Composed specifically with Lapwood in mind, Cosmology showcases her command of the organ’s expansive tonal range. It’s paired with another Australian premiere, Kristina Arakelyan’s Toccata, also written for Lapwood. Together, the two works form a compelling program of new music and shine a light on a young soloist with a rapidly rising profile.

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