2026-27 Season of Japan’s Yomiuri Orchestra to Offer Invaluable Experiences

By Ryoichi Matsumoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

14:50 JST, March 18, 2026

The Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (YNSO) is offering exciting programs and invaluable music experiences in its upcoming 2026-27 season, starting in April.

Expectations are rising as the orchestra will be led by many accomplished conductors, such as YNSO’s principal conductor Sebastian Weigle, principal guest conductor Juraj Valcuha and guest conductor Francois-Xavier Roth. Talented soloists will also join the YNSO, from pianist Joaquin Achucarro to violinist Ilya Gringolts.

Here is a brief introduction to the programs in the YNSO’s 64th season.

April to June

British conductor Ivor Bolton will stand on the podium in April to take on the challenge of conducting “The Dream of Gerontius,” an epic oratorio by Elgar, his compatriot. Bolton will surely bring out the best in a pinnacle of British music, together with fine singers and the New National Theatre Chorus. Another fascinating program under his baton includes Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 featuring soloist Hisako Kawamura and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.

In May, the YNSO’s conductor laureate Sylvain Cambreling will deliver three diverse programs and extract colorful sounds from the orchestra. A highlight is the Japan premiere of Viola Concerto “Threadsuns” by young South Korean composer Shin Dong-hoon. The soloist for the concerto is Amihai Grosz, a principal viola player of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Cambreling will also take on Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Gringolts, a violinist with an individual style, as soloist, in addition to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. He will also show off his skills as a top conductor when he conducts Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique.” The soloist for the Saint-Saens concerto is young Polish pianist Szymon Nehring.

June will see two Japanese conductors, Toshiyuki Kamioka and the YNSO’s special guest conductor Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, taking up the baton and vying for excellence.

Kamioka will conduct Grieg’s Piano Concerto together with Spain’s virtuoso pianist Achucarro and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, while Kobayashi will present two popular masterpieces, Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Up-and-coming pianist Tomoharu Ushida will be the soloist for the Chopin concerto.

July to September

As the principal conductor of the YNSO, Weigle has been passionate about introducing lesser-known gems to Japan and has paired them with well-known pieces in his programs. In July, he will combine Richard Strauss’ symphonic poem “Tod und Verklarung” (Death and transfiguration) with Symphonischer Satz fur Orchester (Symphonic movement for orchestra) by Rudi Stephan, an early 20th-century German composer who died prematurely. The Japan premiere of this piece is a historic opportunity, so don’t miss it.

Another program in the same month includes “Eine Alpensinfonie” (An Alpine symphony) by Richard Strauss coupled with Trumpet Concerto by Oskar Bohme. Although this concerto is familiar to trumpet players, it is rarely performed at concerts. The fact that this concert’s soloist is Matthias Hofs, arguably the world’s finest trumpet player, is sure to attract many guests.

Valcuha, who will serve in his third year as the YNSO’s principal guest conductor in the new season, will conduct some YNSO concerts in September. In one of the three programs, he will conduct Symphony No. 6 “Tragische” by Mahler. Valcuha has made it his life’s work to conduct Mahler’s pieces. To be sure, Valcuha will let us savor Mahler’s rich sounds of romanticism.

The second program will feature Sibelius’ Violin Concerto paired with Sergey Khachatryan as soloist and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. The third one includes Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto that features Mayumi Kanagawa as soloist and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances.

October to December

The second half of the season has an exciting start as three conductors with distinct characters — early music specialist Giovanni Antonini, German veteran Lothar Zagrosek and young talent Leslie Suganandarajah, who was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Germany — will make their appearances.

Zagrosek will conduct Richard Strauss’ Violin Concerto, a hidden masterpiece, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 “Romantic.” The soloist for the concerto is Renaud Capucon, a world-renowned French violinist. The charismatic Suganandarajah, who has been gaining in popularity quite rapidly in Europe, will conduct Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Alexander Gadjiev as soloist and Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 “Rheinische.”

Both Zagrosek and Suganandarajah have certain things in common, such as excelling in conducing operas. As they respectively represent the older and new generation in the European music scene, their music making is definitely worth paying attention to.

This year, Weigle will take up the important role of conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Choral” in December, a year-end tradition for many symphony orchestras. It will be the second time he conducts the popular symphony with the YNSO. The first time was in 2020, under the unusual circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that there were fewer orchestra and chorus members. This time, the performances will feature a choir with all its members. It will be fascinating to listen to how the veteran German maestro will handle the epic, and what kind of ideas he will bring in.

January to March ’27

The New Year will start with Keitaro Harada making a guest appearance with the YNSO and conducting Holst’s masterpiece, “The Planets,” which will be coupled with another British gem, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Jean-Guihen Queyras as soloist.

The program conducted by Kazuki Yamada, who made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic last year, should not be missed either. It includes The Great Symphony in C major, which is Schubert’s String Quintet D956 arranged for orchestra by Hidemaro Konoe in the style of late Romantic music. Yamada’s aspirations to succeed the achievements of composer-conductor Konoe, who was active during the early years of classical music in Japan, is worth appreciating.

Han-na Chang, who was born in South Korea in 1982, has successfully turned from cellist to conductor. Her YNSO conducting debut is sure to be a talking point among music fans. The former cello prodigy already has accumulated 20 years of experience as a conductor. What kind of fantasy will she let us listen to when she conducts Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique”?

Another woman conductor will stand on the podium in February. Anja Bihlmaier, a German maestro born in 1978, will make her debut with the YNSO and conduct two programs. One of the programs features Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 and B.A. Zimmermann’s Trumpet Concerto “Nobody knows de trouble I see,” a unique piece combining jazz and classical music, with Hayato Kodama as soloist.

The other program consists of two works — Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 and Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Kate Liu as soloist. Both programs will offer concertgoers an opportunity to relish musical mastery of Bihlmaier, who is riding the wave as a conductor.

The month of March, which is the end of the season, will be marked by Weigle conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 “Titan” and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola, with soloists Fumiaki Miura on violin and Yasuhiro Suzuki on viola.

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On March 19, 2027, the YNSO will hold a special concert under the baton of Weigle. It will be the Japan premiere of the opera “Die ersten Menschen” (The first humans) in a concert-style performance. The composer is Rudi Stephan, whose Symphonischer Satz will be conducted by Weigle in July.

Stephan completed the opera in 1914, a year before his death. It will be a good opportunity for the audience to appreciate the evolution of both Weigle and the YNSO.

The concert will be held at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district, as Suntory Hall in the Akasaka district of Tokyo, one of the main venues for YNSO concerts, will temporarily close in March next year for renovations.

Early music specialist conductors to bring fresh sounds

Early music has become an essential part of the classical music scene today. Performing an early music piece by adopting the playing style at the time of its composition breathes new life into the music.

Ivor Bolton, who appears in two YNSO concerts in April, first made his name with conducting period instrument ensembles. Now he is known for his performances in various genres. He even conducts contemporary operas.

Giovanni Antonini, who is scheduled to conduct the YNSO in October, is a leading figure in early music performances, and his vast repertoire also includes works from the baroque to the classical periods. He often conducts modern orchestras as well.

This will be his second time performing with the YNSO as a guest conductor. One of his two programs will feature Schumann’s Cello Concerto with Sol Gabetta as soloist and two Mozart symphonies, Nos. 25 and 40. Gabetta is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her debut this year. Expectations are running high for what kind of interpretation Antonini will give to Schumann, a composer of the Romantic period, and how the soloist will respond to it.

And in November, another big figure in the early music community will come to Japan: Francois-Xavier Roth. He, too, first built his career in conducting period instrument orchestras and now keeps music up to the 20th century within his range. Through two programs, which include Janacek’s Sinfonietta, Mozart’s Symphony No. 34, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and a piece by contemporary French composer Philippe Manoury, Roth will guide us through an overview of music history. Another incentive for the audience is that virtuoso French flutist Emmanuel Pahud will be the soloist for the Manoury piece.

Many benefits with annual subscriptions

Annual membership tickets for the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra’s 2026-27 season are now on sale. The tickets are available for seven series: the Subscription Concerts, the Popular Series, the Saturday Matinee Series, the Sunday Matinee Series, the Yokohama Matinee Series, the Subscription Concerts in Osaka and the Yomikyo Ensemble Series. Discounted student memberships are available for students aged 25 or younger.

To purchase membership tickets, call (0570) 00-4390 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (in Japanese) or visit the online ticket service site for the orchestra (https://yomikyo.pia.jp/)

For information in English, visit the English-language page on the YNSO’s official website (https://yomikyo.or.jp/e/).

In addition to saving on per-ticket prices, members can also enjoy various benefits, such as a complimentary CD.