23/24 Season
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Orchestre de Paris concerts
This fascinating snapshot of Russian music around 1910 brings together Petrushka’s sarcastic leaps, the liturgical depth of Rachmaninov’s Bells, and the intrepid modernism of young Prokofiev.
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A label-defying work created for the simple stage of itinerant theatre, The Soldier’s Tale recounts the ‘disasters of war’. The score full of surprises is one of Stravinsky’s most original.
Mahler’s longest symphony—a meditative, cosmic, sombre, lyrical and mysteriously speculative work—is a singular musical experience, marked by orchestral expressiveness and vocal wizardry.
Between heavenly delights and infernal visions, this programme takes us from the Orientalist melodies of Scheherazade to the jubilation of Offenbach’s opera buffa, with a diabolically rhythmic middle piece by Daníel Bjarnason, featuring soloist Martin Grubinger.
The Legend of Joseph calls upon dance to express the torments of faith and desire, while the Violin Concerto imposes its youthful vitality. These two Straussian works are here set upon a touchstone in the repertoire, César Franck’s mystical masterpiece.
The sensual hedonism of Debussy’s Faun and the equivocal enchantments of Bartók’s Mandarin—to these colourful orchestral marvels, are paired with nothing less than the twin peaks of the repertoire, Ravel’s two concertos, entrusted to the fingers of Yuja Wang.
The new master stroke from the Benjamin/Crimp duo: with Shakespearean force, these lessons of tragic intensity project onto the stage the death struggle of heightened passions. A dramatic work that pales not before Hamlet!
With Prokofiev’s subtle folklore, Shostakovich’s sharp quotations, and Beethoven’s musical imagination in search of a bucolic Arcadia, this special programme presents three different faces of folk-inspired material.
The Orchestre de Paris invites the audience to join it in a watery adventure, following Sabine Quindou and her sea turtle as they explain the vital importance of water and the oceans, with the help of Beethoven, Respighi and Debussy.
The Orchestre de Paris invites the audience to join it in a watery adventure, following Sabine Quindou and her sea turtle as they explain the vital importance of water and the oceans, with the help of Beethoven, Respighi and Debussy.
A programme examining two types of journey: one embracing the charms of fantasized exoticism, with pieces by Saint-Saëns and Ravel; and the other, the ‘inner’ journey, with Dowland’s elegiac depth and Schumann’s most dolorous symphony.
This legendary score, famously dubbed ‘of a Thousand’ by an impresario, threw symphonic norms to the wind. Mahler conceived it as an ode to the creative spark, the genius of humanity and the immensity of the universe.
It is not uncommon for unfinished scores to be the most accomplished, as this programme attests with Schubert’s most mysterious symphony, an emblem in the repertoire, and Bruckner’s masterful final opus steeped in metaphysical introspection.
A ravishing pairing of two of Russian music’s emblematic scores: the dreamlike microcosm of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and the virtuoso, lyrical, epic and nostalgic odyssey of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto.
A subtle alchemy of styles and periods permeates this programme placing two great masters of the Germanic tradition, Bach and Brahms, in dialogue with the rippled textures of Ligeti and a contemporary piece by Unsuk Chin dedicated to another titan, Beethoven.
Arnold Schönberg, a defining figure of modernism and founder of the ‘Vienna School’, embodies an aesthetic turning point closely linked to the most horrific history of the 20th century: to convey the range of his genius, twelve stations are not too many.
In this programme of paradox—that of coming to peace from the depths of despair or sensing the abyss in a moment of serenity—the tranquillity of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto stands in contrast to Mahler’s Sixth, a tumult of drama, chaos and threats.
An evening of contrasts juxtaposing the cosmic magnetism of Anna Thorvalddottir, the narrative vigour of a quasi-autobiographical Strauss, and the passionate romanticism—at once tender, epic and lyrical—of young Chopin.
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the orchestra in a rendering of Debussy’s Images, punctuated by the pianistic poetry of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, as if to introduce Stravinsky’s galvanizing Les Noces, accompanied by the custom designed graphics of Hillary Leben.
Exploring the musical notion of image this season, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the orchestra in examining the mysteries of painting and offers a colourful homage to the iconic father figure of music, Bach.
For this ‘Carte blanche’ concert entrusted to Esa-Pekka Salonen, the programme centres around space itself, with Marcus Lindberg’s impressive Kraft followed by an exploration of sound spaces, at the cutting edge of contemporary music.
Produced in collaboration with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, this special concert of two of Stravinsky’s mythical ballets gives ‘carte blanche’ to two inventive film artists, for an evening of not only reverie but also new readings and perspectives.
The meeting of two monuments in the Russian repertoire: Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2, steeped in modernist fury, and one of Shostakovich’s most gloriously narrative Symphonies, a page in history and fervent indictment of all tyrannies.
Max Bruch’s superb ‘Double Concerto’ embodies faithfulness to romanticism as the very essence of music, while Brahms’ Quartet, turned by Schönberg into a ‘Fifth Symphony’, radiates mastery and subtle modernity.
Profuse, incredibly inventive and always surprising, Haydn seems to have both invented and surpassed the ‘classical style’, as reflected in this programme of contrasts, to which a new work by Helen Grime adds a moving tribute.
A tribute to Haydn’s insatiable genius and ironic spirituality, with this electrifying programme that concludes with Ligeti’s enchanting sound textures—intricate polyphonies in which music seems both to be born and to disintegrate.
A programme that moves between religiousness and paganism—from table to altar—of Carmina Burana. As a bonus, a new work by Korean composer Unsuk Chin, master of colours and dreamy textures.
Bruckner’s last fully completed work, Symphony No. 8, displays extraordinary force, as if, in an epic gesture of testamentary synthesis, the composer sought to write not his final opus but the ultimate symphony.
A memorable Beethovenian celebration with this inspired pairing of an almost forgotten gem, his Elegiac Song, with the cultural monument that has become an emblem of the European Enlightenment, his Ninth Symphony.
A programme designed as a captivating play of light and shadow, in which Schönberg’s night journey—exploring the bounds of passion—is a prelude to Mahler’s ardent fresco, bathed in chiaroscuro, on the ideal life.
A programme designed as a captivating play of light and shadow, in which Schönberg’s night journey—exploring the bounds of passion—is a prelude to Mahler’s ardent fresco, bathed in chiaroscuro, on the ideal life.
The fabulous adventure of a little girl, Luz, plunged deep into the world of instruments and their mysteries. Families follow along on this journey, discovering Luz’s other companions—the ‘Sonidos’ with their changing colours and Beethoven’s Symphonies!
A must-see concert, each piece as compelling as the last: Lang Lang’s fingers fly over the keys in a fiery Concerto by Saint-Saëns; a magnetic piece by Miroslav Srnka makes its French premiere; and we hear a Mozart symphony celebrating Parisian hedonism.
In its way of organising the coalition of individual sounds and the orchestral collective, Srnka’s Superorganisms operates as an ode to orchestra itself; the demonstration of orchestral versatility being continued with Mozart, Saint-Saëns and Mendelssohn.
International orchestras
Kirill Petrenko returns to Paris with ‘his’ Berliner Philharmoniker, two years after the memorable two-evening appearance that gave Parisian audiences their first chance to see him as the orchestra’s chief conductor.
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performing from its favourite repertoire with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Brahms’ First Symphony, both composed in the late 1870s.
Mahler’s Sixth, sometimes called his ‘Tragic’ symphony, impresses with its emotional power. With a well-established reputation in interpreting the Austrian composer’s repertoire, Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra are the performers of choice.
The London Symphony Orchestra in a Germanic program, under the baton of its future music director, Sir Antonio Pappano, to succeed Simon Rattle.
This first of two evenings dedicated to Rachmaninoff by the Philadelphia Orchestra, in honour of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, feature his 1907 Second Symphony and his later Fourth Piano Concerto.
The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a strong Rachmaninoff tradition tracing back to the last century. For its second evening in the composer’s honour, it presents his First Symphony and his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, separated by almost forty years.
Founded in 2021 by Stéphane Lissner, the Académie du Teatro San Carlo has already established itself as a preeminent ambassador of the prestigious Neapolitan opera house. It offers a tribute to Mozart and to five composers with ties to Paris.
The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne with its artistic director Renaud Capuçon in a programme spanning some 170 years of Germanic music, from Mozart’s Concerto No. 5 to Strauss’ twilight Metamorphoses.
A resolutely Italian-inspired programme (with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 and Strauss' Aus Italien) for this ‘last tour’ concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Riccardo Muti conducting.
In a resolutely chamber-music spirit, Yuja Wang shares this eclectic programme with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The young Chinese virtuosa—a maverick in the piano cosmogony—also leads the orchestra in this inspired conversation.
The legendary Amsterdam orchestra with one of the finest sound signatures in Europe explores the work of Mahler, a repertoire for which its conductor Myung-Whun Chung has a particular fondness. Emanuel Ax joins them to perform Mozart.
In the spring of 2023, Janine Jansen with her 1715 Stradivarius was joined by the Salzburg Camerata for a Mozartian concert tour. They now come to Paris, with a programme that also includes Haydn.
Simon Rattle presents a programme exalting American music’s most flamboyant gems, from Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 3 to Gershwin’s comparable rhythms, and a new work by John Adams, one of the most acclaimed composers of our time.
Simon Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’ intoxicating Violin Concerto, a monument in the genre, with Isabelle Faust as soloist, before taking on Shostakovich’s daring and dazzling Symphony No. 4.
Keen collaborators Daniel Harding and Maria Joao Pires perform one of Mozart’s best-known concertos, before the British conductor takes on Strauss’ Thus Spoke Zarathustra, forever associated with Kubrick’s iconic film.
The best-known of Dvořák’s three concertos, Opus 104, rings out tonight under the bow of Pablo Ferrández, whom critics have hailed as the ‘new genius of cello’. He is accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic in this programme from its native canon.
Neither Firkušný’s recordings nor Sviatoslav Richter and Carlos Kleiber’s interpretation were enough to secure the status of Dvořák’s Piano Concerto. But this did not dissuade Bertrand Chamayou, accompanied by Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic.
After their joint concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris in late 2021, where we heard them in a repertoire from the first half of the 20th century, Daniel Harding and Renaud Capuçon return to perform Escaich’s new violin concerto.
It has been ten years since Claudio Abbado passed away, after a life dedicated to music. His close collaborator Martha Argerich and Antonio Pappano pay tribute to this great maestro, an unforgettable figure in 20th century conducting.
With the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel is truly defining a ‘new world’, invoking boundless creative spirit and verve. It is a vision shared by María Dueñas who, at just 20 years old, is setting the international scene on fire.
Klaus Mäkelä leads the Oslo Symphony Orchestra, of which he is Chief Conductor, in Brahms’ First Symphony and Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, the latter of which he will both play and conduct.
Themes
Staged music
The opera Sun & Sea (Marina) by Lithuanian composer and visual artist Lina Lapelytè immerses us in the languor of a summer day at the seaside. A performance, with a tinge of salt in the air, that alerts us to the consequences of climate change.
Inspired by the emblematic nations of rugby, conductor Zahia Ziouani, choreographer Mourad Merzouki and stage director Laurent Soffiati lead a company of amateurs and professionals in a stirring musical show drawn from sport, song, dance and words.
Composed between 1998 and 2003, Sonntag aus Licht is the last completed opera in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s cycle Licht. Premiered posthumously in 2011, it celebrates the mystical union of Michael and Eve, and the banishment of Lucifer.
Composed between 1998 and 2003, Sonntag aus Licht is the last completed opera in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s cycle Licht. Premiered posthumously in 2011, it celebrates the mystical union of Michael and Eve, and the banishment of Lucifer.
When they premiered Einstein on the Beach in Avignon in 1976, Philip Glass, Bob Wilson and Lucinda Childs made a monumental splash in the operatic pond, introducing a work nothing short of revolutionary, yet also returning to the genre’s roots in mythology.
In 1988, Les Arts Florissants presented one of the jewels of the English Baroque, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. Nearly thirty-five years later, they revisit this enchanting work in the company of choreographer Mourad Merzouki.
Arnold Schönberg, a defining figure of modernism and founder of the ‘Vienna School’, embodies an aesthetic turning point closely linked to the most horrific history of the 20th century: to convey the range of his genius, twelve stations are not too many.
Zimmermann’s great opera Die Soldaten was premiered in Cologne in 1965 by Michael Gielen. A work rarely performed in France, it is conducted here by François-Xavier Roth at the head of the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln.
Between 1993 and 1996, Phil Glass composed his Cocteau Trilogy of operas—Orphée, La Belle et la Bête and Les Enfants terribles—from which composer Michael Riesman has arranged suites for two pianos, for Katia and Marielle Labèque.
Since they met in 2006, Benjamin Millepied and Nico Mulhy, have been regular collaborators in leading international arenas. Here, dancers and musicians together take to the Philharmonie de Paris stage to perform a new work.
Drawing from dance, music and poetry, Blanca Li, David Grimal and Abd al Malik pay tribute to Stravinsky’s century-old ballet with a bold and militant re-reading that highlights its enduring visionary spirit.
Benjamin Millepied’s project La Ville dansée is a three-day event showcasing new works by renowned and up-and-coming choreographers, performed in emblematic and unexpected locations throughout Paris.
With Panenka, the intrepid Quatuor Leonis ventures into a dynamic field at the intersection between music, dance and freestyle soccer, for an anthological encounter!
Sasha Waltz, one of the greats of contemporary dance, offers her rereading of In C, Terry Riley’s legendary repetitive music piece, with a masterful choreographic translation of mathematical rigour matched by playful freedom.
Presenting a modern tale on the inner journey, patriarchal society and individual achievement, the world premiere of La Victoire de Karima turns the concert hall, for a day, into a high-voltage boxing ring or sports stadium.
Music and image
This fascinating snapshot of Russian music around 1910 brings together Petrushka’s sarcastic leaps, the liturgical depth of Rachmaninov’s Bells, and the intrepid modernism of young Prokofiev.
Philip Glass’s ability to set the scene in a few chords has won the admiration of many a filmmaker—so for Universal’s 1998 re-release of Tod Browing’s Dracula, he was naturally the composer of choice to create the new score.
The Orchestre de Paris invites the audience to join it in a watery adventure, following Sabine Quindou and her sea turtle as they explain the vital importance of water and the oceans, with the help of Beethoven, Respighi and Debussy.
Known-best for his sparkling Kirikou saga, Michel Ocelot created other gems as well, including Azur & Asmar. Inspired by the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights, this delightful animated film is shown here with live musical accompaniment.
‘Whiplash’ can mean the blow of a strap or a jolt to the neck. It is also the titular piece of Damien Chazelle’s second feature film, plunging us into the ultra-competitive world of jazz at the highest level.
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the orchestra in a rendering of Debussy’s Images, punctuated by the pianistic poetry of Jean-Yves Thibaudet, as if to introduce Stravinsky’s galvanizing Les Noces, accompanied by the custom designed graphics of Hillary Leben.
Produced in collaboration with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, this special concert of two of Stravinsky’s mythical ballets gives ‘carte blanche’ to two inventive film artists, for an evening of not only reverie but also new readings and perspectives.
New works created for four short films from the Cinema’s First Nasty Women project. Students from the Paris Conservatory composed scores for four short films from the early 20th century about feminist protest.
Drawing from her personal memories of the great Natalia Shakhovskaya, and in fertile collaboration with Clément Cogitore, Sonia Wieder-Atherton pays an intimate tribute in words, music and images to the woman who trained her in the art of her instrument.
Voices
No stranger to Mozart’s Requiem, which he has conducted in a number of staged concerts in recent years, Raphaël Pichon returns to the essence of this extraordinary work for his concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Ariodante by Les Arts Florissants, under the direction of their founder William Christie: a dazzling rendition of Handel’s dramma per musica, which premiered in London in 1735.
The new master stroke from the Benjamin/Crimp duo: with Shakespearean force, these lessons of tragic intensity project onto the stage the death struggle of heightened passions. A dramatic work that pales not before Hamlet!
Leading soprano Barbara Hannigan pays tribute to the indomitable New York experimentalist John Zorn, in honour of his 70th birthday, with a riveting ensemble of three of his compositions.
On graduating from the Juilliard School in 2017, Jakub Józef Orliński found himself propelled onto the international stage. With Il Pomo d'Oro, the young Polish countertenor offers a programme faithful to his first Italian loves.
Founded in 2021 by Stéphane Lissner, the Académie du Teatro San Carlo has already established itself as a preeminent ambassador of the prestigious Neapolitan opera house. It offers a tribute to Mozart and to five composers with ties to Paris.
Tenor Rolando Villazón and harpist Xavier de Maistre have concocted an assortment of songs from Latin America, evoking its mystery, joy and melancholy in an intimate nocturnal serenade revealing surprising colours.
Women composers have been chronically overlooked in the history of music. Lucile Richardot, Sarah Nemtanu and Anne de Fornel rehabilitate those who, from across the Channel, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, have affirmed singular and sometimes visionary voices.
Composed between 1998 and 2003, Sonntag aus Licht is the last completed opera in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s cycle Licht. Premiered posthumously in 2011, it celebrates the mystical union of Michael and Eve, and the banishment of Lucifer.
Composed between 1998 and 2003, Sonntag aus Licht is the last completed opera in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s cycle Licht. Premiered posthumously in 2011, it celebrates the mystical union of Michael and Eve, and the banishment of Lucifer.
This legendary score, famously dubbed ‘of a Thousand’ by an impresario, threw symphonic norms to the wind. Mahler conceived it as an ode to the creative spark, the genius of humanity and the immensity of the universe.
After their Christus ‘sacred trilogy’ concerts in the spring 2022, featuring Bach’s music dedicated to the figure of Jesus, Pygmalion returns under the direction of Raphaël Pichon with a programme of Bach cantatas.
With André Campra’s monumental Requiem, composed shortly after the composer’s arrival in Paris in 1694, Les Arts Florissants continues its inspired mission to reveal the masterpieces of France’s ‘Grand Siècle’.
Seven years after their triumphant performance of this opus at the Philharmonie de Paris, Raphaël Pichon and his Ensemble Pygmalion return to Mendelssohn’s Elias oratorio, a romantic hallmark of the genre.
In his Messiah, the vast fresco he composed in 1741, Handel deploys every nuance of his consummate art of musical painting.
After their critically acclaimed recording of the Charpentier’s Pastorale de Noël, Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances return to it this evening, on the heels of the composer’s Midnight Mass.
Paul Agnew explains characteristics of vocalism in Purcell’s work, drawing on excerpts from the composer’s opera The Fairy Queen, performed by the eight young winners of the Jardin des Voix vocal competition.
In 1988, Les Arts Florissants presented one of the jewels of the English Baroque, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. Nearly thirty-five years later, they revisit this enchanting work in the company of choreographer Mourad Merzouki.
Bertrand Chamayou accompanies Danish-French singer Elsa Dreisig in this programme dedicated to female composition, produced with the support of Elles - women composers, a project born in 2020 to revive forgotten or little-known works by women.
Hailed for his ‘Complete Songs of Fauré’ recorded with pianist Tristan Raës, Cyrille Dubois has established himself as a masterly interpreter of French melody and, through his students, perpetuates the legacy of the tutelary French composer.
Zimmermann’s great opera Die Soldaten was premiered in Cologne in 1965 by Michael Gielen. A work rarely performed in France, it is conducted here by François-Xavier Roth at the head of the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln.
From his original Bach-centred repertoire, in which he is a pioneer, Philippe Herreweghe has long since broadened his horizons to include the romantic century—while continuing to deepen his great affection for the voice.
Language and vocality have always guided William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, even in their exploration of instrumental repertoires. The divine word is their inspiration for this sacred programme of gems from the classical era.
Monteverdi’s Orfeo is often called the first of all operas. René Jacobs, with the Freiburger Barockorchester, offers a mordacious rendition of this early baroque masterpiece, restoring its full brilliance and sensuality.
Two high-pitched voices trained in the British school take on an Italian baroque repertoire studded with vocal acrobatics—not a ‘battle of the countertenors’ but rather a collegial collaboration, under the aegis of a conductor with a special fondness for their art.
Students of the Paris Conservatory perform a pocket version of Maurice Ravel’s L'Enfant et les Sortilèges created by Didier Puntos more than thirty years ago, during his time at the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Lyon.
Gaëlle Arquez in the title role, Julien Behr as Don José, Sabine Devieilhe as Micaëla: France’s finest singers come together in an exceptional Carmen, whose original colours René Jacobs seeks to bring out.
Jordi Savall always returns to Bach, a beacon in the vast array of repertoires and cultures he has explored over the past six decades. Following his reconstruction of the St Mark Passion in 2019, he delves into the oratorio inspired by the Gospel of John.
The Missa Solemnis in a nutshell? ‘A monumental work in which Beethoven deals with most of his favourite subjects: universality and beliefs, but also doubts and the suffering caused by these doubts,’ says Jérémie Rohrer.
The Orchestre National d'Île-de-France and the Chœur de Radio France in one of Mozart’s masterpieces, the Mass in C, with a quartet of high-flying soloists.
Jordi Savall celebrates his reunion with Haydn, offering a final oratorio rich in colour.
Instrumental recitals and chamber music
This special Schubertiades weekend with the great Maria João Pires begins with two of the Austrian composer’s major works, the heartbreaking ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet, and his last piano sonata with its inimitable poetic aura.
During his lifetime, Schubert was primarily known for his immortal Lieder, some of which Liszt brilliantly transcribed for the piano. Maria João Pires and Antonio Meneses bring out the charm of another of his beloved scores, the delightful ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata.
Ever a torchbearer, Maria João Pires once again lights the way in this third edition of our Schubertiades, featuring two of the composer’s masterworks, his famed Fantasia for piano four hands and his deeply moving Trio No. 2.
While the Lebensstürme gives us the feverish Schubert, the ‘Trout’ Quintet is a score of cloudless beauty. It embodies the spirit of the Schubertiade, a joyous gathering of seasoned chamber musicians led by brilliant pianist Maria João Pires.
With this recital, prima donna Anna Netrebko offers a rare departure from the lyrical and Italian repertoire that predominates in her career and discography, here reuniting with melody and her mother tongue for an inside glimpse into the Russian soul.
Martha Argerich and Stephen Kovacevich have formed a legendary duo for many years. On stage, their presence radiates, their shared sensibilities shine, and their generosity comforts—particularly in this programme with symphonic origins.
More than sixty years of performing have not diminished Pollini’s love for his instrument. The Italian pianist says his recitals, which he aims to keep giving until his final breath, are rare moments of musical communion.
The musicians of the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France pay tribute to Ukraine with music by one of the country’s greatest living composers, Valentin Silvestrov, forced into exile by the advance of Russian forces.
After a lengthy hiatus, pianist Ivo Pogorelich has returned to the stage in recent years. His Chopin resounds like no other, borne by a deeply engaged and remarkably personal interpretation.
Three Schumann scores all composed in 1842, his ‘year of chamber music’: his String Quartet No. 1 op. 41 and twin pieces with piano, Quartet op. 47 and Quintet op. 44.
Since his triumph at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, Alexander Kantorow has been winning the highest awards. Behind his dreamy air lies a fearless virtuoso, as demonstrated in this programme of exceeding difficulty.
Wilhem Latchoumia offers a dialogue between some of the great Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos’ most emblematic works, Manuel de Fallas’ irresistible Amour sorcier, and the delicate Scènes d’enfants by Catalan composer Mompou.
François Lazarevitch, a flutist like Frederick the Great, shares his fascination with the Prussian king’s musical soirées at Sanssouci Palace.
Transcending genres and disciplines, Florentin Ginot approaches the double bass as an adventure, a vehicle for discovery. Here, he explores masterpieces by Bach and Biber, weaving surprising improvisations into his inspired conversation with them.
Lutist and theorbist Thomas Dunford—whose arrival on the music scene a decade ago instantly won over audiences and critics alike—returns to the oeuvre of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Víkingur Ólafsson’s affinity for Bach is no secret, a passion he has explored in multiple records. In what is sure to be a show of dizzying brio, he now tackles the pinnacle of the keyboard canon, the Goldberg Variations.
Propelled into the international limelight at age twenty-four when he won the Warsaw Chopin Competition 2021, Bruce Liu embraces a wide-ranging repertoire—from Bach to Prokofiev, Kapustin, and of course Chopin.
Gautier Capuçon and his young colleague Kim Bernard invite us on a musical journey to the Far North of Grieg, setting out from France.
In an eclectic recital bringing together his favourite composers, pianist Bertrand Chamayou offers himself the luxury of performing the two works long considered the most difficult in the piano repertoire – ‘Scarbo’ and Islamey.
Founded in Seattle by violinist David Harrington, Kronos Quartet gave its first concert in November 1973—making 2023 its 50th anniversary year. The seminal chamber ensemble is the guest of honour of the Philharmonie de Paris’ Eleventh String Quartet Biennial.
Taking pride of place at the first weekend of the String Quartet Biennial, Kronos Quartet, celebrating its 50th anniversary, offers a small anthology of its repertoire along with a selection of the pieces it has commissioned.
Kronos Quartet celebrates its 50th anniversary with a major world tour and a monumental commissioning project, 50 for the Future, that has given rise to fifty new string quartet works.
Kronos Quartet celebrates its 50th anniversary with a major world tour and a monumental commissioning project, 50 for the Future, that has given rise to fifty new string quartet works.
The renowned Cuarteto Casals celebrates its 25th anniversary with Bach’s Art of the Fugue—a score representing the apogee of the contrapuntal style, and one of the greatest exploits in instrumental music.
The young and already greatly promising Quatuor Confluence offers a mix of Mozart and Ravel, including the former’s Quartet ‘Dissonance’ with its striking introduction.
A programme of works by four women, in each of whom Quatuor Béla celebrates a form of radicalism and a versatile spirit that defies categorization, with a new work by Francesca Verunelli as a bonus.
The legendary Borodin Quartet in its core repertoire, the oeuvres of Tchaikovsky and especially Shostakovich, for whom the string quartet represented a medium of true self-expression despite the political tyranny of the Soviet Union.
A passionate ambassador for the composers of our time, always in search of new sounds, Quatuor Tana has forged a unique path through the ocean of contemporary music creation—as this American programme attests, with a special nod to minimal music.
Quatuor Belcea pays tribute to two titans in the string quartet genre, Beethoven and Bartók, with opuses revealing intriguing links between them.
A rising star in the string quartet universe, Quatuor Leonkoro, not yet five years old, has already carved out a distinguished place for itself in today’s musical landscape.
The 20-year-old Quatuor Modigliani is indubitably one of Europe’s leading quartets. This concert is an opportunity to appreciate its excellence in works by composers not yet featured among its recordings.
With Smetana and Shostakovich in counterpoint to Brahms, the Jerusalem Quartet performs scores that have earned it its reputation as an eminent ensemble, balancing individual expression and adherence to the composer’s intentions.
The Hagen Quartet, one of the greatest quartets to emerge during the 1980s, offers a dialogue between affirmed expressions of the genre by Haydn and Beethoven, and the equivocal harmonies and rhythmic subtleties of Debussy’s single Quartet.
After their respective ‘solo’ concerts, the Modigliani and Leonkoro quartets join forces to perform Mendelssohn’s Octet, a masterpiece and exploit by a still adolescent composer.
Quatuor Strada reflects the passion for the chamber repertoire of its members—four internationally renowned soloists. Simon Zaoui joins them for the quintets with piano by Fauré, one of his composers of predilection.
Fauré’s love affair with Marguerite Hasselmans, his companion and muse for the last twenty-four years of his life, is the inspiration behind this intimate conversation between music and words by pianist Aline Piboule and writer Pascal Quignard.
The noble, ardent and expressive playing of piano maestra Elisabeth Leonskaja exalts the towering peaks of Beethoven’s last three sonatas—a testament as philosophical as it is musical, and which holds inexhaustible mysteries.
A summit meeting between two stars in the international scene: Gautier Capuçon, the protean ambassador of French cello, and Daniil Trifonov, one of the most renowned Russian pianists of his generation, present a triptych of 20th-century sonatas.
A child prodigy and winner of the Montreal International Music Competition at age eighteen, the Italian pianist, now in her thirties, is welcomed as a queen wherever piano is king, enchanting audiences with her fiery temperament and elegant playing.
Piotr Anderszewski has long made Bach a part of his daily sustenance. But he has not forgotten his roots: in counterpoint to Chopin’s miraculous Mazurkas—a glimpse into the composer’s inner world—he offers Szymanowski’s miniatures.
Renaud Capuçon and Alexandre Kantorow take on early sonatas for violin and piano by three major composers: the finesse of Fauré, the spirit of Beethoven and the brilliance of Strauss blend together in a harmonious panorama of the genre.
Two female composers, one German and one French, who were acclaimed during their lifetime and then unjustly forgotten. Like those of so many other women artists, their works are finally being rediscovered, including these two quartets for piano and strings.
Swedish music naturally takes centre stage in this admiring ‘letter’ from the musicians of the Orchestre de Paris to Herbert Blomstedt, the illustrious senior figure among conductors today, and an incomparable master of sound.
Just as some speak the language of Molière to perfection, pianist Alexandre Tharaud delights in that of French composers, to whom he diligently returns since first falling in love with Rameau some twenty years ago.
Hélène Grimaud has long since established herself as one of the most singular and engaging personalities in the piano world today. The depth and intricacy of her playing are perfectly suited to this feverish and monumental Germanic programme.
From Schubert’s beloved forest landscape to the river currents that become Ophelia’s watery grave, this programme dedicated to Schubert and Brahms draws us into the depths of the romantic wilds.
Acclaimed for his uncommon mastery of the piano and his surprisingly varied palette of sonorities, Arcadi Volodos is an artist who seeks truth. Beneath his fingers, Schubert and Brahms appear in all their purity.
The term ‘bohemian’ often bears little relation to geographical Bohemia, and yet the two are not so far apart in spirit, and the vibrant culture of this Central European region continues to be a major source of inspiration for all manner of artists.
While there is an element of fairy tale to cellist prodigy Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s meteoric rise to international stardom, his talent is unquestionably real, hailed by Simon Rattle and confirmed by each new album. Here, he shines in a duo with his pianist sister.
Film, a popular art that some predicted would replace opera, is also a musical art. Drawing on classical tradition and jazz, spanning Europe and the United States, this programme showcases the seductive charm of film music.
Yuja Wang, a piano phenomenon of which there are few in a generation, never ceases to amaze with her immense stage presence, indomitable technique, clear and lightning-fast playing, and her ability to assimilate the most diverse repertoires.
With the help of Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan, Trio Dichter (formed by Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Hanna Salzenstein and Fiona Mato) recreates the music played in the Schumann's parlour.
Covid-19 may have kept Lucile Boulanger from running in her programme in public, but her long-dreamed-of project is none the less for its time out of the limelight. The dialogue between Bach and Abel recorded for Alpha has earned her a flurry of awards. She now performs it live.
Hailed as one of the most original performers of his generation, French pianist Nathanaël Gouin plays with song-inspired virtuosity and versatility—as showcased here in a programme designed for the Gaveau 1929 piano preserved at the Musée de la musique.
Around the world
Against the simple backdrop of the bare Noh stage, 15th century farce and tragedy unfold in turn, like the two facets of life. A comical fiasco between a man and his father-in-law is followed by the poetic dance of a mother grieving the loss of her child.
A hero with a magic sword battles a giant spider, launching a pursuit of the beast by valiant warriors: this is the grandiose cast of characters of this ‘demonic’ Noh piece, one of the most spectacular in the repertoire, inspired by an 8th century legend.
These serene and intimate 18th-century vocal suites interweave the koto’s elegant recitatives with poems from ancient imperial anthologies. They are performed on one of the jewels of the Musée de la musique collections, a koto dating back to 1780.
In a ploy to get sake from his master, a servant disguises himself a demon. This joyous kyogen masquerade is followed by the poignant farewell dance of the beautiful Shizuka and a hero’s legendary fight with a spectre rising from the raging waves.
Between tears of joy and sorrow, the blind man seeking a miracle in Kawakami embodies the joyful wisdom of life in song. The next Noh piece Shigehira follows the ghost of a warrior guilty of destroying a statue of Buddha. Will he find salvation?
A whole evening dedicated to ragas with seven hours of concerts showcasing the most creative forms in the genre today, with a multi-generational lineup of artists at the forefront of the classical Indian music scene.
A pioneering musician, compared to Lennon for the power of his song-writing and his political activism, Gilberto Gil is a legend. Each of his concerts is an event of rare intensity.
Tunisian composer, singer and oud master Dhafer Youssef has taken his instrument out of its traditional ambit and into the realm of jazz. His work has brought him to the forefront of a movement linking East and West.
Fado, the Portuguese music style popularized by Amália Rodrigues in the 20th century, is brilliantly perpetuated today by Mariza. Her regal voice offers a modern and multicultural incarnation that resonates with particular vibrance on stage.
The meeting of two musicians of the highest calibre, one associated with the classical music world, the other with a range of genres, from world music to jazz. Both are artists of rare curiosity and inspiration: Yo-Yo Ma and Angelique Kidjo.
Singer and composer Sami Yusuf, fervent apostle of universalism, presents When Paths Meet, an ambitious concert created especially for the Philharmonie de Paris, at the intersection of various musical and sacred traditions.
Sitarist Anoushka Shankar perpetuates her father’s legacy while cultivating her own creativity and interest in other genres (flamenco, jazz, electro and Western classical music).
In an array of registers—Andalusian with Rafael Riqueni, classical and choreographed with José María Gallardo del Rey and Ana Murales, and pure gypsy tradition with Tomatito—three great flamenco guitarists come together in counterpoint, for a fiery concert.
Live-mixing footage from all over France, seasoned travel documentarian Vincent Moon offers an immense-format film screening, accompanied by activists from France’s experimental (post-) traditional music scene.
A participatory ball orchestrated by Vincent Moon, the globe-trotting filmmaker cultivating a vibrant form of ethnomusicology: against the backdrop of his footage of France, the audience dances to modern-day traditional music from various French regions.
Jazz, pop, rock, chanson, metal…
British pop icon Elvis Costello, who boasts a vast and highly eclectic discography, delivers a recital in duo with pianist Steve Nieve, his closest collaborator. A rare moment not to be missed!
The duet formed by Rosemary Standley and Dom La Nena celebrates its tenth anniversary with a mix of their signature songs and new covers, some of which they perform here with a girls’ choir.
Intrepid percussionist Lucie Antunes orchestrates a night of transcendence and unpredictable (psyche)delicacies, with a line-up including Léonie Pernet, P.R2B, Franky Gogo, Vincent Segal and Piers Faccini joining in the adventure.
For his three-concert series, Rufus Wainwright presents songs from his pop albums organised into three broad categories. Act I is devoted to ‘Songs of Youth and Addiction’.
For his three-concert series, Rufus Wainwright presents songs from his pop albums organised into three broad categories. Act II is devoted to ‘Songs of Love and Desire’.
For his three-concert series, Rufus Wainwright presents songs from his pop albums organised into three broad categories. Act III is dedicated to ‘Songs of Disdain and Resistance’.
This illustrated concert, the brainchild of the ever imaginative cartoonist and illustrator Jacques Azam, invites the musicians to improvise—for an exhilarating tribute to rugby through a fantastical tale tinged with the absurd.
With his clever blend of song, orchestral pop and classical composition, William Sheller has been a beacon and inspiration for several generations of artists. The French scene celebrates his singular oeuvre with this tribute concert in his honour.
Alone on stage, Émilie Simon, a French artist at the forefront in electro-pop and film music, celebrates her first album, a critically acclaimed release in 2003, presented here in all-new arrangements for its twentieth anniversary.
For twenty years, these Mexican guitar virtuosos have been delivering a rare fusion of flamenco, jazz and folk while fanning the flames of their love for heavy metal, enthusing music scenes around the world with their incessant artistic ebullition.
Oscillating between contemporary jazz, metal and noise, the second evening organised for John Zorn’s 70th birthday brings together three key ensembles from his musical universe: two quartets, Heaven and Earth Magick and the New Masada Quartet, and a trio, Simulacrum.
Singer-songwriter Jeanne Added, who in the span of a few years has become a leading figure in the French pop scene, returns with her new band to present her third album, By Your Side.
Tunisian composer, singer and oud master Dhafer Youssef has taken his instrument out of its traditional ambit and into the realm of jazz. His work has brought him to the forefront of a movement linking East and West.
Singer and composer Sami Yusuf, fervent apostle of universalism, presents When Paths Meet, an ambitious concert created especially for the Philharmonie de Paris, at the intersection of various musical and sacred traditions.
Illustrious French rapper Youssoupha shares a more sophisticated side of his work with the inspired rereading of Noir D****, an album created as a tribute to Black people, adapting it on stage in an explosive mix of rap, gospel and symphonic music.
In an artistic collaboration born under the double sign of friendship and peace, the Israeli double bass player and the Japanese pianist unite their talents in perfect symbiosis, for a project as rooted in jazz as it is in classical music.
Bertrand Belin, a major figure in French music today, with his undeniably heady, deep, slow voice, forges his own unique path between song, folk and pop. His latest album, Tambour Vision, forms the core of this concert.
To inaugurate this weekend, the Philharmonie de Paris and Oxmo Puccino showcase those who will make the world of tomorrow through a programme of up-and-coming artists.
After a four-year hiatus, Oxmo Puccino celebrates his return to the stage with a brand-new concert.
One can be both fan and virtuoso: American pianist Jason Moran is used to paying tribute to jazz masters. Here, he revisits one of the genre’s most beautiful repertoires, honouring one of its greatest legends of all times: Duke Ellington.
Performing with the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France, Cécile McLorin Salvant—one of the supreme voices in jazz today—offers an exclusive concert featuring orchestral versions of her compositions along with a symphonic work.
Acclaimed French singer-songwriter Jeanne Added pays tribute to one of her great idols and artistic inspirations, Canadian singer Joni Mitchell, presenting a selection of her songs subtly re-arranged for the occasion.
Veterans of the European metal scene, the members of the Polish group Behemoth have succeeded over the decades in combining powerful sound and rich melody, all in a visually impressive show. More than a safe bet in the genre, they are a must-see band.
Together, Jeanne Added, Camélia Jordana, L (Raphaële Lannadère) & Sandra Nkaké have created an a cappella repertoire of protest songs, from Joan Baez to Aimé Césaire, honouring these noble voices that fight oppression with their vibrant and resonant renditions.
Children and families
Numerous concerts and shows throughout the year and during school holidays.
An area dedicated to children aged 4 to 10: to play, explore, listen, live and feel the music.
Exhibition
Metal
From April 4 to September 29, 2024
Exhibition
From April 4 to September 29, 2024
Exhibition
Symfolia
From May 31 to September 8, 2024
Exhibition
From May 31 to September 8, 2024
Exhibition
Zidane
From October 5, 2023 to January 7, 2024
Exhibition
From October 5, 2023 to January 7, 2024
Installation
From February 9 to August 25, 2024
The Musée de la musique gives carte blanche to the duo Adrien M & Claire B. The installation En amour, a cross between live performance and digital art, invites the public to choreograph an intimate dance, accompanied by a new composition by Laurent Bardainne.
Installation
From September 15, 2023 to January 7, 2024
Created by the Tout reste à faire collective, a dozen giant insects composed entirely of pieces of disused musical instruments are placed along the visitors’ route through the Musée de la musique, in interesting resonance with the collection.
Festival
Days Off 2023
Festival
Festival
Jazz à la Villette 2023
From August 30 to September 10
Festival
From August 30 to September 10
A museum where music is lived and experienced.
You wish to awaken the interest of your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces in music… to give them the opportunity to discover activities which are rich, varied and suitable for their age-group?
Workshops at the Cité de la musique-Philharmonie de Paris aim to give everyone the opportunity to make music in a fun and friendly environment.
The Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris offers a variety of activities for music lovers of all kinds – from the simply curious to confirmed aficionados : pre-concert sessions, musical culture cycles, conferences, meetings, and roundtables
Booking calendar
- April 12, 12pm: Concert subscriptions (3+, 6+, 8+ Orchestre de Paris)
- April 21, 12pm: Youth concert subscriptions
- May 15, 12pm: Individual tickets for concerts and activities for adults
- May 22, 12pm: Concerts and activites for Children and families