Judith Weir The Welcome Arrival of Rain

Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, Op. 103 (Piano: Bertrand Chamayou)
I. Allegro animato
II. Andante
III. Molto allegro

Mendelssohn The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26

Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1945)
I. Introduction - Prelude and Dance - Variations
II. Pantomime 1
III. Pas de deux: Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich
IV. Pantomime 2
V. Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses
VI. Pantomime 3
VII. Rondo: Khorovod
VIII. Infernal Dance
IX. Lullaby
X. Final Hymn

 

*Program is subject to change

 

 

A guest conductor at the highest international level and a prolific recording artist, Sakari Oramo’s performances combine crystalline structural cohesion with authority, elegance and passion. 

Now in his 12th season as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo continues to captivate audiences in a season of intelligently and innovatively programmed concerts which highlight lesser-known compositional voices, as well as showcasing classic masterpieces. Mahler's Symphony No.9 opens a season which also includes works by Thomas Adès, Mozart, Cecilia Damström, Beethoven, Lindberg, Stravinsky, Korngold and Bartók. Oramo returns to Gürzenich-Orchester Köln as their Artistic Partner for concerts of Strauss, Adès and Sibelius. Other guest engagements include returns to Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.

Notable engagements from previous seasons include those with Berlin Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Throughout his career, Oramo has held numerous prestigious positions; Music Director of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1998-2008, Chief Conductor of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2003-12, Principal Conductor of West Coast Kokkola Opera from 2004-18, Chief Conductor of Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008-2021, and Artistic Director of Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra from 2013-19. An accomplished violinist, Oramo was originally concertmaster of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
 
Oramo continues to champion new and rarely performed works with BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has given dozens of world, UK, and Finnish premieres, and worked with many of the most outstanding composers of our time. Oramo is a regular conductor at the BBC Proms – during the summer of 2025, he presented several Proms with BBC Symphony Orchestra including The First Night of the Proms, performing Sibelius’ Violin concerto with Lisa Batiashvili and crowning the evening with Vaughan Williams’ little known oratorio Sancta civitas.

In 2025, Chandos released the second volume of Oramo and the BBC Symphony’s exploration of the works of Grażyna Bacewicz, following an acclaimed reading of Symphonies No.3 and 4 in 2023. Other entries in Oramo’s extensive discography include recordings of Dora Pejačević’s Piano Concerto and Symphony in F-sharp minor with BBC Symphony Orchestra, works by Ravel with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Rued Langgaard’s Symphony No.1 with Berliner Philharmoniker. He has also recorded Sibelius’s complete symphonies with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nielsen’s and Schumann’s complete symphonies with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and many works by Kaija Saariaho and Magnus Lindberg with various orchestras. Successes across his catalogue include BBC Music Magazine’s Orchestra Award for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos.1 and 3 with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, a Gramophone Award in 2019 for Laangaard: Symphonies No. 2 and 6 with Wiener Philharmoniker and soprano Anu Komsi, and a 2020 International Classical Music Award for Busoni’s Piano Concerto with Boston Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Gerstein.

 

 

Bertrand Chamayou is one of today’s most strikingly brilliant pianists, recognised for his revelatory performances at once powerfully virtuosic, imaginative and breathtakingly beautiful. A leading interpreter of French music, his vast repertoire includes major bodies of work such as the complete piano works of Ravel, Liszt’s Etudes and Années de pèlerinage, and Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jésus. At the same time, the French pianist possesses a deep passion for new music, having worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, György Kurtág, Thomas Adès, Bryce Dessner and Michael Jarrell.

This season, Bertrand Chamayou will perform with the Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Les Siècles across France, Gothenburg Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Antwerp Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Atlanta Symphony, Orquestra Nacional de España, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Danish National Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, and the Euskadi Orchestra.

 

In the 2025/26 season, Bertrand Chamayou will continue his intense collaboration with Barbara Hannigan, Sol Gabetta, Antoine Tamestit, Leif Ove Andsnes, and the Belcea Quartet. With Barbara Hannigan: Duo concerts featuring song cycles by Olivier Messiaen, Alexander Scriabin, and John Zorn, in venues such as Wigmore Hall London, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Bozar Brussels, Madrid, Wiener Konzerthaus, Boulez Saal Berlin, Philharmonie Paris, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Prague Spring Festival, and Palau de la Música Barcelona. The programs combine French modernism with contemporary vocal and piano literature. With Leif Ove Andsnes: Piano duo evenings with works by György Kurtág and Franz Schubert, including Rondo D 951, Allegro D 947 "Lebensstürme," Fantasie D 940, and selected pieces from Kurtág's Játékok. Performances will take place in Madrid, Oslo, Brussels, Amsterdam, Dijon, Boulez Saal Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Kölner Philharmonie, Liederhalle Stuttgart, and Tonhalle Zurich.

 

Bertrand Chamayou performs with the most prestigious orchestras, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, the orchestras of Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Atlanta, Montreal, Vienna and London, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Orchestre National de France and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the radio orchestras in Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne and Copenhagen, as well as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has had the privilege of playing under the baton of Pierre Boulez and Sir Neville Marriner and works with conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Charles Dutoit, Mikko Franck, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Krzysztof Urbanski, Philippe Herreweghe and Gianandrea Noseda, Philippe Jordan, Andris Nelsons, François-Xavier Roth, Tugan Sokhiev, Sir Antonio Pappano and Elim Chan.

 

A highly regarded chamber musician, his partners include renowned artists such as Sol Gabetta, Barbara Hannigan, Vilde Frang, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Leif Ove Andsnes, the Quatuor Ebène and Antoine Tamestit. He is very committed to new repertoire and has also worked with Henri Dutilleux and György Kurtág and, more recently, with Thomas Adès, Bryce Dessner and Michaël Jarrell, who dedicated his last piano concerto to him.

 

Bertrand Chamayou published a large number of highly successful recordings, including a Naïve CD of music by César Franck, which was awarded several accolades. For his recording of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concertos Nos.2 and 5, he was awarded the Gramophone Recording of the Year Award 2019. The only artist to win France's prestigious Victoires de la Musique on five occasions, he has an exclusive recording contract with Warner/Erato and was awarded the 2016 ECHO Klassik for his recording of Ravel’s complete works for solo piano.

 

Bertrand Chamayou was born in Toulouse; his musical talent was quickly noted by pianist Jean-François Heisser, who later became his professor at the Paris Conservatoire. He completed his training with Maria Curcio in London. Bertrand Chamayou is the artistic director of the Ravel Festival, a major international festival celebrating Maurice Ravel in the beautiful Basque Country, around Saint-Jean-de-Luz (France).

 

 

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has been at the heart of British musical life since it was founded in 1930. It plays a central role in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, performing at the First and Last Night each year in addition to regular appearances throughout the Proms season with the world’s leading conductors and soloists.

 

The BBC SO performs an annual season of concerts at the Barbican in London, where it is Associate Orchestra. Its commitment to contemporary music is demonstrated by a range of premieres each season, as well as Total Immersion days devoted to specific composers or themes, and its richly varied programming includes well-loved works at the heart of classical music, newly commissioned music, collaborations with highly regarded musicians from the world of pop and, in recent years, evenings of words and music featuring readings by well-known authors.

 

The BBC SO has close relationships with its world-class roster of conductors and guest artists: Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo, Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevksa, holder of the Günter Wand Conducting Chair Semyon Bychkov and Creative Artist in Association Jules Buckley. It also makes regular appearances with the BBC Symphony Chorus.

 

The vast majority of performances are broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a number of studio recordings each season are free to attend. These often feature up-and-coming new talent, including members of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme. All broadcasts are available for 30 days on BBC Sounds and the BBC SO can also be seen on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer.

 

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Proms – also offer enjoyable and innovative education and community activities and take a leading role in the BBC Ten Pieces and BBC Young Composer programmes.