The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich has announced the programme for its sixth season with Paavo Järvi as Music Director, opening this autumn with three concerts introducing this year’s creative chair, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and the “primeval sonic landscape” of her 2022 orchestral work Archora, partnered with Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, with soloist and season Focus Artist Víkingur Ólafsson (18, 19 & 20 September).
The following week they are joined by South African soprano Golda Schultz, also a season focus artist, for performances of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs in a programme ranging from Webern’s Langsamer Satz arranged by Gerard Schwartz to Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 (25 – 27 September).
Víkingur Ólafsson returns to Zürich to perform the new piano concerto After The Fall, written for and dedicated to him by John Adams (22,23 & 24 January) and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 (12 & 13 March). He then joins Paavo and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich on tour for performances at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Frankfurt Alte Oper and Cologne Philharmonie (15 – 19 March).
Additional season highlights include the continuation of the new Mahler symphony cycle with performances and recordings of symphonies Nos 1 & 7, as well as a spotlight on the music of Shostakovich. Mahler and Shostakovich also feature on the programme of Paavo and the Tonhalle’s Spanish tour this autumn which takes them to Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza (27 – 31 October), together with soloist Lisa Batiashvili, who performs Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2.
The fourth edition of the Conductor’s Academy takes place from 26 – 28 May 2025 (live-streamed), offering young conductors the opportunity to rehearse with the orchestra, and to receive technical and musical tips. Following the final concert, the audience give their vote and the lucky winner is invited to participate in the Järvi Academy at the Pärnu Music Festival.
The season closes with a new bi-annual summer festival called tonhalleAIR, in which Paavo leads programmes with the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zürich and soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet (12 June), as well as the student orchestra of the Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich (13 June).
Alpha Classics releases Bruckner Symphony 9 this September, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The third and last release in the Tonhalle Bruckner series, follows recordings of Symphonies Nos 7 and 8 which met with critical acclaim and an ICMA award for “Best Symphonic Recording” (Symphony No. 8).
This will be followed in Spring 2025 with the first release in Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich’s complete Mahler cycle, starting with Symphony No. 5.