Esa-Pekka Salonen and Janine Jansen Artists in Residence in the Berwaldhallen season 2025/26

For the first time in 18 years, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is planning a new concert season without a principal conductor. Maxim Emelyanychev has already been appointed ‘Principal Guest Conductor’ - a role that will now take effect. In addition, the orchestra will be joined by some of the world's most sought-after names in conducting: Sir Antonio Pappano, the recent Polar Prize winner Barbara Hannigan, Nathalie Stutzmann, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Herbert Blomstedt, Susanna Mälkki and Thomas Adès, to name but a few.

Two frequent guests will be conductor, composer and Polar Prize winner Esa-Pekka Salonen and star violinist Janine Jansen as this season's Artists in Residence. Highlights include Prokofiev and Brahms violin concertos with Janine Jansen as soloist, and György Ligeti's mighty Requiem, a work commissioned by the Swedish Radio in 1965 and now celebrating its 60th anniversary, with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting. Salonen's own music is also heard when other conductors visit the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, including the Swedish premieres of the works Tiu and Gemini conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev and Nicolas Collon.

Some of the most acclaimed classical soloists of our time will perform with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra: pianists Yuja Wang, Yeol Eum Son, Francesco Piemontesi, Kirill Gerstein, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, to name but a few. In addition, the orchestra's own musicians Malin Broman, violinist and concertmaster, and Rick Stotijn, principal bass, will appear as soloists in the world premiere of a double concerto written directly for them by composer Sally Beamish. Principal cellist Aleksei Kiseliov will also perform Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. A number of Swedish singers will be on stage at Berwaldhallen: Hanna Husahr, Johanna Wallroth, David Risberg, Malena Ernman and Karl-Magnus Fredriksson. The newly appointed Swedish Radio Classical Artist, trumpeter Ellinor Bengtson, will also return in several concerts during the season.

The concert season's theme Mirrors & Reflections runs like a red thread through the musical programme. The theme invites concertgoers to explore the past, present and future through music, and highlights how composers, both historically and today, have been inspired and influenced by artistic expressions from both the past and the present.

The Swedish Radio Choir's 100th Anniversary JubileeYear 2025 was announced in January. In autumn 2025, the big Jubilee concert will take place in Berwaldhallen, followed by an extensive tour of Japan. Already in September, the Swedish Radio Choir will give an a cappella concert at the Baltic Sea Festival under the baton of its new principal guest conductor, Krista Audere. In spring 2026, they will perform no less than three of our most beloved requiems; by Fauré, Mozart and Brahms. They also collaborate with both the Västerås Sinfonietta and the Dalasinfonietta, with the latter in a world premiere of composer Matthew Peterson's second symphony, The Wanderers. In the a cappella concerts of the spring 2026, the Radio Choir will be led by Chief Conductor Kaspars Putniņš and the Danish Radio Choir's Chief Conductor Martina Batič.

There will be several concerts for children during the season, including the return of Niklas and Radioapan and the popular Singalong concerts in the programme. Popular Swedish Radio programmes such as På minuten and Melodikrysset are recorded live in Berwaldhallen with an audience. A number of exciting, cross-genre artist collaborations will also be released separately during the spring.

– I look forward to many exciting musical encounters and artist collaborations for next season, both for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir. In the 2025/2026 concert season in Berwaldhallen, there is something for everyone to discover – and enjoy! says Staffan Becker, Director of the Berwaldhallen Concert Hall.

The concerts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir have recently had a record-high attendance. The audience increase is most evident for the classical concerts, where the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir form the core.

– It is very gratifying that a growing audience is finding its way to our classical concerts, and also at younger ages. I am really proud that the programme offered by Berwaldhallen, both for the audience on site but also for all listeners of Swedish Radio P2, has such a high attractiveness. I believe many people today feel the need to share experiences with others in troubled times, says Staffan Becker, General Manager at Berwaldhallen.

Subscriptions to this season's concert series will be released today at 12 noon, and tickets for individual concerts will be released on 25 April. The programme and tickets for the Baltic Sea Festival 2025 have already been released.

For more information, please contact