CBSO opens a landmark season of Beethoven, Mahler and a choral milestone

Birmingham has been home to a great orchestra for more than a century, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has begun one of its most ambitious seasons in years. The 2026-27 programme, announced in May, opened on 17 September 2026 at Symphony Hall.

The orchestra's story began in 1920 as the City of Birmingham Orchestra. Its first symphony concert, on 10 November that year at Birmingham Town Hall, was conducted by Edward Elgar, who performed his own works. In 1991 the orchestra moved to the newly built Symphony Hall, which has been its main home ever since.

Kazuki Yamada, who first guest-conducted the CBSO in 2012, became music director in May 2024, and in January 2025 his contract was extended through the 2028-29 season. This season he continues his Mahler cycle, opening with the "Resurrection" Symphony and closing in June 2027 with Mahler's Third.

That opening night carried extra meaning, as it celebrated the 1,000th performance of the CBSO Chorus. Then in 2027, to mark 200 years since Beethoven's death, Yamada and the orchestra will perform all nine of his symphonies.

There are new faces too. Ilan Volkov begins his first season as Principal Guest Conductor, with repertoire including Bruckner's Seventh Symphony and Messiaen's Turangalîla. Pianist Alice Sara Ott, saxophonist Jess Gillam and composer-producer Rushil Ranjan join as Collaborative Artists, and Composer in Residence Anna Clyne's new viola concerto, Resonant Forms, receives its world premiere with Lawrence Power.

One of the most moving dates takes the orchestra to Coventry Cathedral for Remembrance Day, where it will perform Britten's War Requiem. The CBSO gave the work's premiere there in 1962, and this performance marks 50 years since Britten's death before an international tour.

The season is not only for seasoned concert-goers. Film and pop concerts mark anniversaries of Star Wars: A New Hope, Casino Royale and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, while Notelets concerts for under-sixes, family concerts and BSL-interpreted performances help to open the doors wider.

Chief executive Emma Stenning describes it as "a season designed to offer something for everyone", and with such a broad mix of music it is hard to disagree.

Full concert listings and tickets are available on the CBSO website.