‘New Colours’ is the title of the Wiener Symphonikers' 2025-26 season, in which they will once again turn their attention to Vienna and its encounters with the people of this city. In addition to the more than 70 concerts at the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Musikverein Wien, which form the musical heart of the orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker want to continue the orchestra's 125-year history with new formats. In keeping with the founding idea, the Wiener Symphoniker want to contribute to making music accessible to everyone. 

At the marathon concert on the day before the Vienna City Marathon, runners and the Wiener Symphoniker share the stage in the Great Hall of the Musikverein for the first time. The orchestra opens up a new musical world at the first symphonic K-Pop concert at the Wiener Konzerthaus. Creating closeness, overcoming boundaries, entering into dialogue - that is the idea behind chief conductor Petr Popelka's music laboratory Hör-Bar in the Musikverein's Glass Hall. In a relaxed atmosphere, closeness to the music is created - distance disappears and musical connections can be experienced directly.

Petr Popelka's artistic focus is on the music of Gustav Mahler: in addition to the 1st and 3rd symphonies, the 7th symphony will also be on the programme under his direction. He offers musical congratulations to Arnold Schönberg when he takes over the piano part of Pierrot lunaire on his birthday, conducts Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus at the MusikTheater an der Wien and conducts the birthday concert to mark the orchestra's 125th anniversary.

It is not only the diversity of the programme that leads through the 2025-26 season that is significant, but also the selection of outstanding soloists who will be performing alongside the traditional Viennese orchestra: from Rudolf Buchbinder to Lukas Sternath, from Yuja Wang to Kirill Gerstein, from Bomsori to Augustin Hadelich. The season is also multifaceted on the conductor's podium: in addition to Chief Conductor Petr Popelka and Principal Guest Conductor Marie Jacquot, Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck, US conductor Karina Canellakis and Lithuanian conductor Giedrė Šlekytė will also be appearing. The return of former chief conductors such as Philippe Jordan and Fabio Luisi will also ensure special musical reunions.

Tours take the Wiener Symphoniker with Petr Popelka through Europe, to Asia and Turkey, and the orchestra tours Austria with Alexander Soddy. Since the 2024-25 season, the Wiener Symphoniker have been in residence in Trieste on Palm Weekend: In the second edition of the Primavera da Vienna festival, the orchestra will be accompanied to the Adriatic by chief conductor Petr Popelka, pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, Renaud Capuçon, Krassimira Stoyanova and Francesco Meli.