After performing Verdi’s La Traviata on the Lake Stage at the Bregenz Festival, the Wiener Symphoniker went into their summer break on 23 August. They return to the stage on 13 September for “Happy Birthday, Arnold!”, a concert celebrating Arnold Schönberg’s birthday. At the Arnold Schönberg Center, Petr Popelka, mezzo-soprano Christina Bock and members of the orchestra will perform Schönberg’s String Quartet No. 2 alongside Petr Popelka’s Dunkelsang for voice and piano. The programme concludes with Mozart’s “Dissonance Quartet”, a work that Schönberg himself repeatedly referred to.

In the upcoming season, Petr Popelka continues his Mahler cycle with the composer’s Symphony No. 9 – his final completed symphony – on 30 September and 1 October in the Great Hall of the Musikverein Wien. The symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann will also feature prominently in the season’s programme.

From autumn onwards, Elim Chan will accompany the orchestra as Artistic Partner. In her first concerts, she brings together classical masterpieces with rarely performed works and contemporary music. The season opens on 5 and 6 October 2026 at the Wiener Konzerthaus with Sofia Gubaidulina’s atmospheric Fairy Tale Poem and Alfred Schnittke’s expressive Violin Concerto No. 4, with Gidon Kremer as soloist. This is followed by a selection from Sergei Prokofiev’s Cinderella curated by Chan herself, combining parts of the suite with excerpts from the ballet.

On 23 September, the Wiener Symphoniker will present “Echo des Unerhörten”, a concert marking the 20th anniversary of exil.arte and the 10th anniversary of the Exilarte Centre at the mdw. The centre is dedicated to bringing music that was banned under National Socialism back to the concert stage. Works by Hans Winterberg and Wilhelm Grosz will be performed under the direction of Katharina Wincor.

The Season Launch at Badeschiff Vienna offers invited partners and friends of the orchestra a chamber music introduction to the 2026/27 season. Taking part are Petr Popelka and Mitra Kotte on piano, Kian Soltani on cello and other special guests. Newsletter subscribers also have the chance to experience this special start to the season live: a prize draw gives them the opportunity to win tickets to the Season Launch.