When the 2025�26 season arrives in September, the New York Philharmonic will find itself on the doorstep of a thrilling future. The Orchestra’s home, the reimagined David Geffen Hall, enters its fourth season in full stride: fine-tuned and pristine. And Gustavo Dudamel � one of the foremost musical talents of his generation � becomes the Philharmonic’s Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music and Artistic Director Designate.
Throughout the season audiences can expect a robust preview of the bold vision that will surely mark the Dudamel era (which officially begins in 2026�27, when he becomes Music and Artistic Director). In his Designate year, Dudamel will conduct six weeks of concerts, plus the Philharmonic’s annual Spring Gala concert. He’ll lead cornerstones of the repertoire, like Beethoven’s Fifth and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite; collaborate with the Grammy Award–winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra; and conduct anticipated new works, including the World Premiere of an NY Phil commission by Leilehua Lanzilotti in the season’s opening concerts and, in the spring, the New York Premiere of a work by Ellen Reid—just two of the nineteen World, US, and New York Premieres the Orchestra will give throughout the season.
As the NY Phil joins the nationwide commemoration of the United States’s 250th birthday next year, the Orchestra’s future artistic leader will also lead two World Premieres exploring different facets of American society. “This is a pivotal moment in the history of the United States, and with our programming this season we seek to explore 250 years of the American Experiment, tracing a musical path from coast to coast and everything in between,� said Dudamel. “Together we will examine our shared nation from its foundation, through triumph and tragedy, to the profound questions we face at present.�
The heart of the programming takes place in March. First, Dudamel will conduct a new orchestral version of Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated, featuring NY Phil–commissioned arrangements by more than a dozen of today’s leading composers. Originally written in 1976 as a set of piano variations on a Chilean protest song, Rzewski’s piece has become an anthem for democracy. The very next week, Dudamel will again be on the podium as the Philharmonic unveils David Lang’s the wealth of nations, a dramatic oratorio that sets to music texts from Adam Smith’s book—a foundational work in the development of the US economic system.
Throughout the season, as always, the Philharmonic will welcome many of today’s preeminent musicians, including cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the 2025�26 season’s Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. He’ll appear on two subscription programs—performing Bloch’s Schelomo and Elgar’s Cello Concerto—and on an Artist Spotlight recital, performing alongside pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, his sister. World-renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin, the Spring Gala’s featured soloist, will give his first NY Phil performance since 2015. Composer-conductor Thomas Adès will reunite with the Orchestra, leading his own America (A Prophecy), a harrowing work that the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered a quarter-century ago.
Though next season is, in part, a preview of the Orchestra’s future, the NY Phil will also celebrate its legacy through a continuation of the commemoration of Pierre Boulez’s centennial. The late former Music Director—a transformative conductor, composer, and educator—will be honored in back-to-back subscription programs in October, led by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, a noted Boulez colleague and interpreter, will perform selections from his Notations in alternation with their orchestral versions. The following week, the NY Phil will present a staged production of Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, featuring new choreography by Benjamin Millepied. Like the Ellen Reid premiere, the production was co-commissioned with the LA Phil, marking a groundbreaking partnership between the two orchestras during Dudamel’s valedictory season in Los Angeles.
In short, the 2025â€�26 season is poised to reflect the values embodied by Gustavo Dudamel himself: innovation, collaboration, community, and, above all, dedication to musical excellence. As NY Phil President & CEO MatÃas Tarnopolsky said: “This season offers a glimpse into that future: a thrilling blend of Gustavo’s brilliance and the virtuosity of our musicians, all within the beautiful setting of the new David Geffen Hall. And this is only the beginning."
New York's Orchestra
The NY Phil’s commitment to engaging with the New York City community it calls home remains as strong as ever. The Orchestra continues to offer its annual free concerts—the beloved Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and the Free Concert at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Presented by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation. And this year, the Philharmonic will participate in New York’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding by offering a subscription program on which Gustavo Gimeno will conduct iconic works with New York connections by Bernstein, Gershwin, and Dvořák.
New Sounds
The New York Philharmonic will also give the world, U.S., and New York Premieres of 19 works by a variety of composers, including Caroline Mallonee (the latest work resulting from the Orchestra’s Project 19 all-women commissioning initiative), Lera Auerbach, Mason Bates, Chen Yi, Chaya Czernowin, Sebastian Fagerlund, Germaine Franco and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bohdana Frolyak, Nathalie Joachim, Noriko Koide, David Lang, Leilehua Lanzilotti, George Lewis, Allison Loggins-Hull, Daniel Nelson, Ellen Reid, and John Williams.
One of the works receiving its World Premiere is the orchestral version of Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated, with each variation in the piece, originally for solo piano, arranged by composers who represent a wide range of musical voices in the United States today: Kati Agócs, Marcos Balter, Anthony Cheung, Brittany J. Green, Tania León, Andrew Norman, Maria Schneider, Nina Shekhar, Roberto Sierra, Conrad Tao, Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate, Joel Thompson, Wang Lu, and Nina C. Young.
John Hollahan is Content Editor at the New York Philharmonic.
