This season, my ambition was to present a combination of beloved core repertoire with jewels from the 20th and 21st centuries, with the aim of creating a deep relationship with you- the audience.

Alongside favourites such as Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, I am excited that we will go deeper into the oeuvres of certain composers- presenting Shostakovich’s shattering Fourth Symphony, and Vaughan Williams's transcendent Fifth Symphony- a work that has been very seldom played in Norway.

I am pleased that there is a good representation of Norwegian music, through the works of the composers Johan Svendsen, Mette Henriette and Ørjan Matre.

It is a particular joy to welcome a number of wonderful soloists, including Truls Mørk bookending the season with Dvorak and Prokofiev, and Kirill Gerstein playing Thomas Adès’s glittering Piano Concerto - a modern masterpiece.

Our opera this year will be Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, and we are lucky to be joined by international soloists Gerald Finley and Irene Roberts.

The year 2027 marks the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death, and we will perform his 5th and 9th symphonies, with an array of excellent singers.

Please come and join us on this journey through music, we welcome you with open arms!