This September, the BBC Philharmonic launches their stunning 2025/26 season with a sweeping, transformative musical odyssey from anguish to redemption at The Bridgewater Hall, featuring a programme of cathartic masterworks and a UK premiere from the Orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence, Julia Wolfe.
Prior to the concert, Wolfe’s pre-show procession LAD sends nine bagpipes through the gathered audience at the Hall in a parade of ‘thrilling agony’.
In her latest work, the titular Fountain of Youth, Wolfe takes a clearer aim at solace and rejuvenation in a bracing musical tsunami where blocks of orchestral colour collide and destroy, conjuring renewal from chaos.
Then, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 adds a fresh dimension to the pursuit of rebirth with a precise yet uniquely expressive composition, brimming with luscious melodies and simple elegance, led by superstar violinist Augustin Hadelich.
The evening’s dénouement, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, concludes the journey from despair to absolution in a triumph of maximalist pandemonium, as the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra brings the audience into ‘the ultimate embrace of fate’ with a final release of passion.
Book tickets to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2025/26 season opener below.
Sat 20 Sep, 7.30pm, The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley St, Manchester, M2 3WS, From £12
www.bbc.co.uk/philharmonic
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Mon 1 Sep 2025
