Featuring live orchestral accompaniments to cinema masterworks, intimate festive recitals and more, Manchester’s upcoming classical concert schedule boasts a thrillingly diverse array of live performances from the nation’s most celebrated musicians.
Here are some of the best classical shows around the city this year.
Manchester Baroque’s wondrously talented harpsichordist David Francis takes centre stage in this intimate solo recital that combines the contrasting styles of French and Italian music seen through the eyes of Bach and his contemporaries.
The Hallé and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood will join forces for a unique performance at The Bridgewater Hall this February, inspired by the renowned musician’s love of orchestral string writing.
In February 2026, the English National Opera takes its debut bow at The Bridgewater Hall with two semi-staged performances of Mozart’s lustrous comic opera, Cosi fan tutte.
Returning to the RNCM next spring as part of both the Legends of Lore and Inspirational Artists series, Abel Selaocoe is known for electrifying performances rooted in tradition but driven by boundary-pushing innovation, gliding between African heritage and Western classical tradition.
Cello Storm is a mesmerising blend of Rock with Classical music. This tour features a special highlight: a concert entirely dedicated to the art of live looping, in which Christian Grosselfinger creates layered Melodies, harmonies and rhythms in real-time using just his cello and looping technology.
The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine makes a welcome return to The Bridgewater Hall, led by conductor Volodymyr Sirenko, bringing another stirring programme that honours cultural heritage, shared history, enduring alliance and symphonic grandeur.
The Hallé comes to Aviva Studios for the first time with Anna Meredith’s atmospheric composition ANNO. A recontextualisation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, ANNO takes the audience through a whole calendar year in just one hour of continuous music.
Blurring classical music and other art forms, Manchester Collective join forces with renowned dance-theatre company Thick & Tight to present a captivating live show drawing on queer culture, flickering between ballet and cabaret.
English National Opera (ENO) and Factory International present the UK premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary opera Angel’s Bone with a libretto by Royce Vavrek – a major new production directed by the visionary theatre maker Kip Williams, in collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sir Stephen Hough, largely regarded as Britain’s finest living pianist, returns to close the Bridgewater Hall’s International Concert Series with a dazzling programme that ranges from Beethoven to Mary Poppins.
A spectacular end to the Stockport Symphony Orchestra’s dance-inspired season, both halves of the concert open with rousing Finnish music, with the fantastic Jennifer Pike returning for the ever-popular Tchaikovsky concerto, which she first played with the SSO in 2018.
- Words:
- Wire Editor
- Published on:
- Tue 3 Feb 2026
Manchester Collective returns to Aviva Studios with Sky with the Four Suns, an immersive concert experience that invites audiences into a realm flooded with light, space and radiant sound at Factory International.
Drawing inspiration from the Alaskan wilderness and the vast Arctic sky, the programme unfolds as a glacial phenomenon, where night and day blur and refract.