Featuring boundary-pushing innovation, intimate 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.
Bafta and Emmy-nominated composer Ilan Eshkeri joins forces with the European Space Agency for a dazzling audio-visual experience at Aviva Studios this summer.
The concert is presented alongside a film written and directed by Eshkeri, created from footage captured by astronauts aboard the International Space Station and imagery filmed at European Space Agency locations.
This semi-staged concert is based on our preconceptions of mental illness, with each piece having a connection to the psychology of the mind, centred around Peter Maxwell Davies’ harrowing depiction of the ‘madness’ of King George III.
In this interpretation, the protagonist role of King George III will be brought to life by the mezzo-soprano, Idunnu Münch. Through her performance, she seeks to give voice to the narratives surrounding mental illness, particularly those shaped by the female experience.
Celebrated composer and pianist Poppy Ackroyd performs a special show at Hallé at St Michaels, on the eve of her intimate new album, Liminal. For the first time since 2019’s Feathers, the new record sees Poppy reunite piano and violin exclusively, with every sound on the album drawn from these instruments alone.
The renowned Kantos Chamber Choir celebrates its 10th anniversary by joining forces with the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Chamber Choir and the University of Manchester Chamber Choir for a one-off show this June.
The evening’s programme will be crafted around powerful songs of protest, change and hope. In true Kantos style, brand-new pop arrangements will sit alongside seminal choral masterpieces; from Aaron Copland to Bob Dylan, and Arnold Schoenberg to Louis Armstrong.
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.
Two worlds collide in this uplifting symphonic celebration of ABBA’s greatest hits. Led by the inimitable conductor Stephen Bell, the Hallé Orchestra will be joined by vocal powerhouses Annie Skates, Emma Kershaw, David Combes and Oliver Griffiths for a night of sweeping ballads and disco anthems that defined a generation.
Join Manchester Baroque as they reconstruct another original 18th-century concert programme, one that took place in Manchester back in 1745.
Whilst in Manchester’s Central Library, Manchester Baroque’s Artistic Director, Prof. Dr Pauline Nobes, came across a transcript of concert programmes and a centenary review of Manchester’s first subscription concert series. Her groundbreaking musical and historical research includes the reconstruction of these 16 concert programmes, originally performed between November 1744 and August 1745.
Singer, songwriter, producer and pianist Agnes Obel heads to Aviva Studios in July. With a blend of alternative, neo-classical, pop, jazz and electronic, Agnes’ music has featured on TV, cinema, gaming and fashion, including The Last of Us, True Detective, Big Little Lies and Dark Souls III.
Kicking off the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s 26/27 season in suitably stupendous style, the beauty, terror and joy of nature are all represented, with the evening’s show culminating in Sibelius’ final movement, containing one of the greatest moments in all symphonic music.
A landmark collaboration with the V&A East Museum and Friday Night is Music Night comes to the BBC Philharmonic Studio at MediaCity, celebrating the impact of Black British music on British culture. The programme is still TBC, but this is certainly one to keep on your radar.
Experience Jonny Greenwood’s immersive work 605 Years of Reverb, a piece written by the Radiohead star to celebrate the unique legacy of organs in historic buildings. Organists James McVinnie and Eliza McCarthy team up to take on this immense piece, which draws upon influences from Indian music.
- Words:
- Wire Editor
- Published on:
- Mon 25 May 2026
The Hallé’s Principal Conductor Kahchun Wong leads Mahler’s existential Sixth Symphony, often subtitled The Tragic, at The Bridgewater Hall. Ironically, Mahler actually composed the piece during some of the happiest times of his life. His wife, Alma, the subject of the intensely emotive Adagietto of his Fifth Symphony, had just given birth to their second child, and the playful, scurrying Scherzo of the third movement celebrates his two toddler daughters, in what is a slightly bizarre juxtaposition.