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.
Belle Chen, renowned for her distinctive blend of piano melodies and synths, brings a stirring solo show to the stunning Hallé at St Michaels, perfoming pieces from both Ravel in The Forest and brand-new material.
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.
Billed as a ‘striking exploration of Nordic soundscapes’, Chief Conductor John Storgårds leads the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra from the icy beauty of the Arctic to a Danish climax that revels in the raw power of human resilience.
The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra returns to Aviva Studios next month with one of classical music’s most groundbreaking pieces, bringing Stravinsky’s immensely powerful The Rite of Spring to Aviva Studios.
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.
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.
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:
- Thu 7 May 2026
