The Bridgewater Hall International Concert Series 25|26
We’re back! The International Concert Series returns to The Bridgewater Hall for 2025|26 with another outstanding selection of musicians from home and abroad.
As ever, the Series is packed with big names – and there are none bigger than violinist Nicola Benedetti (19 November 2025), joining us on her first solo tour in more than 10 years. We’re also thrilled to welcome English National Opera & Orchestra for the first time, bringing a star-studded cast for two semi-staged performances of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (27 & 28 February 2026).
Tenebrae are returning to premiere their new collaboration with Third Culture Collective (6 October 2025), an exciting mix of western and Indian classical traditions. And there’s a mouthwatering Transatlantic get-together when London’s Philharmonia Orchestra (13 March 2026) are joined by two leading American musicians – conductor Marin Alsop and cellist Alisa Weilerstein.
Leading orchestras will be joining us from across Europe – including Sweden’s O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra (22 September 2025), joined by star percussionist Evelyn Glennie for a journey through nine centuries of music. They’ll be followed by the Brno Philharmonic (14 October 2025) with works from great Czech composers Dvořák and Janáček, plus two jazzy American classics with pianist Freddy Kempf.
The Galicia Symphony Orchestra (13 April 2026) take us to sunny Spain in a concert featuring Rodrigo’s classic Concierto de Aranjuez (with guitarist Thibaut Garcia) and Ravel’s Boléro. And we’re delighted to welcome back the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (16 March 2026) following their International Concert Series debut in 2023.
We end with a real gem of a recital, as great pianist Sir Stephen Hough (12 May 2026) performs everything from Schubert and Beethoven to songs from Mary Poppins
Read on for full listings, ticketing and visitor information –and we look forward to welcoming you to another standout International Concert Series.
Season at a Glance
O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra
Monday 22 September 2025
Tenebrae and Third Culture Collective
Monday 6 October 2025
Brno Philharmonic
Tuesday 14 October 2025
Nicola Benedetti
Wednesday 19 November 2025
English National Opera & Orchestra
Friday 27 & Saturday 28 February 2026
Philharmonia Orchestra
Friday 13 March 2026
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Monday 16 March 2026
Galicia Symphony Orchestra
Monday 13 April 2026
Sir Stephen Hough
Tuesday 12 May 2026
by Charlotte Wellings
Photos
O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra
Hugo Ticciati director & violin
Evelyn Glennie percussion
Monday 22 September 2025 7.30pm
Hildegard von Bingen, arr. Marmén Vos flores rosarum
Paul Smadbeck Rhythm Song
Arvo Pärt Fratres
Albert Schnelzer Apollonian Dances
Bryce Dessner Aheym
Cobain, arr. Marmén Lithium
Purcell, arr. Marmén What Power Art Thou? (The Cold Song)
Philip Glass Symphony No.3
The ICS launches with a journey through 850 years of music – guided by Hugo Ticciati and the remarkable Evelyn Glennie.
We begin at the beginning, with luminous spirituality from 12th-century visionary Hildegard of Bingen. We end with the insistent pulse of Philip Glass’s Third Symphony. And in between, we’re all over the map: in Estonia with Arvo Pärt (the classic Fratres), in Seattle with Nirvana, in Restoration England with Henry Purcell…
It’s a typically inventive programme from Hugo Ticciati and his O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra – joined tonight by Evelyn Glennie, the world’s premier solo percussionist. Fasten your seatbelts!
Tickets £20.00-£43.00
One Voice: Tenebrae and Third Culture Collective
Nigel Shor t director, Tenebrae Kavi Pau director, Third Culture Collective Monday 6 October 2025 7.30pm
World-leading choir Tenebrae and the pioneering Third Culture Collective launch their exciting new collaboration at the ICS.
Tenebrae and Third Culture Collective come from ver y dif ferent traditions: one rooted in complex harmony and notation, the other in raga-based intricacy and improvisation The t wo groups have come together to forge One Voice: a seamless sound world of western choir, soaring Hindustani vocals and resonant instrumental textures.
Following an informal sharing in London, the t wo ensembles have created a full programme of reimagined works and new arrangements – and you can hear it first at The Bridgewater Hall. Don’t miss it.
Tickets £20.0 0 -£ 43.0 0
Brno Philharmonic
Dennis Russell Davies conductor Freddy Kempf piano Tuesday 14 October 2025 7.30pm
Janáček Lachian Dances Gershwin Variations on ‘I Got Rhy thm’ Brubeck Brandenburg Gate Dvořák Symphony No 7
Got rhy thm? Freddy Kempf has – and he’ll show it of f tonight with the Brno Philharmonic.
Kempf, a former BBC Young Musician of the Year, will be on double dut y for t wo American classics: Gershwin’s electrif ying ‘I Got Rhy thm’ variations and Dave Brubeck ’ s Brandenburg Gate, joined by a trio of leading Czech jaz z musicians.
And who bet ter to per form the greatest Czech composers than one of the nation’s finest orchestras? The Brno Philharmonic open tonight with Janáček ’ s evocative Lachian Dances and close with Dvořák ’ s Seventh Symphony – not his most famous, but widely regarded as his best.
Tickets £25.0 0 -£ 48.0 0
An Evening with Nicola Benedetti
Nicola Benedetti violin
Plínio Fernandes guitar
Samuele Telari accordion
Wednesday 19 November 2025 7.30pm
Pablo de Sarasate Carmen Fantasy
Pablo de Sarasate Caprice Basque
Ernest Bloch Prayer
Trad Ashokan Farewell
“The country’s favourite violinist” (The Times) returns to Manchester on her first solo tour in more than a decade.
Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation – and we’re thrilled she’s returning to The Bridgewater Hall to perform a special selection of her personal favourites.
Expect romantic classics, virtuoso party pieces and even folk music from her native Scotland at this intimate concert, for which Nicola will be joined by a small group of close friends and collaborators – including brilliant Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes and Italian accordion maestro Samuele Telari. Book early!
Tickets £20.00-£43.00
English National Opera & Orchestra
Alexander Joel conductor
Ruth Knight director
Friday 27 February 2026 7.30pm
Saturday 28 February 2026 3.00pm
Mozart Così fan tutte
ENO takes its first Bridgewater Hall bow with two semistaged performances of Mozart’s sparkling Così fan tutte.
Ferrando and Guglielmo reckon they’re secure in romantic bliss with fiancées Dorabella and Fiordiligi – but their pal Don Alfonso begs to differ. “Così fan tutte,” he tells them. Women are all the same. And then he sets about trying to prove them wrong…
Love, loyalty and human nature come under the microscope in Mozart’s comic masterpiece. Ruth Knights directs a starstudded cast in this semi-staged production – part of ENO’s exciting new partnership with Greater Manchester.
Alisa Weilerstein joins Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia for an outstanding new work by one of the world’s leading composers.
The first cello concerto by Grammy-winning composer Gabriela Ortiz is inspired by the extraordinary landscape of the Yucatán Peninsula in southern Mexico. Ortiz wrote it for ICS favourite Alisa Weilerstein – and she’ll be here to perform it for the first time in Manchester.
We begin in Ortiz’s native country with Arturo Márquez’s exhilarating Danzón No.2. And then we’re hurtling across the Atlantic for Rimsky-Korsakov’s vibrant musical retelling of One Thousand and One Nights
Tickets £25.00-£48.00
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Volodymyr Sirenko conductor
Maria Pukhlianko piano
Monday 16 March 2026 7.30pm
Berezovsky Symphony in C Major (Symphony No.1)
Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5, ‘Emperor’
Delius Two Pieces for Small Orchestra
Beethoven Symphony No.7
The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine makes a welcome return to the ICS for 2026.
Musical ambassadors for their homeland, the NSOU tonight pay homage to our nations’ bond with works from both Ukraine and England. Maxim Berezovsky’s Symphony in C, the first Ukrainian symphony, is a landmark in the country’s musical history. And music doesn’t get more English than Delius’s sumptuous ‘On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring’.
That’s not all: there’s drama, too, courtesy of Beethoven. Maria Pukhlianko stars in the ‘Emperor’ concerto, before the same composer’s glorious Seventh Symphony. Slava Ukraini!
Star guitarist Thibaut Garcia joins the Galicia Symphony to bring some gorgeous Spanish sunshine to Manchester.
Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez is an icon in Spanish music, and surely the greatest guitar concerto ever written. It’s the centrepiece of a programme that also transports us to Andalucia with works by Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla. And then we’re in the company of Maurice Ravel, born to a Basque mother by the Spanish border, with two of his most enchanting pieces: the Mother Goose suite and the indelible Boléro
Tickets £25.00-£48.00
Sir Stephen Hough
Tuesday 12 May 2026 7.30pm
Schubert Klavierstück D946, No.2
Brahms Klavierstück Op.118, No.6
Schoenberg 6 Kleine Klavierstücke
Stockhausen Klavierstück III
Beethoven Bagatelle Op.119, No.10
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.21, ‘Waldstein’
R. Schumann Carnaval
Sherman, arr. Hough Mary Poppins Suite
Sir Stephen Hough, arguably Britain’s finest living pianist, returns to close the International Concert Series with a dazzling programme.
Only Stephen Hough could shape a concert like this. We begin with Klavierstücke – literally, ‘Piano Pieces’ – from two romantic giants, Schubert and Brahms, and two towering 20th-century composers, Schoenberg and Stockhausen. From Beethoven’s majestic ‘Waldstein’ Sonata, Robert Schumann’s vivid suite transports us to the heart of carnival. And we end – where else? – on the streets of Edwardian London, with Hough’s own bravura arrangements of songs from Mary Poppins. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Tickets £20.00-£43.00
The Hall is in the centre of Manchester, easily accessible by public transport and by road.
Metrolink tram passengers should alight at St. Peter’s Square or Deansgate-Castlefield.
The nearest bus stops for major routes into the city centre are St. Peter’s Square/Portland Street or Deansgate.
The nearest rail stations are Deansgate and Oxford Road.
Coaches can drop off and pick up outside the main entrance on Lower Mosley Street.
The nearest car parks are Q-Park First Street, NCP Manchester Central, NCP Great Northern or NCP Oxford Street. If travelling by car, please allow plenty of time for your journey.
The Bridgewater Hall Lower Mosley Street
Manchester M2 3WS Box Office: 0161 907 9000 www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk
Booking Information
Booking for all tickets is open from Thursday 1 May 2025 online, by phone, by post or in person.
Booking Online
Visit bridgewater-hall.co.uk where you have the option to select your own seat.
Booking by Phone
Tel: 0161 907 9000
Booking by Post
Request a booking form from the Box Office (or download one from the website) and return via FREEPOST to: Box
Office, The Bridgewater Hall, FREEPOST RTLJ-GRKG-GGYS, Manchester M2 3WS.
Booking Fees
Prices shown in this brochure include booking fees which apply to most transactions. A booking fee of £3.25 per ticket applies to telephone and online transactions. No fee applies to tickets bought in person or purchased as part of a fixed or flexible subscription.
Box Office Opening Hours*
Monday to Friday 10.00am—5.00pm Saturday & Sunday (concert nights only) 2.00pm—5.00pm Counter service until 8pm concert nights
*As of April 2025. Please phone 0161 907 9000 or visit www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk to check for changes in opening times.
Flexible Series Booking – Save up to 25%
Receive discounts on the full ticket price when you book for 5 or more concerts from the Hall’s 2025|26 classical seasons** — all events are flexible booking unless otherwise stated.
Save 15% — Choose any 5 or more concerts
Save 25% — Choose any 16 or more concerts
If you spend £350 or more, you can pay in 5 interest-free monthly instalments from September 2025 (bookings via the Box Office only). Forms must be received by Friday 11 July 2025. Please note that Fixed and Flexible Booking Ticket Packages will be paper tickets only.
** Included are the International Concert Series, plus the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic. Check online for full season listings at www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk, or phone the Box Office for brochures.
Auditorium Seating Plan
Concessions
Unless otherwise stated in the performance listing, senior citizens, under 26s and claimants are entitled to a 10% discount off ticket prices in this brochure. This offer is only valid for bookings made more than one month before the date of the concert.
£8 Student Tickets
A limited number of student tickets (Stalls only) are available for International Concert Series performances on production of valid student ID, bookable online £8 including fee, or £4.75 if bought in person from the Box Office.
Group Discounts
Contact our Group Sales Office on 0161 907 9010 to make a group booking
10% discount for groups of 10-29
15% discount for groups of 30-49
25% discount for groups of 50+
Access
The Bridgewater Hall welcomes disabled patrons. Please see our website for disabled parking and access information, or contact the Box Office on 0161 907 9000, email supervisors@bridgewater-hall.co.uk. For individual access requirements, including seating advice, please book via the Box Office.
Information is available in large print.
There is a drop-off point for wheelchair users on Lower Mosley Street, directly outside The Bridgewater Hall. Please note that parking is not permitted here at any time.
