News

The Royal Opera presents a new production of Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and A Quiet Place in London between 10 and 24 October. The nine performances in the Linbury Theatre are staged by Oliver Mears and conducted by Nicholas Chalmers.

Miller Theatre's Courtney Bryan Composer Portrait on September 12 features three recent chamber works by the 2023 MacArthur Fellow, performed by International Contemporary Ensemble and Quince Ensemble.

Asko |Schönberg gives the world premiere of Oscar Bettison’s new work for voices and ensemble at the Gaudeamus Festival in Utrecht on 4 September. Composed as a companion piece to Louis Andriessen’s iconic De Staat, Bettison’s On the slow weather of dreams is then toured including performances at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam and at the Musica festival in Strasbourg.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) has long been established as one of the most important and performed composers of the 20th century. The 50th anniversary year in 2025 offers the opportunity to explore the wide range of his film scores and light music, both complete movies with orchestra and suites for concert programmes.

Meredith Monk’s Indra’s Net receives its fully staged North American premiere at New York City’s Park Avenue Armory in September.

The Little Mermaid—featuring music by Lera Auerbach and choreography by John Neumeier—receives its Houston Ballet debut in September.

The coming season brings an extensive collection of new and recent works by Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski composers, including John Adams, Lera Auerbach, Unsuk Chin, Anna Clyne, James MacMillan and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Recent months have seen the release of a collection of publications of Magnus Lindberg’s recent works including Serenades and Piano Concerto No.3 in the prestigious Hawkes Pocket Score series, alongside performing materials of chamber works Santa Fe Project and Quintet.

The UK premiere of Steve Reich’s most recent work, Jacob’s Ladder, is presented by the BBC Proms on 30 August with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Synergy Vocals conducted by Martyn Brabbins.

Gabriela Ortiz introduces four new works during the 2024-2025 season, which will each be programmed during her season-long position as Carnegie Hall’s Debs Composer’s Chair.

SHORTHAND, released on Sony Classical on August 23, features music by Anna Clyne performed by Avi Avital, Colin Jacobsen, Pekka Kuusisto, and Yo-Yo Ma.

The BBC Proms hosts the world premiere on 4 September of Eric Whitacre’s major new work, Eternity in an Hour, drawing upon mystical texts by William Blake for choir, strings, piano and electronics.

Read our season preview of premieres, new productions, and other performance highlights in North America.

The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antonio Pappano opens its season on 11 September with the world premiere of James MacMillan’s ghostly new Concerto for Orchestra, with the work travelling on for performances in Sweden, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA.

Boosey & Hawkes, a Concord company, welcomes Hannah Eisendle to its catalogue. The recently-concluded agreement with the Austrian-born composer who also enjoys international success as a conductor and pianist, includes both new and previously unpublished works. The collaboration is launched with the world premiere of Eisendle’s Azinheira for orchestra on 6 July under Joana Carneiro at Carinthian Summer – a composition commissioned by the festival and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Boosey & Hawkes, a Concord company, is delighted to welcome a prominent new figure to its roster of composers: while Matthias Pintscher has already been associated with the company in the past as a conductor of numerous works from its contemporary catalogues, the future collaboration will now focus on his own compositions. The artist is currently working on a major new music theatre project.

Decca Records has announced the premiere recording of Karl Jenkins’s concerto Stravaganza, featuring star saxophonist Jess Gillam, coupled with a new symphonic version of one of his most enduring works, Palladio Reimagined. As a highlight of the composer’s 80th birthday year, Stravaganza can also be heard at the BBC Proms, with Jess Gillam joining the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on 12 August.

The Carlisle Floyd Centennial—partnering with Houston Grand Opera, Boosey & Hawkes, University of Houston, Florida State University, and South Caroliniana Library—brings together musicians, scholars, and presenters to explore Floyd’s oeuvre leading up to the composer’s 100th anniversary in 2026.

Following its first recording last year on Resonus Classics, Ethyl Smyth’s one-act opera Der Wald has also returned to the stage in recent months, in an intriguing double bill at the Wuppertal Opera House coupled with Schoenberg’s Erwartung.

Steven Mackey and Tania León are co-curators of Tanglewood’s TMC Festival of Contemporary Music, offering a fascinating slate of new music programming from July 25-29.