News

The coming Spring brings an extensive collection of new and recent works by Boosey & Hawkes and Sikorski composers, including world premieres by Michel van der Aa, Ondrej Adámek, Brett Dean, Olga Neuwirth and Matthias Pintscher.

In his new book Music’s Odyssey composer and writer Robin Holloway’s distils his reflections on the history of Western classical music, drawing on a lifetime of listening.

Christian Tetzlaff is soloist in Ondrej Adámek’s second violin concerto, Thin Ice, unveiled at the Festival Présences in Paris on 8 February. Further performances follow in Winterthur and Prague, and with the London Symphony Orchestra in a future season.

The monstrosity of power is laid bare in the new opera by composer Olga Neuwirth and writer Elfriede Jelinek. As well as seeing the curtain going up on Monster’s Paradise at the Hamburg State Opera, February also brings the world premiere in Munich of Neuwirth’s Zones of Blue, written for clarinettist Jörg Widmann and conducted by Simon Rattle.

The new opera by Matthias Pintscher, The Cold Heart, takes us deep into a mysterious forest landscape for this modern take on a classic German folk tale. Staged at the Berlin State Opera in January and the Opéra Comique in Paris in March, this is Pintscher’s first commission under his recent publishing contract with Boosey & Hawkes.

On 3 December Robinson Crusoe, one of Jacques Offenbach's most idiomatic works, takes the stage in a new production at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris using the acclaimed Offenbach Edition Keck. The high-calibre artistic team is led by director Laurent Pelly and conductor Marc Minkowski, two renowned Offenbach specialists.

Boosey & Hawkes marks the death of composer Jonathan Lloyd, a unique figure in the 1980s and ‘90s whose Puckish invention and often-anarchic collision of cultures belied a profound fascination with music’s temporal ambiguities.

Managing Director Janis Susskind OBE concludes her distinguished 46-year career at Boosey & Hawkes. Steven Lankenau becomes President, continuing the company’s legacy of championing the world’s leading composers and their music.

Mark-Anthony Turnage’s new operatic version of The Railway Children emerged from lockdown to take the stage successfully at Glyndebourne. Based on the 1906 book by Edith Nesbit, the drama is transformed in Rachael Hewer’s libretto to become a pacy cold war thriller.

Conducting concerts in December at leading venues in London, Birmingham and Manchester, Karl Jenkins celebrates the festive season. Programmes include music from his Christmas collections Stella natalis and Joy to the World together with other Jenkins favourites.

James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio, widely acclaimed as a summatory work in his output, is now available in a new vocal score published by Boosey & Hawkes. The composer conducts a performance of the full-evening work with BBC Symphony forces in the build up to Christmas at the Barbican in London on 19 December.

The New York City debut of Tesori’s acclaimed opera launches her 2025–2026 season as Lincoln Center’s Visionary Artist.

The Philadelphia has appointed Joe Hisaishi as its composer-in-residence over the next two seasons. The new artistic partnership includes a world premiere commission and a major commercial recording.

The Carlisle Floyd Centennial presents an evening celebrating the composer's 100th birthday at Carnegie Hall in June 2026. Music from Floyd's iconic operas will be performed by artists including soprano Gabriella Reyes, baritone Edward Nelson, baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny.

The Dresden Philharmonic presents a series of James MacMillan performances within its British Festival this season, including the German premiere of Symphony No.4 conducted by its dedicatee Donald Runnicles and Cantos Sagrados conducted by the composer himself.

The Musikverein in Vienna hosts celebrations for Kurt Schwertsik’s 90th birthday year with a concert by Kontrapunkte on 23 November. His popular tribute to Erik Satie for strings and bandoneon, Adieu Satie, receives multiple performances this season.

Homeland, Joan Armatrading’s new work for choir and orchestra, is premiered by the City of Birmingham Orchestra and Chorus on 7 December. The 15-minute score, setting Armatrading’s own texts, honours the city where the acclaimed singer songwriter spent her formative years.

The John Adams festival in Manchester, running 30 October to 1 November, sees the composer conducting concerts with the Hallé orchestra. The four-concert event features 11 Adams works, with highlights including the UK premiere of The Rock You Stand On, dedicated to long-standing champion of his music, Marin Alsop.

Nordic Christmas, now published as a vocal score, sees composer Kim André Arnesen celebrating Christmas music from his home region in Northern Europe.

2025 is the 80th birthday year of John Rutter, celebrated with a concert at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on 5 November featuring the premiere of I’ll make me a world. Decca has released the first album dedicated to Rutter’s works for orchestra, including the piano concerto Reflections.