SSO Unveils Spectacular 2025/2026 Season and Bids Farewell to Hans Graf and Rodolfo Barráez
The SSO 2025/26 concert season opens in July with the orchestra performing the highly anticipated world premiere of Joe Hisaishi’s symphonic suite for the multi-award-winning 2023 Studio Ghibli film The Boy and the Heron. Presented by Willow Arts, this concert will see the famed composer-conductor himself make his much welcome return to Singapore, leading from the piano. In Sep, the legendary Yo-Yo Ma will grace the stage for two nights – an SSO Gala where he will perform Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, and a recital.
Beyond these concerts, Singapore’s finest musicians will continue to take centre stage throughout the season, including violin sensation Chloe Chua, who will perform Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto in Aug. Meanwhile, the Hallé’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Kahchun Wong will take the podium in 2026, for his orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, alongside the world premiere of local composer Wang Chenwei’s work in May.
The new season marks the final one with Quantedge Music Director Hans Graf at the helm. He conducts eight weeks and takes on formidable works including R. Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony (Jul 2025), Holst’s The Planets (Jan 2026), as well as monumental symphonies by Bruckner and Shostakovich. He concludes his tenure with the Hans Graf Farewell Series (May 2026), where he will lead the SSO in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Mozart and Salieri and more.
Quantedge Music Director Hans Graf
Likewise, Rodolfo Barráez will take his final bow as Associate Conductor at the end of the season. He presents works such as Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony (Sep 2025), Nielsen’s Springtime in Funen (Oct 2025) and Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony (Nov 2025). He will also conduct the annual President’s Young Performers Concert, and SSO Christmas Concert, together with several Concerts for Children and free community performances.
Associate Conductor Rodolfo Barráez
Kickstarting a new chapter, the SSO is delighted to have maestro Hannu Lintu come on board as Quantedge Music Director from the 2026/27 season. His virtuosity and commanding presence as Music Director-designate in the 2025/26 season will be showcased in two weeks of concerts, beginning with Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Mahler’s beatific Fourth Symphony in Nov 2025. Following which, he presents an all-Shostakovich programme in Apr 2026, featuring the composer’s famed Leningrad Symphony and triumphant First Violin Concerto starring powerhouse violinist Leonidas Kavakos.
Maestro Hannu Lintu
Tickets for the 2025/26 season have gone on sale from 7 May 2025.