Australian Chamber Orchestra 2026 Season
Welcome to the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 2026 Season
“Unflagging energy and maverick imagination” – The Times UK
The Australian Chamber Orchestra is one of the most acclaimed chamber orchestras in the world. Led by their pioneering Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the Orchestra is defined by its exceptional virtuosity and an irrepressible sense of adventure and curiosity.
Their 2026 National Concert Season features majestic symphonies of the 18th and 19th centuries through to Romantic masterworks and trailblazing new music from the most captivating composers of today. It’s a season where you’ll discover, and rediscover, some of the greatest music ever written.
As a touring orchestra, they bring this extraordinary world of music to concert halls around the country, with an unflagging commitment to their craft, to one another, and most importantly, to their audience.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra invites you to join them on the adventure.
Upcoming events
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody
15 Feb 2026
When Rachmaninoff first performed his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, it had the audience in raptures. The extraordinary pianist had written a showstopper, and audiences have loved its lush, romantic melodies for nearly 100 years. Now, the ever- adventurous pianist Dejan Lazić returns to the Australian Chamber Orchestra to play it, in a new arrangement for piano and strings.
The Devil’s Violin
22 Mar 2026
The devil played the violin for Tartini in a dream. The music was charismatic, electrifying, fiendishly difficult and utterly transfixing. Tartini awoke and transcribed the melody, penning the Devil’s Trill sonata. It can only be played by someone astounding.
Schubert’s Fantasy & Octet
17 May 2026
Schubert composed like an oil painter, drawing from a rich palette of melodic and harmonic colours. With a divine lyricism at its heart, his music is imbued with an intimacy and intensity that taps into the full range of human emotion. Richard Tognetti’s affinity for Schubert is evident in every note he plays. Here, he directs an ACO ensemble featuring a handpicked selection of Australia’s top wind players in two exquisite works that showcase Schubert as a master of chamber music.
Isles of Light
21 Jun 2026
The British Isles boast a magnificent anthology of music grounded in lush, poetic landscapes and thriving cities. This concert will transport you there. British violin and viola virtuoso Lawrence Power makes his Australian Chamber Orchestra debut directing music from Thomas Tallis’ evocative theme - made famous by Vaughan Williams - to the genre-defying exuberance of Kate Bush.
From Winter’s Stillness
9 Aug 2026
From the cold, clear quiet of a wintery morning, comes the music of an ancient landscape: the snow-strewn mountains and shores along the Baltic and Nordic seas. Richard Tognetti directs this extraordinary collaboration between the international vocal phenomenon Trio Mediæval, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Mozart’s Last Symphonies
19 & 21 Sep 2026
The late symphonies of Mozart are a touchstone for extraordinary musicians and experiencing the Australian Chamber Orchestra perform them is an unforgettable experience. Richard Tognetti played the last three symphonies in his first year as Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and he returns to them often because they are works that only grow with each interpretation.
Pekka Kuusisto
18 Oct 2026
Pekka Kuusisto returns to the Australian Chamber Orchestra after nearly a decade to direct music from four prodigious talents. Kuusisto is an artist unbound by convention, who embodies an artistic freedom that is unexpected and thrilling. As a renowned virtuoso and boundary- crossing composer, he pushes the limits of performance into exciting new realms, championing contemporary music with an openness and warmth that captivates audiences.
Beethoven’s Pastoral
15 Nov 2026
To see Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra perform Beethoven is to experience a ‘magnificent unanimity’* of vision, drama and expressive force. In this majestic and uplifting finale to our 2026 National Concert Season, Richard and an expanded ACO perform an all-Beethoven program that takes audiences on a journey through creation and wonder, beginning with the dramatic Coriolan Overture before culminating in the master craftsman’s Pastoral Symphony.
