In celebration of 20 years of the SOI, Chief Conductor Martyn Brabbins, opens the Autumn 2026 Season with a grand programme. The orchestra launched its Beethoven symphonic cycle last season, and this concert begins with Symphony No. 2, which was composed at the threshold between Classical tradition and the bold Romantic voice he would soon unleash. Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto will be performed by acclaimed Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe, whose “playing has abundant warmth and lyricism, allied to a sinuous vocal quality” (Classical Source). The evening concludes with the vast, cosmic tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra, unfolding from a thunderous sunrise into a sweeping meditation on humanity, nature and transcendence.

Box office on 23rd June for Friends of the SOI, 26th June for NCPA members and 29th June for public.