“Today you will hear a real piece!” So declared Brahms to his companion of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto before attending what we believe was his last concert, which also included his own Fourth Symphony. Two good friends of the OAE, Steven Isserlis and Maxim Emelyanychev, join for the finale of our season in celebration the OAE’s 40th Anniversary.

Sir Simon Rattle commands a cast of fantastical characters in a double bill of symphonies. Berlioz’s powerful, poetic music sets visions whirling of wandering poets, enchanting women, shepherds, an execution procession and witches.

On a popular chat show a great maritime explorer is interviewed about his life at sea and, most importantly, his new discovery... a hitherto unknown island in the middle of the Pacific.

A cosmic journey from the dark depths of the Universe to gorgeous dawn in the Garden of Eden. Václav Luks directs Haydn's masterpiece inspired by the great oratorios of Handel.

Johanna Soller makes her London debut in Bach’s soulful St John Passion. The Artistic Director of the Munich Bach Choir has been praised for her unique combination of emotion, focused energy and intelligence.

Through the summer of 1788 Mozart was consumed in a burst of inspiration. The result was the three remarkable symphonies that turned out to be his last. Rarely heard together, Robin Ticciati takes us inside Mozart’s bold, stormy and divine creations.

Adam Fischer conducts Beethoven’s defiant Fifth. Its finale is triumphantly reinforced by the appearance of trombones, piccolo and contrabassoon for the first time in a symphony. It is paired with the lively Fourth, once described by Berlioz as having a “celestial sweetness”.

Three composers whose are curiously linked by a date and entanglement. Two of Mozart’s most enduringly popular orchestral pieces are framed by music from his friend Michael Haydn and the ‘Spanish Mozart’ Juan Arriaga, born 50 years to the day after Mozart.

Sir András Schiff explores the thrilling contrasts of Haydn's musical personality: from the electrifying 'storm and stress' era via an encounter with Hungarian folk music to the refinement of his London residencies.

Solomon is among the most human and spectacular of Handel’s oratorios. Nardus Williams is the versatile soprano soloist, singing three roles: Solomon’s Queen, the First Harlot and Nicaule, the Queen of Sheba.