Patti LuPone, Shoshana Bean and More to be Featured in Carnegie Hall 2025–2026 Season

Carnegie Hall has revealed programming for its 2025–2026 season, including more than 170 concerts by many of the world’s finest artists and ensembles, plus wide-reaching education and social impact programs created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, serving audiences in New York City and beyond.

This season, vocalists who will take the stage include recent Grammy Award winner Shoshana Bean in her headlining debut; Heather Headley, star of The Lion King, Aida, and The Color Purple; Grammy and Emmy Award-nominated Cheyenne Jackson, and Broadway legend Patti LuPone. As part of the The New York Pops season at Carnegie Hall, Director Steven Reineke will present six programs, including holiday concerts with Broadway's Megan Hilty; Mandy Gonzalez performing Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda, and much more.  Read more about The full New York Pops season HERE! 

Highlights include United in Sound: America at 250, an expansive, citywide festival highlighting the extraordinary musical riches that have evolved and flourished in the United States as our country marks the 250th anniversary year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; four Perspectives series curated by celebrated artists—conductor Marin Alsop, pianist Lang Lang, vocalist Isabel Leonard, and violinist Maxim Vengerov; and the season-long appointment of Arvo Pärt to hold the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair.

2025–2026 Carnegie Hall Season Overview

Carnegie Hall’s 2025–2026 season kicks off on Tuesday, October 7 with a celebratory Opening Night Gala performance. Daniel Harding takes the stage with the NYO-USA All-Stars—an ensemble of exceptional and highly accomplished musicians who are all alumni of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA)—conducting selections from Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (1919 version) with Yuja Wang leading Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 from the keyboard.

Vocalists appearing in recital next season in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage include tenor Juan Diego Flórez; baritone Matthias Goerne (partnering with pianist Daniil Trifonov); mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato performing Kevin Puts’s setting of Emily Dickinson poetry with string trio Time for Three as part of the United in Sound festival; and soprano Lise Davidsen making her Carnegie Hall recital debut.

Curated Perspectives series by four internationally acclaimed musicians are programmatic focuses in 2025–2026. Conductor Marin Alsop curates a five-event Perspectives, leading two esteemed orchestras with which she serves as principal guest conductor—London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra—and collaborating in a range of concerts with young musicians from Ensemble Connect, The Juilliard School, the National Orchestral Institute + Festival, plus local teachers participating in Carnegie Hall’s Music Educators Workshop.

Pianist Lang Lang will complete his two-year Perspectives with four concerts next season, including a duo-recital with former Curtis Institute of Music classmate violinist Hilary Hahn and performances of Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, both led by Andris Nelsons.

Grammy Award–winning vocalist Isabel Leonard will resent a four-concert Perspectives to include a duo recital with fellow Metropolitan Opera star Nadine Sierra and an appearance with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Met Orchestra as soloist in music by Bernstein and Barber. A highlight of her series will be a multifaceted Spanish-language Zankel Hall program incorporating Spanish song, opera, and dance, featuring guitarist Ismael Fernández and flamenco dancer Sonia Olla.

Violinist Maxim Vengerov will present the second part of his three-season Perspectives including “Maxim Vengerov and Friends,” an all-Brahms chamber program with an all-star line-up coming together exclusively for this engagement: violinist Vilde Frang, violist James Ehnes, cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, pianist Yefim Bronfman, and clarinetist Anthony McGill. He will also appear as soloist in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra and present a solo recital with frequent collaborator pianist Polina Osetinskaya.

Carnegie Hall will honor composer Arvo Pärt by appointing him as holder of the Hall’s Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair for the 2025–2026 season as he celebrates his 90th year. Marking this milestone year, leading artists will explore his music over the course of seven Carnegie Hall concerts. Highlights of the season-long retrospective include two all-Pärt programs in October featuring the North American debut of the Estonian Festival Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Paavo Järvi, joined by violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, composer-pianist Nico Muhly, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The Grammy Award–winning choir returns the second night with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste. The Pärt celebration also includes a tribute concert curated by violinist Gidon Kremer, plus performances by The Knights, Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and lutenist Thomas Dunford; and Ensemble Connect.

From January through July 2026—as a major centerpiece of its season—Carnegie Hall presents United in Sound: America at 250, a fascinating citywide festival highlighting the extraordinary musical riches that have evolved and flourished in the United States. With a wide variety of programs exploring diverse voices and influences that have shaped—and continue to shape—American identity, the festival offers a multifaceted musical reflection of the United States 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In more than 35 concerts at the Hall, United in Sound festival programming features Broadway, film music, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, bluegrass, classical, and more, showcasing the very best of the American spirit through music. Festival highlights include performances by Marin Alsop, American Composers Orchestra, Timo Andres and Aaron Diehl, Artemis, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Rider, Ray Chew, Michael Feinstein, Keyon Harrold, The Knights, Kronos Quartet, The Met Orchestra, aja monet, The New York Pops, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Davóne Tines with Ruckus, and many others.

From March through May 2026, the United in Sound: America at 250 festival will extend citywide to include events hosted by top cultural institutions across New York and beyond—including concerts, dance performances, film screenings, and more—celebrating different facets of American music and offering new avenues for discovery that explore the nation’s vibrant and complex past, present, and future.

Highlights of Carnegie Hall’s 2025–2026 season will also include many of the top orchestras from around the world including the Vienna Philharmonic with Andris Nelsons; London’s Philharmonia Orchestra in their first Carnegie Hall appearances in nearly 20 years, led by Alsop and Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali making his Carnegie Hall debut; Cristian Mǎcelaru with the Orchestre National de France; Lahav Shani with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; and Jaap van Zweden conducting the Seoul Philharmonic.

International ensembles also include Joshua Bell leading Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Saleem Abboud-Ashkar with the Galilee Chamber Orchestra; and Mahler Chamber Orchestra helmed by Yuja Wang leading from the keyboard.

Among the American orchestras performing next season: Klaus Mäkelä makes his first appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as their Music Director Designate; Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra bring opera in concert, presenting Puccini’s Il trittico; and Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra return to the Hall for the first time in ten years.

Also featured in 2025–2026: Franz Welser-Möst returns with The Cleveland Orchestra, including a performance of Verdi’s Requiem; Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes to the podium with two more of his ensembles—The Met Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s performs four times in 2025–2026, including concerts with Louis Langrée, Andrew Manze, Raphaël Pichon, and Masaaki Suzuki. The season also includes annual Carnegie Hall appearances by the Sphinx Virtuosi and New York String Orchestra.

Among a wide array of contemporary music offerings, The Knights, led by artistic directors Colin and Eric Jacobsen, present three creative programs designed to expand the boundaries of classical music; American Composers Orchestra—conducted next season by Mélisse Brunet and Carolyn Kuan—perform two evenings of premieres; and cellist Alisa Weilerstein returns with two new installments of FRAGMENTS, her multi-year project that weaves together Bach’s solo cello suites with newly commissioned works, responsive lighting, and scenic architecture.

Early music highlights include theorbist Christina Pluhar with her improvisatory ensemble L’Arpeggiata and special guests presenting Wonder Women, celebrating Italian female composers of the 17th-century and colorful characters found in traditional songs; The English Concert with Artistic Director Harry Bicket performing Hercules as part of their multi-year Handel project at Carnegie Hall with cast to include mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg (Dejanira) and bass William Guanbo Su (Hercules); and the return of Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI joined by a cross-continental roster of singers, dancers, and instrumentalists for Un Mar de Músicas (A Sea of Music) showcasing creole music in dialogue with music of Africa, America, and the Caribbean.

In addition to the performance by Perspectives artist Lang Lang, pianists appearing in recital next season include Behzod Abduraimov, Leif Ove Andsnes, Emanuel Ax, Khatia Buniatishvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Alexandra Dovgan, Mao Fujita, Benjamin Grosvenor, Alexandre Kantorow, Olga Kern, Evgeny Kissin, Igor Levit, Yunchan Lim, Bruce Liu, Víkingur Ólafsson, Beatrice Rana, Sir András Schiff, Yeol Eum Son, Hayato Sumino, Kiron Atom Tellian, Daniil Trifonov, and Nobuyuki Tsujii.

In addition to the “Maxim Vengerov and Friends” performance in December, the season includes two all-star evenings of chamber music in May. Violinists Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham join forces with violist Antoine Tamestit and cellists Clemens Hagen and Alisa Weilerstein for music by Beethoven and Schubert, followed by a trio performance featuring pianist Evgeny Kissin, violinist Joshua Bell, and cellist Steven Isserlis later that month.

The MET Orchestra Chamber Ensemble returns for its six-concert series, including collaborations with soprano Erin Morley and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the latter both conducting and at the keyboard. Two daring ensembles—the always adventurous Danish String Quartet and the Danish National Girls’ Choir—come together for a program exploring a millennium of women-centered music from traditional Danish tunes to works of today, alongside a new commission by David Lang. Also included among the 2025–2026 highlights are the complete Brahms piano quartets with soloists from the prestigious Kronberg Academy and pianist Kirill Gerstein, performances by the Belcea Quartet, Dover Quartet, Takács Quartet, and many more.

Anchoring “The Originals” series next season, the consummate artist and entertainer Harry Connick Jr. makes his highly anticipated headlining debut over two nights in a program to include solo performances, small-group and big-band numbers, and a brand-new orchestral piece to honor the 100th birthday of his late mother, Anita, who dreamed that he would one day perform at Carnegie Hall.

Celebrating music and culture from abroad: Carnegie Hall will also present an evening that places the spotlight on traditional Japanese arts featuring acclaimed Japanese artists Saburota Kanze and Hayato Nakamura, and others in November.

Launching a new annual Carnegie Hall tradition, legendary fiddler Martin Hayes will lead an exciting concert celebration on St. Patrick’s Day featuring his Common Ground Ensemble and special guests. The evening—co-presented by Askonas Holt in collaboration with New York’s Irish Arts Center and Dublin’s National Concert Hall—will include traditional sean-nós singing and dancing, poetry, and modern takes on Irish traditions.

In May 2026, Carnegie Hall will celebrate the 50th anniversary year of its historic “Concert of the Century,” presenting a star-studded performance with leading soloists to include soprano Renée Fleming; mezzo-sopranos Joyce DiDonato and Perspectives artist Isabel Leonard; pianists Emanuel Ax, Evgeny Kissin, Perspectives artist Lang Lang, and Daniil Trifonov. They will be joined by the NYO-USA All-Stars led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Oratorio Society of New York under the direction of Kent Tritle for a gala evening that supports Carnegie Hall’s artistic, education, and social impact programs.

Extending beyond the walls of Carnegie Hall, the Carnegie Hall Citywide concert series continues with free performances offered in neighborhood venues throughout New York City, including annual summer concerts in Bryant Park and Madison Square Park. The 2025–2026 Carnegie Hall Citywide season—to include dozens of performances in all five boroughs with the best in classical, jazz, folk, Latin music, and more—will be announced in late summer 2025.