OPMC launches 2025-2026 season with chivalrous programme

A concert under the stars at the Prince's Palace in summer 2025 © Communication department / Manuel Vitali / Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo will get its new season underway on Sunday 21 September at 6 pm at the Auditorium Rainier III, the start of Kazuki Yamada’s last year as conductor.

A Franco-German opening concert

The new Monegasque musical season promises to be a brilliant one, starting with a programme that blends the French elegance of Camille Saint-Saëns with the narrative inventiveness of Richard Strauss. The programme includes Phaéton and Symphony No. 1 by Saint-Saëns, followed by ‘Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character’ from Strauss’ Don Quixote.

Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández, this season’s artist in residence, will perform the solo part of this major work in the repertoire. The Tchaikovsky Competition winner and exclusive Sony Classical artist has already performed with the orchestra, in 2024 alongside Anne-Sophie Mutter.

An emotional farewell season

The 2025-2026 season is of particular significance as it marks Kazuki Yamada’s farewell after ten years at the helm of the OPMC. The Japanese maestro plans to end his tenure in June 2026 with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a universal symbol of brotherhood.

The season will feature 36 Grande Saison concerts, along with recitals and chamber music concerts, including the return of the Mozart Festival to Monaco in January.