Toronto Symphony Orchestra to Bring Canadian Music & Music-Making to Europe in Its 2025/26 Season

In the midst of an extraordinary 2025/26 season defined by international artistic explorations, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) will proudly bring Canadian music, music-making, and spirit to Western Europe as part of a 14-day tour spanning eight cities in six countries. Running from January 27 to February 9, 2026, and continuing a rich legacy of touring, the TSO’s ninth European tour celebrates the power of music to transcend national boundaries, and will be Music Director Gustavo Gimeno’s first intercontinental tour with the orchestra.

The initial leg comprises an extended visit to Spain—marking the first time the TSO has ever travelled there—and it is an especially fitting place to begin: Gimeno was recently appointed a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit (Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Civil), bestowed by His Majesty King Felipe VI, acknowledging his extraordinary artistic achievements and role in promoting Spanish culture on the global stage (read more about this prestigious distinction). The first stop is the capital city of Madrid. The orchestra will perform two different programs over two nights at the Auditorio Nacional de Música (Jan 27 and 28), which is just a few kilometres away from the Teatro Real, where Gimeno will be in his first season as Music Director. From there, the TSO will travel to Zaragoza, a nexus of history and architecture, to appear in one of Spain’s most impressive halls, the Auditorio—Palacio de Congresos de Zaragoza (Jan 29). The Spanish portion of the tour then concludes in the cultural hub of Barcelona with a performance at the beautiful Palau de la Música Catalana (Jan 30), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After a brief pause, the orchestra begins the second leg of its tour, performing in Luxembourg for the very first time, at the Philharmonie Luxembourg (Feb 2), home of Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg where Gimeno will have recently concluded his decade-long tenure as Music Director. The next day, the TSO will visit the Netherlands, with a return to Amsterdam and the legendary stage of The Concertgebouw (Feb 3), which is well known to Gimeno who began his musical journey as a percussionist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2001. Hamburg is the next stop, and though the orchestra has toured to Germany’s second-largest city before, this occasion marks the TSO’s début at the famed Elbphilharmonie (Feb 5), a marvel of modern design. From there, the orchestra heads to the charming, chocolate-lover's paradise of Antwerp, Belgium, and its vibrant, newly renovated De Singel arts centre (Feb 6) before bringing the tour to a triumphant close with a return appearance in “The City of Music” itself, Vienna, Austria, at the stunning Wiener Konzerthaus (Feb 9).

“The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s 2026 European tour is a proud moment for our city, our country, and our musicians, as we represent Toronto on the global stage in some of Europe’s most storied concert halls,” says TSO Beck Family CEO Mark Williams. “Performing a dynamic mix of new Canadian music and orchestral classics alongside today’s most extraordinary soloists is truly exhilarating. This tour is a testament to the artistry of Gustavo Gimeno and the musicians of the TSO, allowing us to share Toronto’s symphony orchestra with European audiences. As we continue a century of artistic excellence, we look forward to strengthening our connections, and forging new ones, with music lovers all over the world.”

Repertoire & Soloists

For such an expansive tour, Gimeno has selected a similarly far-reaching repertoire that characteristically juxtaposes contemporary creations with time-honoured favourites. In total, the TSO will present seven pieces split across multiple programs in different combinations. The major orchestral works include Rachmaninoff’s lush and romantic Piano Concerto No. 2, the soul-filling Symphony No. 5 by Prokofiev, the folk-inspired Violin Concerto No. 1 by Bartók, and Mahler’s heavenly Symphony No. 4. They stand alongside recent compositions by two Canadian composers: Kelly-Marie Murphy’s TSO-commissioned Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark—which will be performed in every country—captures the spirit of a Glenn Gould radio documentary about the titular ’60s pop star, and Rufus Wainwright’s “A Woman’s Face (Sonnet 20)” is a musical interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved sonnets. Rounding out the programming is Haydn’s cantata and soprano showcase Scena di Berenice.

An international array of acclaimed guest artists will join Gimeno and the orchestra for portions of the tour: Austrian-British soprano Anna Prohaska, a current TSO Spotlight Artist, will lend her stunning vocals to the works by Mahler, Wainwright, and Haydn over three performances in Spain and Vienna, while German soprano Christina Landshamer sings the Mahler in Amsterdam and Hamburg. Canadian pianist and 2025/26 TSO Spotlight Artist Bruce Liu will perform the Rachmaninoff concerto at three venues in Spain, and Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja will lend her talents to the Bartók concerto at all five performances in the second leg of the tour.

“When I first encountered the incredible musicians of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, they were all so eager to welcome me, both to their home city and to Roy Thomson Hall,” says Gustavo Gimeno. “Now, at long last, it’s my turn to welcome my TSO colleagues to my various homes away from Toronto, in many important European cities and venues, along with our friends Anna, Christina, Bruce, and Patricia. I am excited to play guest and host at the same time. This tour will be the longest the orchestra and I have ever travelled together, so it provides us with an extended occasion to grow even closer, socially, emotionally, and artistically. When we work together with a common purpose and toward a common goal, the music-making just becomes deeper—so there’s no better time to show the world who we are and what we do.”

Concert Programs

Spain

Jan 27, 2026 at 7:30pm

Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Jan 28, 2026 at 7:30pm

Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Rufus Wainwright: “A Woman’s Face (Sonnet 20)” from Five Shakespeare Sonnets

Haydn: Scena di Berenice, Hob. XXIVa:10

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Jan 29, 2026 at 7:30pm

Auditorio—Palacio de Congresos de Zaragoza, Zaragoza

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Jan 30, 2026 at 8:00pm

Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Luxembourg

Feb 2, 2026 at 7:30pm

Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg City

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

The Netherlands

Feb 3, 2026 at 8:15pm

Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Germany

Feb 5, 2026 at 8:00pm

Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Belgium

Feb 6, 2026 at 8:00pm

De Singel, Antwerp

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

Austria

Feb 9, 2026 at 7:30pm

Wiener Konzerthaus, Vienna

Kelly-Marie Murphy: Curiosity, Genius, and the Search for Petula Clark (TSO Commission)

Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1

Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Tour Preview & Kick-Off Concert

The TSO’s many supporters make this tour possible, and as a show of sincere appreciation to Toronto audiences, Gimeno and the orchestra will perform a tour preview and kick-off concert on January 22 and 23, 2026, at Roy Thomson Hall. Titled Bruce Liu Plays Rachmaninoff 2, the program showcases three of the pieces that will be subsequently performed in Europe—those by Kelly-Marie Murphy, Prokofiev, and, of course, Rachmaninoff with Liu as soloist.

A Legacy of Touring

The TSO’s touring history extends back nearly 90 years—to January 1937, when the 15-year-old orchestra performed in Detroit under the baton of the great Igor Stravinsky. Since then, the TSO has completed 80 tours on four continents. Outside North America, Europe has been the orchestra’s most frequented destination: The TSO’s first European tour—to Britain and France—took place in 1965 under Seiji Ozawa, and the 2026 tour will mark the orchestra’s ninth visit to the continent. Other celebrated tours have included a 1978 visit to China under Sir Andrew Davis, where the TSO was the first Canadian orchestra permitted to enter the country following the Cultural Revolution; an appearance at Expo 67 under Ozawa; the 1990 Pacific Rim Tour under Günther Herbig, with stops in Canada, the US, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan; and the 1987 Canadian Odyssey Tour under Sir Andrew that took TSO musicians to 15 cities in Central, Western, and Northern Canada.

Bruce Liu, piano (© Christoph Koestlin)Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin (© Marco Borggreve)Anna Prohaska Photo: Marco Borggreve

Christina Landshamer Photo: Marco BorggreveKelly-Marie Murphy, composer (Photo courtesy of the composer)Rufus Wainwright, composer (Photo courtesy of the compoer)

Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Photo by Jae Yang/Courtesy of the TSO)Gustavo Gimeno (Photo by Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the TSO)Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Photo by Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the TSO)

Tickets

Tickets to all tour performances will be available for purchase from the individual European concert venues at a later date. For more details and up-to-date ticketing information, please visit TSO.CA/Tour.

Tickets to Bruce Liu Plays Rachmaninoff 2 may be purchased today as part of a 2025/26 subscription package. Visit TSO.CA/Subscribe, call 416.598.3375, or visit the TSO Patron Services Centre at 145 Wellington St. W., Suite 500, between 9:30am and 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Please note that individual tickets to all 2025/26 TSO performances will be released in July 2025.

About the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

For more than a century, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) has played a fundamental role in shaping and celebrating Canadian culture. The TSO’s commitment to musical excellence and ability to spark connection remain as strong as ever. With a storied history of acclaimed concerts and recordings, Canadian and international tours, and impactful community partnerships, we are dedicated to engaging and enriching local and national communities through vibrant musical experiences. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno brings an expansive artistic vision, intellectual curiosity, and sense of adventure to programming the 93-musician orchestra that serves Toronto—one of the world’s most diverse cities. As a group of artists, teachers, and advocates who share the belief that music has the power to heal, inspire, and connect people from all walks of life, we engage audiences young and old through an array of community-access, health-and-wellness, and education initiatives including the TSO-affiliated Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra—a tuition-free training program dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists. Symphony With Us at a concert at Roy Thomson Hall, or experience the TSO in your neighbourhood. Visit TSO.CA or Newsroom.TSO.CA.

The TSO Season Presenting Sponsor is BMO.

The TSO acknowledges Mary Beck as the Musicians’ Patron in perpetuity for her generous and longstanding support.