2026 marks the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 80th anniversary, so naturally I was looking forward to something ambitious. Instead what we got was Mahler 2 and Also sprach Zarathustra, again! I swear they just did these two pieces a few seasons ago.

Apparently, the orchestra commissioned a study where 26% respondents said they wanted to go to concerts featuring core classical repertoire. Well, duh. Isn’t that what you guys have been doing all along? If there’s a complaint from us classical fans, it’s that programming hasn’t been adventurous enough.

I love Vasily Petrenko, but he seems to have completely run out of ideas. The orchestra has just inked a recording deal with Harmonia Mundi. If they are going to tape their concerts, why not focus on Petrenko’s core strengths like the Russian repertoire? Maybe they could do Shostakovich’s lesser known works to supplement his excellent symphony cycle.

End rant.

www.rpo.co.uk