Munich Philharmonic

The grandeur and crackling excitement of Tchaikovsky’s and Bruckner’s music will sweep you away. The opening notes of Tchaikovsky’s concerto are among music’s most famous, and herald a work that soars with an abundance of gorgeous melodies and virtuoso keyboard writing. Bruckner’s symphony is also rich in emotional power and melody—particularly its poetic slow movement, a memorial to his idol, Wagner.

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique

Hear Beethoven as audiences of his day would have when the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique—using valve-less brass, gut strings, and other period instruments—perform two symphonies. The Symphony No. 2 honored the style codified by Haydn and Mozart, but its boisterous humor and energy are undeniably Beethoven. With the “Eroica,” Beethoven revolutionized the symphony by creating an epic, muscular work that thrills with its swashbuckling depiction of heroism and opens the door to a new symphonic era.

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

After more than a decade as music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Kent Nagano makes his final Carnegie Hall appearance in that role. He leads an exciting all-Russian program, including Shostakovich’s “Babi Yar” Symphony, a memorial to the Holocaust and a scalding indictment of Soviet antisemitism. There’s also virtuoso flash when pianist Mikhail Pletnev, praised for his “virtuosity” and “magisterial command” (The New York Times), joins Nagano and the orchestra for Schumann’s brilliant concerto.

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

It’s a dream partnership when Daniel Barenboim, one of the great Mahler conductors, leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the mysterious and mirthful Symphony No. 7. Mahler’s massively scored symphony (including cowbells, mandolin, and guitar) moves in the shadows with its mysterious “night music,” but its exuberant finale is bright and boisterous fun with snippets of operetta, reference to the opening of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, and a Turkish march joyously swirling together.