The American orchestra will perform at L’Auditori on October 12, opening the 2026/27 BCN Clàssics season and marking the first Spanish stop of a tour that will also visit Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna
The New York Philharmonic will return to Europe this October with Gustavo Dudamel, embarking on an ambitious tour of six major European cities between October 9 and 22. Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna will host the orchestra as it makes its return to the continent after almost a decade away.
Barcelona will be the tour’s first stop in Spain, with a concert at L’Auditori on October 12 that will also have the distinction of opening the 2026/27 BCN Clàssics season. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. and will feature the Orfeó Català.
The Barcelona concert will be part of the European programme with which Dudamel begins his new tenure at the helm of the New York Philharmonic. The programme will include On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams; Invisible House by Zosha Di Castri, in its Spanish premiere; and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.
The tour comes at a historic moment for the orchestra. In September 2026, Gustavo Dudamel will officially take up the position of Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, ushering in a new chapter for an institution with almost two centuries of history.
Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the most prestigious ensembles on the international stage. Throughout its history, it has been led by such figures as Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein, and has played a prominent role in landmark premieres and performances of the symphonic repertoire.
With Dudamel at the helm, the New York Philharmonic will embark on a tour connecting New York with the great capitals of the European musical tradition. In Barcelona, the tour will have a particularly symbolic starting point: the opening concert of the 2026/27 BCN Clàssics season.