RSNO and RSNO Chorus announce simultaneous European tours in Autumn 2025 Posted Wed 18 June 2025
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) and its Chorus land on European shores for two simultaneous tours in October 2025.
Under the baton of Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the RSNO will visit Antwerp, Eindhoven, Heilbronn, Ljubljana, Paris and Zagreb. The tour will also include a 3-day residency in Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus with soloist Francesco Piemontesi performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G minor and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No1. Joining the Orchestra in Heilbronn is emerging young pianist Magdalene Ho and, in Eindhoven, Paris and Antwerp, is Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki. This tour follows on from the RSNO’s highly successful tour to China over Hogmanay 2024 and its previous, acclaimed Salzburg residency in 2023. Audiences in Scotland can hear Piemontesi perform with Søndergård and the RSNO in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow in the 2025:26 Season Openers on 2, 3 and 4 October before the tour begins.
Concurrently, the RSNO Chorus will be in Budapest, Hungary for their own tour. The Chorus will perform with the Budapest MÁV Symphony Orchestra, one of the leading professional orchestras in Hungary, under the baton of their Chief Conductor Róbert Farkas. In Buda Castle’s Matthias Church, the RSNO Chorus will perform music by Poulenc, Jean Belmont Ford, Morten Lauridsen and Scotland’s own Sir James MacMillan. Scottish audiences will be able to see the RSNO Chorus perform the same repertoire before their tour on Saturday 20 September in Glasgow’s St Mary’s Episcopal Church.
Alistair Mackie, RSNO Chief Executive said:
‘I am so pleased that we are returning to Europe this autumn. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to be ambassadors for Scotland in two countries at the same time, but with the Orchestra and Chorus both on tour in October, we are relishing the chance to further represent Scotland in Europe and connect with our wider overseas communities.
Sharing Scottish talent and raising Scotland’s profile internationally is a real privilege of being Scotland’s National Orchestra and something that we are very passionate about. It’s a pleasure that we can share these performances with Scottish audiences before we head off as well.’
FULL LISTINGS:
ORCHESTRA TOUR DATES
Friday 10 October 2025: Konzert- und Kongresszentrum Harmonie, Heilbronn, Germany
Brahms Piano Concerto No1
Mendelssohn Symphony No3 Scottish
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Magdalene Ho Piano
Saturday 11 October 2025: Muziekgebouw Frits Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Beethoven Piano Concerto No3
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Op45
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Jan Lisiecki Piano
Sunday 12 October 2025: La Seine Musicale, Paris, France
Beethoven Piano Concerto No3
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Jan Lisiecki Piano
Tuesday 14 October 2025: Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Mendelssohn Symphony No3 Scottish
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Francesco Piemontesi Piano
Wednesday 15 October 2025: Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
Brahms Piano Concerto No1
Mendelssohn Symphony No3 Scottish
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Francesco Piemontesi Piano
Thursday 16 October 2025: Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Francesco Piemontesi Piano
Friday 17 October 2025: Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Francesco Piemontesi Piano
Saturday 18 October 2025: Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia
Brahms Piano Concerto No1
Mendelssohn Symphony No3 Scottish
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Francesco Piemontesi Piano
Sunday 19 October 2025: Koningin Elisabethzal, Antwerp, Belgium
Beethoven Piano Concerto No3
Mendelssohn Symphony No3 Scottish
Thomas Søndergård Conductor
Jan Lisiecki Piano
CHORUS TOUR DATES
Tuesday 14 October 2025: Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, Hungary
Performing with Budapest MÁV Symphony Orchestra
Haydn Te Deum
Haydn Harmoniemesse
Mozart Ave verum corpus K618
Róbert Farkas Conductor
Wednesday 15 October 2025: Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary
Poulenc Gloria
Sir James MacMillan Divo Aloysio Sacrum
Jean Belmont Ford If Music Be The Food of Love
Gárdonyi Singin’ Wid a Sword in ma Han’, Lord
Morten Lauridsen Lux Aeterna
Stephen Doughty Conductor
Polly Beck Soprano
Edward Cohen Piano