Toronto Symphony Orchestra Tour
2025/26 European Tour Assets
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Biography
(160 words)
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.
(377 words)
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, the orchestra is 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, the TSO engages audiences young and old through an array of community-access, health-and-wellness, and education initiatives: It holds open houses and free concerts for members of the public at its long-time home of Roy Thomson Hall. Its Relaxed Performances are designed to be more welcoming for neurodiverse patrons, including those on the autism spectrum, and those with sensory and communication disorders, ADHD, and dementia. Art of Healing, its partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, supports First Nations, Inuit, and Métis patients through musical storytelling and composition. TSOUND Connections harnesses music and technology to connect TSO musicians with seniors in care, to reduce social isolation and support well-being. Its Morning with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra program offers Open Rehearsals for high school music students from across the Greater Toronto Area. In partnership with the Toronto Public Library, Symphony Storytime features orchestra members performing live alongside the reading of children’s books, expanding access to literacy and music education for families and children. And the TSO-affiliated Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra is a tuition-free training program that has been dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Canadian artists for more than 50 years.
Since the TSO’s first release in 1952, recordings have been an integral component of the orchestra’s artistic legacy. Of the more than 150 titles in its discography, many have been nominated for prestigious awards. In 2024, the TSO announced a multi-disc partnership with Harmonia Mundi. The first collaboration was the highly regarded 2024 release of Messiaen’s masterwork Turangalîla-Symphonie.
-067.jpg "Gustavo Gimeno and the TSO (Photo by Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra)")
-09%20(1).jpg "Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Photo by Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the TSO)")
Video
Gustavo Gimeno
Biography
(395 words)
Gustavo Gimeno’s tenure as the tenth Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra began in 2020/21. Since his appointment, he has reinvigorated the artistic profile of the orchestra, engaged with musicians and audiences alike, and brought performances of familiar works as well as some of today’s freshest sounds. Further, he has overseen renewed community engagement and sown the seeds for an ambitious program of commissioning new works from emerging and established composers.
During the 2024/25 season, Gimeno and the TSO explore major symphonic works—including Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6—as well as vital compositions from contemporary creators. Gimeno shares the stage with, among other soloists, Yuja Wang, Renaud Capuçon, Víkingur Ólafsson, Behzod Abduraimov, Beatrice Rana, and TSO Spotlight Artists Jan Lisiecki and Anna Prohaska.
February 2024 saw the release of the first commercial recording Gimeno and the TSO made together, in May 2023, memorializing Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie as part of a new multi-disc partnership with Harmonia Mundi. It received the 2025 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble). Subsequent recordings with Harmonia Mundi have included Stravinsky’s Pulcinella and Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin. This builds on Gimeno’s relationship with the label, for which he has recorded Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Stravinsky’s ballets The Firebird and Apollon musagète with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
Gimeno has held the position of Music Director with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg since 2015/16 and will step down at the end of the 2024/25 season. In 2025/26, he will become Music Director of Teatro Real in Madrid, where he currently serves as Music Director Designate. As an opera conductor, he has appeared at renowned houses such as the Liceu Opera Barcelona; Opernhaus Zürich; Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia; and Teatro Real, Madrid. He is also much sought-after as a symphonic guest conductor worldwide: in 2024/25, he will appear with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Münchner Philharmoniker.
In March 2025, Gimeno was appointed a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit (Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Civil) by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain. This prestigious honour recognizes his role in elevating Spanish culture internationally, his extraordinary contributions to classical music, and his influence on the global cultural landscape.
Marco%20Borggreve%202.jpeg "Gustavo Gimeno (photo by Marco Borggreve)")
.jpg "Gustavo Gimeno (Photo by Allan Cabral/Courtesy of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra)")
.jpeg "Gustavo_Gimeno (photo by Marco Borggreve)")
Anna Prohaska
Biography
(413 words)
Austrian-English soprano Anna Prohaska, the 2024 Opus Klassik Female Singer of the Year, made her début at age 18 at Berlin’s Komische Oper as Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, and soon after with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, entering the ensemble at age 23. She has since gone on to have an extraordinary international career with some of the world’s greatest opera houses and orchestras.
Operatic highlights include Zabelle in the world première of George Benjamin’s Picture a day like this and Morgana (Alcina) for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Constance (Les Dialogues des Carmélites), and Nannetta (Falstaff) for the Royal Opera House; Pelléas et Mélisande for the Hamburgische Staatsoper; Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress), Merab (Saul), and Angelica (Orlando) for Theater an der Wien; Zerlina (Don Giovanni) for La Scala; the title role in Orphée et Eurydice for Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at Opéra national de Paris; Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) in Baden-Baden; Iphis (Jephtha) in Amsterdam; and Marzelline (Fidelio), Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Blonde, Ännchen (Der Freischütz), and Adele (Die Fledermaus) for the Bayerische Staatsoper.
In huge demand on the concert platform, Prohaska has performed regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker since her début with them at age 24, performing under Rattle, Harding, and Abbado. Other orchestras include the Vienna Philharmonic under Boulez; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Jansons, Harding, Blomstedt, and Nézet-Séguin; London Symphony Orchestra under Rattle; Los Angeles Philharmonic under Dudamel; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Roth; Bavarian Radio Orchestra under Gardiner; Cleveland Orchestra under Welser-Möst; and Boston Symphony Orchestra under Dohnányi. Recent seasons have included artistic residencies at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Kammerakademie Potsdam, and Philharmonie Luxembourg.
Plans for the 2024/25 season include Zabelle (George Benjamin’s Picture a day like this) conducted by the composer for Opéra-Comique; Mozart’s Requiem in Romeo Castellucci’s staged production for Gran Teatre del Liceu; Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; and a new opera by Rebecca Saunder, Lash, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. On the concert platform, Prohaska performs Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi; Haydn’s The Creation with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra; Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; and Rufus Wainwright’s Dream Requiem with the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya. She also appears as a 2024/25 Spotlight Artist for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and tours her projects Ophelia with Eric Schneider and Paradise Lost with Julius Drake across Europe.
Bruce Liu
Biography
(146 words)
Bruce Liu was the first-prize winner of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021 in Warsaw, and his “playing of breathtaking beauty” (BBC Music Magazine) has secured his reputation as one of the most exciting talents of the new generation.
As Focus Artist of the 2024 Rheingau Musik Festival, Liu featured in five performances ranging from a solo recital to chamber music and concerto performances with hr-Sinfonieorchester, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Highlights of the 2024/25 season include international tours with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and Gustavo Gimeno, London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Antonio Pappano, hr-Sinfonieorchester and Alain Altinoglu, Wiener Symphoniker and Marie Jacquot, Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Lahav Shani. He also tours extensively in play-direct programs with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Read more about Bruce Liu at bruce-liu.com/biography.
ChristophKoestlin-10.jpeg "Photo by Christoph Koestlin")
ChristophKoestlin-07.jpeg "Photo by Christoph Koestlin")
ChristophKoestlin-08%20(1).jpeg "Photo by Christoph Koestlin")
Christina Landshamer
Biography
(388 words)
Few artists of her generation show themselves to be as versatile with a wide variety of repertoire as Christina Landshamer, which has made her a concert, opera and lieder singer in demand around the world today. Her collaboration with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Manfred Honeck, Alan Gilbert, Marek Janowski, Franz Welser-Möst and Christian Thielemann has led her to such important orchestras as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the SWR Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre de Paris, the Accademia Nationale di Santa Cecilia Rome and the Swedish Radio Orchestra Stockholm. In the USA and Canada she has appeared with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Early opera engagements took the soprano to the Stuttgart State Opera, the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg and the Komische Oper Berlin, as well as to the Theater an der Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and to the Salzburg Festival under Sir Simon Rattle. She sang Pamina at the Bavarian State Opera and Het Muziektheater Amsterdam in Simon McBurney's Magic Flute, Ännchen in the new production of Weber's Freischütz under Christian Thielemann at the Semperoper Dresden, Almirena/Rinaldo at Glyndebourne and Sophie/Rosenkavalier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. At the Bavarian State Opera, Christina Landshamer most recently sang Woglinde in Wagner's Rheingold under Kirill Petrenko and Pamina in Mozart’s Magic Flute. She also appeared in a spectacular La Fura-dels Baus production of Haydn’s Creation in Paris and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.
With her warm, lyrical soprano voice, Christina Landshamer is also an ideal Lied singer: together with her piano partner Gerold Huber, she is a welcome guest at Lied centres such as the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Berlin's Pierre Boulez Hall, Wigmore Hall London, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall New York or Kioi Hall Tokyo. She was also invited by Thomas Hampson to perform a Schubert programme in Berlin's Pierre Boulez Hall.
More than 50 CD and DVD recordings for labels such as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Sonymusic, Pentatone, BR Klassik, Oehms Classics, Phi, EMI, Accentus, Unitel etc. document Christina Landshamer's artistic activity.
Since 2024, she has also been appointed professor of singing at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Biography
(339 words)
Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s focus is to get to the heart of the music, to its meaning for us—now and here. With a combination of depth, brilliance, and humour, Kopatchinskaja brings an inimitable sense of theatrics to her music. Described by The New York Times as “a player of rare expressive energy and disarming informality, of whimsy and theatrical ambition,” Kopatchinskaja adopts a distinctive approach that always conveys the core of the work, whether it is with an out-of-the-box performance of a traditional violin-repertoire classic or with an original staged project she presents as experimental performance dramaturge.
Kopatchinskaja is a boundary-crosser who thrives on the challenge of musical experiments and describes contemporary music as her lifeblood, and her absolute priority is the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, and collaborations with living composers such as Francisco Coll, Luca Francesconi, Michael Hersch, Márton Illés, György Kurtág, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Aureliano Cattaneo, Stefano Gervasoni, and many others. She directs staged concerts at venues on both sides of the Atlantic and collaborates with leading orchestras, conductors, and festivals worldwide. Starting from the 2024/25 season, she will serve as the Artistic Partner of the SWR Symphonieorchester. A virtuoso, storyteller, and all-around phenomenon, Kopatchinskaja will provide artistic direction that involves designing her own programs, which will include both established concert formats and innovative theatrical and interdisciplinary approaches. Among these is the staged concert The Peace Project, which reflects on centuries of existential suffering caused by war through a kaleidoscope of Baroque and modern works up to the present day. The project addresses the numerous reports from war zones, the violent disruption of daily life, and the constant fear for one’s life and loved ones. Kopatchinskaja will also be Artist in Residence at the 2025 Klarafestival, where she will continue to actively support themes related to environmental protection and sustainability in innovatively curated projects. Furthermore, she holds the position of Associated Artist of the SWR Experimentalstudio, one of the most important international research centres in the field of electronic music.
Read more about Patricia Kopatchinskaja at patriciakopatchinskaja.com.
