Boston Symphony Orchestra Plans 2027 European Tour with Lang Lang
Music director Andris Nelsons leads nine performances in London, Hamburg, Luxembourg, and Paris.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Andris Nelsons will return to Europe in March 2027 for their eighth and final international tour together, visiting London, Hamburg, Luxembourg, and Paris. Guest soloist Lang Lang joins in three of the tour's four stops (all but Luxembourg) to perform Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 in honor of the 200th anniversary of the composer's death. The tour programs also offer Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 along with Stravinsky's three great revolutionary ballets, The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring.
The tour begins with performances on three consecutive evenings at London's Barbican Centre (March 11–13), marking the BSO's first-ever appearance at the venue. The opening program pairs Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 featuring guest soloist Lang Lang and Stravinsky's Petrushka (1947 version). Lang Lang returns on the second evening to perform Piano Concerto No. 2 followed by the orchestra's performance of The Firebird. The third and final London Beethoven-Stravinsky program offers Symphony No. 5 and The Rite of Spring.
Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, where the BSO and Nelsons performed in 2018 and 2023, is the tour's next stop for another three-night stand (March 15–17). Lang Lang plays the Beethoven Concertos No. 1 and 2 in the first two shows. The Stravinsky ballets are performed in different order across the three evenings (Rite of Spring-Petrushka-Firebird), and Symphony No. 5 completes the final program.
Next, Nelsons and the orchestra travel to Luxembourg for a single all-Stravinsky program at the Philharmonie on March 18. This performance, which does not include Lang Lang, offers Petrushka and The Firebird. This is the BSO's first visit to Luxembourg since 2016.
The 2027 tour closes at the Philharmonie de Paris with Lang Lang again performing Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 on successive evenings (March 19–20). The first program also offers The Firebird, and the second includes both Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. The BSO and Nelsons have performed at the Philharmonie on their 2015, 2018, and 2023 tours.
The 2027 European tour will be the 32nd international tour in the Boston Symphony Orchestra's history; it will also mark Nelsons' eighth international tour with the BSO since he became its music director in 2014. The BSO's most recent tour was in May 2025, a four-city, 11-concert European tour which celebrated the music of Shostakovich on the 50th anniversary of his death and the release of the BSO's Grammy-winning 19-CD box set of his symphonies, concertos, and the Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk opera.
LONDON
Thursday, March 11, 2027, 7:30 p.m.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky Petrushka (1947 version)
Friday, March 12, 2027, 7:30 p.m.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky The Firebird (complete)
Saturday, March 13, 2027, 7:30 p.m.
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
HAMBURG
Elbphilharmonie
Monday, March 15, 2027, 8 p.m.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
Tuesday, March 16, 2027, 8 p.m.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky Petrushka
Wednesday, March 17, 2027, 8 p.m.
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Stravinsky The Firebird
LUXEMBOURG
Philharmonie
Thursday, March 18, 2027, 7:30 p.m.
Stravinsky Petrushka
Stravinsky The Firebird
PARIS
Philharmonie de Paris
Friday, March 19, 2027, 8 p.m.
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky The Firebird
Saturday, March 20, 2027, 8 p.m.
Stravinsky Petrushka
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2
Lang Lang, piano
Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
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