Explore Classical in the 2026–27 Season
From internationally renowned orchestras and visionary conductors to chamber music's most compelling voices, the Mondavi Center's 2026–27 classical season offers remarkable opportunities to experience great music performed at the highest level. Whether you're drawn to Beethoven's symphonies, Mozart's final concerto or the intimacy of chamber music, this season invites listeners to hear familiar masterpieces anew and discover fresh artistic perspectives along the way.
Collaborative Chamber Orchestra
When Orpheus Chamber Orchestra takes the stage, audiences witness more than a performance. They experience one of classical music's most successful artistic experiments.
For more than 50 years, Orpheus has operated without a conductor, relying instead on a collaborative process built on shared leadership, trust and musical dialogue. The result is music-making that feels both precise and spontaneous. Their return to the Mondavi Center features works by Handel, Haydn and contemporary composer Katie Jenkins, alongside Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595, performed by the brilliant British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason. Mozart's final piano concerto is a work of uncommon warmth and introspection, making it an ideal match for Orpheus's conversational approach to performance.
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Isata Kanneh-Mason
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 | Jackson Hall
The Symphonic Stage
The season welcomes two orchestras led by conductors whose artistic voices have shaped the international classical landscape.
The San Francisco Symphony arrives under the direction of Marin Alsop, one of today's most influential conductors. The program pairs Samuel Barber's soaring Violin Concerto, op. 14, performed by Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović, with Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, op. 47, a work that continues to captivate audiences with its emotional complexity and dramatic force.
Later in the spring, the National Symphony Orchestra returns with Music Director Gianandrea Noseda and violinist Ray Chen, whose previous Mondavi Center appearance earned an enthusiastic audience. Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64, remains one of the repertoire's most beloved works, while Carlos Simon's tribute to Washington, D.C., and Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 in G Major, op. 88, frame the evening with energy and optimism.
San Francisco Symphony
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2027 | Jackson Hall
National Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, Apr. 27, 2027 | Jackson Hall
Rediscovering Beethoven
Few artists have done more to reshape our understanding of early music than Jordi Savall. For decades, he has illuminated familiar repertoire through historical performance practices, revealing details and expressive possibilities often hidden in modern interpretations.
With Le Concert des Nations, Savall turns his attention to two of Beethoven's most groundbreaking works: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major ("Eroica") and Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. Performed on period instruments, these revolutionary scores emerge with striking clarity, urgency and color, offering listeners a fresh encounter with these classic pieces.
Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations
Saturday, Apr. 24, 2027 | Jackson Hall
Chamber Music Up Close
Some of the season’s most memorable musical moments will unfold in the intimate setting of the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, where audiences can experience chamber music in close proximity to the artists and the music itself.
The Calidore String Quartet brings together two towering works of the repertoire: Janáček's intensely personal String Quartet No. 1 and Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D 810 ("Death and the Maiden"), a masterpiece that balances lyric beauty with existential drama.
Later in the spring, the Rosamunde String Quartet, comprised of musicians from some of the world’s leading orchestras, presents a program that spans centuries and traditions. George Walker’s luminous Lyric for Strings is paired with Debussy’s groundbreaking String Quartet in G Minor, op. 10 and a Beethoven classic, creating a compelling dialogue across eras.
The Arcis Saxophone Quartet demonstrates how chamber music continues to evolve. Inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, the ensemble’s program traces Bach’s enduring influence on composers and performers across genres and generations, revealing unexpected connections and fresh perspectives along the way.
Arcis Saxophone Quartet
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 | Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Calidore String Quartet
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2027 | Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Rosamunde String Quartet
Sunday, Apr. 25, 2027 | Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Virtuosity and Vision
Among the season’s offerings, recital performances provide a uniquely direct encounter with the artistry of individual musicians.
Pianist Yeol Eum Son makes her Mondavi Center debut with a program exploring variation and transformation, from Beethoven's inventive Six Variations to Liszt's poetic Ricordanza. Her combination of technical brilliance and refined artistry has made her one of the most admired pianists of her generation.
The season concludes with the return of cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Inon Barnatan, two artists celebrated for performances of extraordinary emotional depth. Celebrating their 20th Anniversary as a duo, their program journeys through Spanish lyricism, Russian Romanticism and the expansive emotional world of Rachmaninoff's Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano, op. 19.
Yeol Eum Son, piano
Wednesday, Apr. 7, 2027 | Jackson Hall
Alisa Weilerstein, cello and Inon Barnatan, piano
Thursday, May 13, 2027 | Jackson Hall
Free to the Community
Since its inception in 2010, Rising Stars of Opera has featured vocal artistry, stirring melodies, and a glimpse at the opera stars of tomorrow, and every ticket has been free to the public thanks to Barbara K. Jackson.
Rising Stars of Opera features singers from the acclaimed San Francisco Opera Center performing a wide range of great arias with full orchestral accompaniment from our own UC Davis Symphony Orchestra.
Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera
Limit of 2 tickets per person
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027 | Jackson Hall
Explore the Extraordinary
Tickets are on sale now. Save when you build your own package by adding three or more different events to your cart. Choose 3–4 events and receive 10% off your package, plus the same discount on any additional shows purchased throughout the season. Choose 5 or more events and receive 15% off your package, along with 15% savings on any additional shows purchased during the same season.