July 29, 2026
SHOAC Unveils 2026/27 Season: 68 Performances, with a Mozart Plan Running Through It
Shanghai Oriental Art Center announced its 2026/27 autumn-winter season on July 28: 40 productions and 68 performances, anchored by a "Mozart Plan" marking the composer's 270th anniversary — with the Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony, Netrebko, Gheorghiu and Argerich all headed to Pudong.
Shanghai Oriental Art Center announced its 2026/27 autumn-winter season on July 28: 40 productions, 68 performances, organized in five strands. With 2026 marking Mozart's 270th anniversary, eight productions form a season-long "Mozart Plan" spanning symphonic, chamber, vocal and theatrical work.
Opening: Xu Zhong plays and conducts
On August 29, conductor-pianist Xu Zhong opens the season with the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, directing Mozart's Piano Concertos No. 9 "Jenamy" K. 271 and No. 21 K. 467 from the keyboard, alongside the "Paris" and "Prague" symphonies.
Vienna Philharmonic and London Symphony
On October 19-20, Tugan Sokhiev — who leads the 2027 Vienna New Year's Concert — brings the Vienna Philharmonic for its eighth visit to SHOAC, with Lang Lang as soloist; the October 20 program pairs Mozart's Symphony No. 40 with Tchaikovsky's Fourth.
On September 22-23, Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra return after two years with pianist Bruce Liu; the September 23 program includes Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 and Bruckner's Ninth. Also on the calendar: Paavo Järvi with the Estonian Festival Orchestra (Alexandre Kantorow in Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto) and Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on its 80th-anniversary tour.
Recitals and voices
Piano highlights include Martha Argerich's chamber festival with Maxim Vengerov and Steven Isserlis, plus recitals by Víkingur Ólafsson, Khatia Buniatishvili and Lilya Zilberstein. Anna Netrebko (October 13-15) and Angela Gheorghiu (November 4) headline the vocal strand, with Diana Krall and sitarist Anoushka Shankar crossing genres, and the Vienna Boys' Choir (October 6) singing Mozart.
Chamber music
Violinist Ning Feng and the Kammerakademie Potsdam (October 10-11) perform the complete Mozart violin concertos; Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley and principal viola Mei Diyang join the Berliner Barock Solisten (November 12) for an all-Mozart evening.
Most dated performances are already on sale via SHOAC's official channels; unticketed productions (the Argerich festival, Ólafsson, Buniatishvili and others) await official on-sale announcements.