Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

2026/27 PROGRAMME

OPENING CONCERT 

10 DECEMBER 2026 THU 20.00 
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

GÜRER AYKAL conductor
İLYUN BÜRKEV piano

RAHMANINOFF Piano Concerto no.2, op.18
WEBER Oberon Overture
WEBER Aufforderung zum Tanz, op.65 

DE FALLA El sombrero de tres picos, Suite no.2: Danza de los vecinos

DE FALLA El amor brujo: Danza ritual del fuego

Pre-concert talk with AYDIN BÜKE & SİBİL ARSENYAN
19.00-19.30, Dolmabahçe Salonu / Lütfi Kırdar

Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra welcomes the 2026/27 season with a magnificent concert that brings together the enduring traditions of the classical music world and a new generation of exceptional talent. Under the direction of the orchestra’s Honorary Conductor, Gürer Aykal, the special evening will feature İlyun Bürkev, one of the most promising young talents in the world of piano, as soloist. Described by Bielefelder Kultur as “a rising star who, despite her young age, is already making her mark in the world of pianists,” Bürkev is set to offer audiences an unforgettable musical experience with her technical maturity and lyrical sensitivity.

At the heart of the evening is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no.2, brought to life through Gürer Aykal’s distinctive interpretation and İlyun Bürkev’s refined artistry at the piano. The program also features Carl Maria von Weber’s Oberon Overture and Aufforderung zum Tanz, renowned for their enchanting atmosphere, alongside Manuel de Falla’s vibrant The Three-Cornered Hat (El sombrero de tres picos)Suite no.2, infused with the rhythms and colours of Andalusia. Together, these works set the stage for an exhilarating opening to a new season.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

NEW YEAR’S CONCERT 

14 JANUARY 2027 THU 20.00
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

KAREL DESEURE conductor
NADINE SIERRA soprano

VERDI Nabucco Overture

GOUNOD “Je veux vivre dans la rêve” from Romeo and Juliet 

PUCCINI “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from LaRodine 

CHARPENTIER “Depuis le jour” from Louise 

MASCAGNI Intermezzofrom L’amico fritz 

VERDI “E strano” - “Ah, fors’e lui”, “Sempre libera degg’io” from La Traviata 

J. STRAUSS II Die Fledermaus Overture 

DONIZETTI “Quel guardo il cavaliere” (Norina’s Aria) from Don Pasquale 

BELLINI “Care compagne, e voi tenere amici” from La Sonnambula 

PUCCINI “La Tregenda”from Le Villi 

DONIZETTI “Regnava nel silenzio” from Lucia di Lamermoor 

BELLINI Casta Diva from Normaö

Pre-concert talk with AYDIN BÜKE & SİBİL ARSENYAN
19.00-19.30, Dolmabahçe Salonu / Lütfi Kırdar

In this concert, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra welcomes music lovers with a festival-style program featuring some of the most popular arias and magnificent overtures from the Italian and French operatic repertoire. Taking the podium for the evening will be Belgian conductor Karel Deseure, a musician who originally trained as a flutist. He has served as an assistant to such distinguished conductors as Bernard Haitink, Valery Gergiev and Daniele Gatti with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Following his previous successful and highly acclaimed appearances with the BIPO, he returns to the podium once again.

The evening’s star soloist will be soprano Nadine Sierra, who has become one of the most acclaimed prima donnas on the world’s opera stages, celebrated for the purity and beauty of her voice, flawless technique and exceptional musicality. A recipient of prestigious honours including the 2017 Richard Tucker Award and the Metropolitan Opera’s 2018 Beverly Sills Artist Award, Sierra regularly takes on leading roles at some of the world’s most distinguished opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Paris Opera and the Berlin State Opera. In this concert, she will touch the hearts of audiences with arias from some of the most beloved operas, including Bellini’s immortal “Casta Diva” from Norma, an aria imbued with a profound sense of peace and serenity.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

BIPO | SAMUELS-SHRAGG | MOREAU 

11 FEBRUARY 2027 THU 20.00 

LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG conductor
EDGAR MOREAU violoncello

WAGNER Die Meistersinger Vorspiel
ELGAR Violoncello Concerto in E minor, op.85

R. STRAUSS Tod und Verklärung, op.24
WAGNER Tannhäuser Overture

Pre-concert talk with AYDIN BÜKE & SİBİL ARSENYAN
19.00-19.30, Dolmabahçe Salonu / Lütfi Kırdar

In this concert, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra brings together two brilliant artists who are making a striking impact on the world’s concert stages. Taking the podium will be the young American conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg, one of today’s most dynamic and closely watched rising talents. Currently a conducting fellow with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Samuels-Shragg has received widespread acclaim for her debut with the Dallas Symphony.

The evening’s soloist will be French cellist Edgar Moreau, born in 1994 and renowned for his profound musicality and exceptional command of his instrument. A prize winner at the Rostropovich Competition at the age of just 15, followed by recognition at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition aged 17, Moreau was also named a winner of Young Concert Artists in 2014. He is now a sought-after artist on the programs of such legendary concert venues as Carnegie Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie and the Vienna Musikverein. Performing on a 1711 David Tecchler cello, Moreau will bring Edward Elgar’s timeless Cello Concerto to the stage. With its melancholic melodies and deeply moving expressive character, the work promises to be one of the most poignant moments of the evening.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

BIPO | REIF | BIRRINGER 

25 FEBRUARY 2027 THU 20.00
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

CHRISTIAN REIF conductor
LEA BIRRINGER violin

R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, op.28
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor, op.47
NIELSEN Symphony no.4, op.29, “The Inextinguishable”

Pre-concert talk with AYDIN BÜKE & SİBİL ARSENYAN
19.00-19.30, Dolmabahçe Salonu / Lütfi Kırdar

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra presents an exciting program that brings together Richard Strauss’s quick-witted brilliance, Jean Sibelius’s epic northern landscapes, and Carl Nielsen’s powerful Fourth Symphony, a work that speaks to the enduring resilience of life.

Taking the podium for the evening will be German conductor Christian Reif, who will assume the position of General Music Director of Wuppertal Opera and Symphony Orchestra from the 2027/28 season. Reif was awarded a Grammy for Walking in the Dark, the 2023 album he recorded with soprano Julia Bullock, and is recognized as an exceptional orchestral leader for his natural musicality and technical authority.

The evening’s soloist will be Lea Birringer, described by BBC Music Magazine as possessing “grandeur and sensitivity” and praised by Pizzicato magazine as “one of the most talented violinists of her generation.” Appointed Professor of Violin at the Würzburg University of Music in 2024, Birringer will perform Sibelius’s timeless Violin Concerto. Combining lyrical richness with the mystical sounds of nature, the work is regarded as one of the most beloved and technically demanding violin concertos in the repertoire.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

SALZBURG FESTIVAL STARS - 1 

4 MARCH 2027 PRŞ 20.00
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JONG-JIE YIN conductor
MARTINA FILJAK piano

DEBUSSY Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un faune

LISZT Piano Concerto no.1 in E-flat Major

MAHLER Symphony no.1 in D Major, “Titan”

Pre-concert talk with AYDIN BÜKE & SİBİL ARSENYAN
19.00-19.30, Dolmabahçe Salonu / Lütfi Kırdar

The Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra opens the season’s much-anticipated “Salzburg Festival Stars” series with a rich musical panorama spanning the French Impressionist tradition, the height of Romanticism and, ultimately, Gustav Mahler’s distinctive sound world.

At the helm of the BIPO will be 25-year-old conductor Jong-Jie Yin, regarded as one of the most exciting young conductors of his generation. Following his First Prize at the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in 2023, Jong-Jie has made a significant impact on the European concert scene and was a finalist for the 2025 Karajan Young Conductors Award. His work as Assistant Conductor with Camerata Salzburg and the China National Symphony Orchestra has further established him as a conductor of international promise.

The evening’s soloist will be pianist Martina Filjak, whom the distinguished New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini described as possessing “a striking individuality to watch, distinguished by the brilliance, sensitivity and creativity of her playing, technical richness and natural musicality.” With her powerful and poetic energy, Filjak will bring Liszt’s Piano Concerto no.1 to life. The concert will conclude with Mahler’s monumental Symphony no.1, “Titan”, whose vast sonic landscape evokes the awakening of nature and the epic triumph of the human spirit, filling the concert hall with its extraordinary colours and textures.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

BIPO | HABERSTOCK | CHUA 

15 APRIL 2027 THU 20.00
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

MAXIMILIAN HABERSTOCK conductor
CHLOE CHUA violin

BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture, op.62
BRUCH Violin Concerto no.1 in G minor 
MENDELSSOHN Symphony no.3 in A minor, op.56, “Scottish”

In this concert, the BIPO promises an enchanting evening, bringing together some of the most dramatic, lyrical and fairy-tale-inspired works in the classical music repertoire. Taking the podium will be German conductor Maximilian Haberstock, one of the most notable young figures on today’s conducting scene. Haberstock currently serves as General Music Director of the Munich Festival Orchestra, an ensemble he founded at a young age, and which brings together 97 distinguished musicians from 32 countries.

Singaporean violinist Chloe Chua, winner of the 2018 Menuhin Competition and the youngest-ever artist to have performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, will bring the maturity of her studies with Kolja Blacher in Berlin to the Istanbul stage. She will perform Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto no.1, one of the most popular and deeply affecting masterpieces of the Romantic violin repertoire.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.

SALZBURG FESTIVAL STARS - 2 

13 MAY 2027 THU 20.00
LÜTFİ KIRDAR ASIM KOCABIYIK ANADOLU AUDITORIUM 

BORUSAN ISTANBUL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JAKUB PRZYBYCIEŃ conductor
HYEYOON PARK violin

SZYMAKOWSKI Concert Overture, op.12 
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, op.77

Dvořák Symphony no.9 in E minor, op.95, “From the New World”

The second concert in the “Salzburg Festival Stars” series sees the BIPO take the stage under the direction of Polish conductor Jakub Przybycień, who has been appointed to serve as Assistant Conductor to Music Director Andris Nelsons at the Boston Symphony Orchestra from the 2026/27 season.

Bringing the season to a grand finale with Johannes Brahms’s Violin Concerto, a monumental work of the violin repertoire, will be South Korean violinist Hyeyoon Park. Celebrated for her technical excellence and distinctive sound, Park will take center stage with one of the most revered works in the violin repertoire.

The season will conclude with Antonín Dvořák’s timeless Symphony no.9, “From the New World,” inspired by the composer’s encounters with the musical traditions of America and his longing for his native Bohemia. One of the most popular symphonies in the classical repertoire, the work will bring the season to a magnificent close.

Tickets 

Ticket Prices: 2.000 / 1.500 / 1.100 / 650 TL
Student: 20% discount on all ticket categories during the general ticket sale.

Borusan Sanat Premium Members are entitled to a 30% discount during the season-pass ticket sales period.