Can classical music be humorous? Absolutely! The Berliner Philharmoniker and their chief conductor Kirill Petrenko will demonstrate this at the 2026 New Year’s Eve Concert.

The programme is framed by the overtures to Otto Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor and Johann Strauss’s Der Zigeunerbaron. Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano and Trumpet offers a brilliant parody of the concerto genre, with Alexander Malofeev – making his Philharmoniker debut – and principal trumpet David Guerrier as soloists. Sergei Prokofiev’s “Classical” Symphony is an affectionate play on the traditions of Viennese style, while Richard Strauss’s tone poem Till Eulenspiegel portrays its eponymous hero with a knowing wink and a taste for the grotesque.

Enjoy this lively New Year’s Eve celebration live in cinemas!

Programme

Otto Nicolai

The Merry Wives of Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor): Overture

Dmitri Schostakowitsch

Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra in C minor, op. 35

Sergej Prokofjew

Symphony No. 1 in D major, op. 25 “Classique”

Richard Strauss

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks), op. 28

Johann Strauss (Sohn)

Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron): Overture