PURE GOLD CONCERT SERIES • ERSO Concert Series 2026/2027

PURE GOLD CONCERT SERIES 

The golden repertoire of classical music 

Supported by Turkish Airlines

The series opening concert is dedicated to the beautiful sound of string instruments. Joining ERSO on stage is Candida Thompson – Artistic Director of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and one of today’s most brilliant leaders in string and chamber music. The evening opens with Igor Stravinsky's virtuosic and rhythmically vibrant Concerto in D for string orchestra. In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s double concerto, the Sinfonia Concertante, Thompson performs as a soloist alongside the talented young Estonian violinist Triinu Piirsalu. The second half of the concert features one of the most beloved works in classical music, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Audiences can look forward to the excitement of the orchestra performing without a conductor, as Candida Thompson takes on the dual role of soloist and concertmaster.

In February, Tallinn welcomes a true legend of early music, musicologist, and radical innovator of performance art, Reinhard Goebel. He is the man who proved to the world that 300-year-old music can sound modern, spirited, and fresh. Goebel has curated an captivating program for ERSO centered on Johann Sebastian Bach and his four sons: Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian. Each of these "young" Bachs was a distinct and outstanding composer in his own right, whose works reveal the diverse facets of beauty within Baroque and pre-Classical music.

In April, Swiss conductor Mario Venzago returns to Tallinn. He is widely recognized for his sensitive interpretations of Romantic music and his ability to offer fresh insights into symphonic masterpieces. At the heart of the concert is Venzago's own realization of Franz Schubert’s "Unfinished" Symphony, a version that has sparked both excitement and discussion in the musical world. The conductor created a complete vision of the work by incorporating Schubert's incidental music for the play Rosamunde. The program also features another monumental and colorful opus – Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, where every section of the orchestra takes a turn in a demanding soloist role.

The season culminates in May with a grand final concert conducted by ERSO's Chief Conductor Olari Elts, featuring Joseph Haydn’s magnificent oratorio The Seasons. Created in the spirit of the Enlightenment, this work is a hymn to the harmony between man and nature. It paints vivid musical landscapes and describes the joyful side of everyday life, from folk dances to seasonal festivities. In The Seasons, the aging master Haydn saw a parallel between the cycle of nature and the human life cycle: spring symbolizes birth, summer represents youth, autumn signifies maturity, and winter depicts old age, followed by eternal life. The performance features a brilliant ensemble of soloists and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.

I: MOZART'S FORTY

Friday, 29 January 2027 at 7 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Igor Stravinsky
Concerto in D for string orchestra

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K. 364

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550

TRIINU PIIRSALU violin, ERSO, conductor/violin CANDIDA THOMPSON 

II: GOEBEL AND THE BACHS

Friday, 19 February 2027 at 7 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Johann Sebastian Bach
March from Cantata BWV 207a Auf, schmetternde Töne der muntern Trompeten

Johann Sebastian Bach
Pasticcio Concerto in D major
- Sinfonia BWV 1045
- Easter Oratorio, BWV 249 Adagio and Allegro

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Sinfonia in D minor, Fk 65 Adagio and Fugue

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Sinfonia in D major, Wq 183/1

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
Sinfonia in F major

Johann Christian Bach
Overture and Suite from the opera Amadis de Gaule

ERSO, conductor REINHARD GOEBEL

III: VENZAGO AND SCHUBERT’S “COMPLETED”

Friday, 2 April 2027 at 7 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Béla Bartók
Concerto for Orchestra

Franz Schubert
Symphony No. 8 in B minor (completed by Mario Venzago)

ERSO, conductor MARIO VENZAGO

IV: THE SEASONS. SEASON FINALE

Friday, 14 May 2027 at 6 p.m. (pre-concert) and at 7 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Joseph Haydn
Oratorio The Seasons

ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR, ERSO, conductor OLARI ELTS 

CONCERT SERIES PRICES: 

Category I tickets: €180 / €150*

Category II tickets: €135 / €105* 

Category III tickets: €114 / €84* 

Category IV tickets: €75 / €45*

A concert series ticket includes admission to four concerts. 

*Discounted prices apply to students, university students, and pensioners upon presentation of a valid ID at the ticket check.

Some Category IV tickets may be for seats with limited visibility. 

BY PURCHASING THE CONCERT SERIES, YOU SAVE 25% in each price category — that’s 1 concert ticket for free!