SYMPHONIC LUNCHES CONCERT SERIES

SYMPHONIC LUNCHES CONCERT SERIES 

Lunch breaks that invigorate the mind 

A Soul-Stirring Lunch Break! Our Thursday lunch concerts offer audiences a curated selection of highlights from the Friday evening programs. Take advantage of this opportunity to experience captivating concerts at an affordable price!

The series opens with Tõnu Kõrvits' new work, Hymns to the Northern Lights. Featuring South Korean piano virtuoso Yekwon Sunwoo, the program includes the first movement of Robert Schumann's Cello Concerto (arranged for piano) and a favorite among classical music lovers, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Olari Elts conducts.

In November, during ERSO’s centennial jubilee week, maestro Olari Elts has selected Richard Strauss' philosophical masterpiece, the symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, for the lunch concert audience.

In December, as ERSO prepares for its Austrian tour, the orchestra introduces its tour repertoire to lunch concert listeners. Hungarian musician István Várdai performs as the soloist in Edvard Elgar’s popular and romantic Cello Concerto. Additionally, Jean Sibelius' majestic Second Symphony will be performed.

In January, the lunch concert is led by the charming maestro Giordano Bellincampi, a long-time favorite of Estonian audiences. The program features true delights for classical music enthusiasts: Carl Reinecke’s Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, featuring ERSO’s own Sarah D’Amico, and Felix Mendelssohn’s popular Scottish Symphony.

Popular works also dominate the second lunch concert in January. The program features Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most beloved orchestral works—Symphony No. 40 and Sinfonia Concertante—where conductor and violin soloist Candida Thompson performs alongside the young Estonian violinist Triinu Piirsalu. The concert opens with the first movement of Igor Stravinsky’s characterful Concerto in D for String Orchestra.

In March, audiences can hear Antonin Dvořák’s monumental Cello Concerto performed by ERSO’s principal cellist Indrek Leivategija, conducted by the Dutch maestro Marc Albrecht.

In April, the soloist for Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is the young pianist Havryil Sydoryk, winner of last year’s "Classical Stars" (Klassikatähed) competition. The program also includes Claude Debussy’s enchanting symphonic work La mer. Bas Wiegers conducts.

To conclude the series in May, ERSO and chief conductor Olari Elts invite listeners to experience the most beautiful excerpts from Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons. The performance features guest soloists and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.

I: BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH

Thursday, 10 September 2026 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Tõnu Kõrvits
Hymns to the Nordic Lights

Robert Schumann
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54. I Allegro affettuoso

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

YEKWON SUNWOO piano, ERSO, conductor OLARI ELTS 

II: CENTENARY CONCERT. ERSO 100 WEEK

Thursday, 19 November 2026 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Richard Strauss
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30

ERSO, conductor OLARI ELTS

III: ELTS AND SIBELIUS’S SECOND

Thursday, 10 December 2026 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Edward Elgar
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 

ISTVÁN VÁRDAI cello, ERSO, conductor OLARI ELTS 

IV: BELLINCAMPI AND MENDELSSOHN

Thursday, 21 January 2027 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Carl Reinecke
Harp Concerto in E minor, Op. 182. I Allegro moderato

Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 3 in A minor Scottish, Op. 56, MWV N 18

SARAH D'AMICO harp, ERSO, conductor GIORDANO BELLINCAMPI

V: MOZART'S FORTIETH

Thursday, 28 January 2027 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Igor Stravinsky
Concerto in D for string orchestra. I Vivace

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

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

TRIINU PIIRSALU violin, ERSO, conductor CANDIDA THOMPSON

VI: LEIVATEGIJA AND DVOŘÁK

Thursday, 18 March 2027 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Antonín Dvořák
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191

INDREK LEIVATEGIJA cello, ERSO, conductor MARC ALBRECHT

VII: HAVRYIL AND CHOPIN

Thursday, 22 April 2027 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11. I Allegro maestoso

Claude Debussy
La Mer three symphonic sketches

HAVRYIL SYDORYK piano, ERSO, conductor BAS WIEGERS

VIII: THE SEASONS. SEASON FINALE

Thursday, 13 May 2027 at 1 p.m. at the Estonia Concert Hall

Joseph Haydn
Oratorio The Seasons selected movements

ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR, ERSO, conductor OLARI ELTS

CONCERT SERIES PRICES:

Series Ticket: Full Price for the entire series, includes 8 concerts: €96

Series Ticket: Discounted Price* for the entire series, includes 8 concerts: €84

*Discounted price applies to pupils, students, and seniors upon presentation of a valid proof of eligibility at ticket control.

BUYING THE SERIES SAVES YOU 25%