Finale and farewell: your MSO’s final concerts of the 2025/26 season

As the 2025.26 season draws to a close, your Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is pulling out all the stops with a series of can’t-miss performances featuring some of the most popular jewels of the classical canon. From the kaleidoscopic colors of Stravinsky’s fairytale ballet to the grandeur of Beethoven’s greatest choral triumph, you won’t want to miss a second of the action onstage in Allen-Bradley Hall.

Rounding out the month of May is Stravinsky’s Firebird (May 29-30) — guest conductor Jader Bignamini returns for an exhilarating joyride through two iconic Russian masterworks and a blazing, jazzed-up showpiece featuring Italian superstar Giuseppe Gibboni. Marvel at the genre-defying soundscapes of Wynton Marsalis’s violin concerto, revel in the raucous rhythms and Spanish flair of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, and rejoice in the glory of Stravinsky’s deeply imaginative suite from The Firebird.
MSO Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee takes center stage for Rachmaninoff & Saint-Saëns (June 5-6) to champion Saint-Saëns’s third violin concerto, a brilliant showpiece highlighting the instrument’s sparkling character and rich sonorities. Following his U.S. debut with the MSO in February 2024, conductor Iván López Reynoso returns to lead the orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s profoundly expressive second symphony, a pinnacle of the Romantic repertoire that culminates in a heart-stopping virtuoso display for your hometown orchestra.

Crowning the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus and the conclusion of the 2025.26 Classics season are Ken-David Masur’s final performances as music director of your MSO. Masur Conducts Missa Solemnis (June 13-14), Beethoven’s monumental testament to his intimate understanding of mortal life and the divine ground of our shared humanity. Cherished as one of the greatest achievements of the choral literature, these concerts pay tribute to Masur’s unwavering love of the human voice and its unrivaled expression of the human spirit.
Join in the celebrations of another landmark season and secure your seats today at mso.org or by contacting the MSO Box Office at 414-291-7605 or tickets@mso.org. Office hours are Monday – Friday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Saturday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and 90 minutes before all MSO performances.

Already looking forward to next season’s line-up? Subscription packages for our 2026.27 Classics and Pops seasons are on sale now! Visit mso.org/packages to view the season ahead and save your place in Allen-Bradley Hall — a home away from home where you belong.

Stravinsky’s Firebird
Friday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Rachmaninoff & Saint-Saëns
Friday, June 5 at 11:15 a.m.
Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Masur Conducts Missa Solemnis
Saturday, June 13 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, June 14 at 2:30 p.m.