Guest Conducting Engagements 26/27

This week, Rafael Payare returns to the podium of the New York Philharmonic for a pairing of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, performed by soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Bruckner’s profound Symphony No. 9, which after nearly a decade of work was unfortunately left unfinished at the composer’s death (Nov 4, 5, 7). On November 7, Payare leads the orchestra in a Young People’s Concert: Tales from Peter and the Wolf featuring actress Mariska Hargitay making her NY Phil debut as host and narrator.

In the New Year, Payare returns to the Orchestre de Paris for a program combining Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 – also prominent in the schedules of both the SDSO and OSM in 2026–27 – with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds, featuring soloists on clarinet, oboe, horn, and bassoon (Jan 19 & 20).

Payare’s last guest conducting engagement of the season is a return to the San Francisco Symphony, where he reunites with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, this time for performances of Aram Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto, sharing the bill with Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (June 11–13).