2026/27 Season Highlights

The 2026/27 season features three world premieres, including the unfleshed bells of the inaudible for the SWR Symphonieorchester, conducted by Brad Lubman at Donaueschinger Musiktage's opening concert (16 October), and I have discovered the secret of death for mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron and the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano at the Barbican in London (29 October). Drawing on the thoughts and texts of Caribbean writers Martin Carter, Antonio Benítez-Rojo, and Édouard Glissant, I have discovered the secret of death explores the conditions and present-day iterations of the Plantation Machine. Also, the Rhythm Method string quartet will give the world premiere of hounded earth, inspired by Wangechi Mutu’s video work The End of carrying All at Columbia University’s St Paul’s Chapel (5 November).

Further highlights include the Austrian premiere of O flower of fire with the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien under Markus Poschner (1 October), following Poschner's performance with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin earlier in 2026. The season also brings the German and US performances of the need / to be shattered & rebuilt with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (25 October) and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (12 April) under Matthias Pintscher, and further performances of building a burning house for large ensemble at the Barbican (25 October) as part of George Lewis’ Afrodiasporic incubator project Always, Already There, curated by Elaine Mitchener. The piece was co-commissioned by Miller Theatre, Crash Ensemble, Barbican Centre, and Ensemble Musikfabrik, who will perform the German premiere with conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni (6 December). There will also be performances of He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing in Heidelberg as part of the Heidelberger Künstlerinnenpreis 2027 (3–4 February).

A complete performance list of Hannah's works can be found here.