July 17: Sony Classical Releases 2026 Summer Night Concert with The Vienna Philharmonic and Bass-Baritone Sir Bryn Terfel – Conducted by Lorenzo Viotti

Sony Classical Releases The 2026 Summer Night Concert
with The Vienna Philharmonic, Conducted by Lorenzo Viotti
Bass-Baritone Sir Bryn Terfel

New Single
Thaïs: Méditation - Listen Here

Album Release Dates:
Digital - July 17, 2026
CD - July 17, 2026
DVD and Blu-Ray - July 17, 2026

Sony Classical and the Vienna Philharmonic are for the very first time, offering innovative music products on the occasion of the successful 2026 Summer Night Concert from the grounds of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace.  

The Vienna Philharmonic’s 2026 Summer Night Concert will be released by Sony Classical on July 17, 2026 on CD, DVD, Blu-ray and digital. New single, Thaïs: Méditation is out today - listen here 

The 2026 Summer Night Concert was held on June 19, 2026 before an audience of 50,000 enthusiastic fans. This open-air concert by the Vienna Philharmonic has been held annually since 2008 and, as always, the grounds of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Schönbrunn Palace have provided a magical backdrop.

This concert was also the first occasion on which the Vienna Philharmonic and Sony Classical presented a range of innovative music products with an NFC chip as part of their joint partnership deal. These products were sold on site by Michaela Pretul and Andreas Poglitsch from the Viennese specialist music firm of Major Babies Entertainment. The products in question are valuable caps in nine different colors and a scarf embroidered with the venerable orchestra’s logo linked via an NFC chip to a digital musical experience. If a smartphone is held next to the chip, a limited-access web application will open, allowing users to stream and download concert highlights from the last few years as well as find out more about the evening’s program and test their knowledge of the Summer Night Concert by means of a quiz. As soon as the recording of the concert has been mixed, this too will be available to be streamed and downloaded. The latest information about the Vienna Philharmonic is also available on this app.

The President of Sony Classical, Per Hauber, has said in a statement: “Together with the Vienna Philharmonic we have developed a product format that allows audiences to experience classical music in the most up-to-date ways outside the formal setting of a concert hall. This combination of innovation and a living tradition is very special. It also reflects the spirit not only of the Summer Night Concert but also of the Vienna Philharmonic and Sony Classical. We are immensely grateful to the Vienna Philharmonic and to the organizers of the Summer Night Concert for their inspirational partnership and for the opportunity to develop a product like this one.”

Daniel Froschauer, the Chairman of the orchestra’s board of directors, adds: “For the Vienna Philharmonic, it is of central importance that we keep our finger on the pulse of the times and continue to present our musical tradition in new and exciting ways. Thanks to these innovative products and ideas Sony Classical is supporting us in our desire to inspire our audiences all over again.”

Held at the height of the summer in a uniquely memorable atmosphere, the 2026 Summer Night Concert was conducted for the first time in its history by Lorenzo Viotti and witnessed the Vienna Philharmonic presenting a varied program full of musical highlights that included gripping scenes from Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele, Verdi’s Falstaff and Wagner’s Das Rheingold. The evening’s soloist was Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, who added a very special note of his own with Tevye’s “If I Were A Rich Man” from Jerry Bock’s phenomenally successful musical Fiddler on the Roof. A further high point was undoubtedly the appearance of the Vienna State Ballet in the Second Suite from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The Vienna Philharmonic’s Summer Night Concert is one of the world’s most important classical music events and is broadcast on the radio, on television and online. Millions of viewers from over eighty countries have been able to follow the concert online, on television and on the radio.