Andris Nelsons launches his 12th season as Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra with a celebratory opening night concert on September 17, followed by additional performances on September 18 and 19.

For the opening night program on September 17, Nelsons and cellist Yo-Yo Ma collaborate with the BSO on Edward Elgar’s monumental Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85—a poignant late work reflecting England’s loss of innocence following the devastation of World War I. The evening concludes with Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98.

On September 18 and 19, pianist Emanuel Ax joins Nelsons and the orchestra to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482. The program also features Berlioz’s groundbreaking Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14.