The Metropolitan Museum of Art Announces New Spring and Summer 2026 MetLiveArts Season

Met Collection Pianos in Concert
Friday, March 6, 7 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Hear prized pianos from The Met collection in a rare duo performance featuring pianists Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner and Derek Wang. This extraordinary program features two historically significant pianos from The Met collection in a program of music from the height of the instruments’ turn-of-the-century popularity. Compare the fine technical work of famed German piano maker Carl Bechstein—still considered one of Germany’s “big four” piano manufacturers—with the dramatic artistry of the “La Mort du Cygne” (Death of the Swan) piano from French builder Érard, inlaid with a titular scene by famed Art Nouveau designers Louis Majorelle and Victor Prouvé. “Gifted virtuoso” (San Francisco Chronicle) Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner and “musical gourmand” (Le Devoir) Derek Wang bring the instruments to life both separately and in tandem.

This performance is presented in conjunction with The Met’s Department of Musical Instruments.

Tickets start at $35

Sight and Sound Series at The Met

In the series Sight and Sound at The Met, The Orchestra Now (TŌN) explores the parallels between orchestral music and visual art. Each performance includes a discussion with conductor and music historian Leon Botstein accompanied by on-screen exhibition images and live musical excerpts, followed by a full performance of the works and an audience Q&A.

Sight and Sound: Sibelius, Schjerfbeck, and Finland
Sun. March 1, 2 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Leon Botstein conductor
Sibelius Finlandia
Sibelius Symphony No. 7
Artwork by Helene Schjerfbeck and others

Beloved in Nordic countries for her highly original style, Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck overcame immense personal struggles working in a remote location for decades, producing a powerful body of work through sheer willpower. Over the years, her art shifted from traditional and realistic subjects to a simplified, spare style. The music of Schjerfbeck’s contemporary compatriot Jean Sibelius saw a similar change over time. His patriotic 1900 work Finlandia paints a clear picture of the historical progress of Finland and its bright future. By the time he finished his Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh symphonies 20 years later, Sibelius became increasingly concerned with paring down his music to the bare essentials.

This performance is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck.

Tickets start at $35

Sight and Sound: Raphael and Mozart
Sun. March 29, 2 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Leon Botstein conductor
Mozart Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter”
Artwork by Raphael

Raffaello di Giovanni Santi (1483–1520)—better known as Raphael—was one of history’s most beloved and influential artists. A true titan of the Italian Renaissance, Raphael matched ambition with lyricism to create works with both intellectual heft and emotional depth, a necessary skill in the complex political landscape of Renaissance courts. In his short life of only 37 years, he achieved such profound success as a painter, designer, and architect that he was regarded as the pinnacle of artistic perfection for centuries after his death. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was himself one of the most prolific and influential artists of the Classical period. He gave piano concerts starting at age five and wrote his first opera at age 11. He composed more than 800 works by the time of his death at age 35. Mozart wrote dozens of symphonies, composing the final three over six weeks in the summer of 1788. The 41st, his last, puts on full display the extraordinary compositional technique he mastered over the course of his career. Both of these prodigies were driven by their quest for perfection, earning great acclaim for their skillful technique early in their short lives and leaving a legacy to which artists would aspire for centuries thereafter.

This performance is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Raphael: Sublime Poetry.

Tickets start at $35

Gerard & Kelly: Saints at a Disco (Prelude)
Thursday, March 12 & Friday, March 13, 7 p.m.
The Met Cloisters

For more than two decades, the artist duo Gerard & Kelly has developed a singular body of work that brings narrative, choreography, and critical inquiry into dialogue with site and architecture. For the first installation of a multipart project—commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and developed by Gerard & Kelly Foundation with the support of VIA Art Fund, Doris Duke Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund—the duo engages with the exhibition and activates the unique architecture of The Met Cloisters through music and movement. Saints at a Disco (Prelude) explores the disco as a sanctuary—a place not only of mourning and loss, especially in the wake of the AIDS epidemic, but also of cultural transmission and spiritual transcendence.

Tickets start at $80

Julian Lage
Saturday, March 21, 7 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

From the time the documentary Jules at Eight documented his prodigious childhood talent, guitarist Julian Lage has been a multifaceted force, weaving influences from jazz, pop, classical, country, bluegrass, and folk into his signature style. Now, after more than 15 acclaimed albums, he makes his debut at The Met with a solo evening of old favorites and new compositions.

Tickets start at $35

Julia Kent
Friday, April 10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.
Gallery 628, European Paintings

Cellist and composer Julia Kent spent many years recording with rock bands and singer-songwriters, but as soon as she struck out on her own, she discovered her singular voice. In her masterfully crafted compositions, she layers and loops the sounds of her cello, weaving electronics and field recordings into soundscapes that place humans in dialogue with the natural world around them. Kent will take over the European Paintings galleries in an ethereal performance in conjunction with the reinstallation of Ecologies of Painting, a provocative exploration of how artists shape cultural conceptions of the natural world.

Free with Museum admission

VOU Fiji
Friday, April 24 & Saturday, April 25, 6 and 7:30 p.m.
The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, Arts of Oceania

The renowned company VOU has brought the energy and spirit of Fiji’s rich dance tradition to more than 35 countries since its inception in 2007, ensuring that the living embodiment of this storied heritage lives on through widespread performance and educational initiatives. Now, this foremost ensemble activates the Arts of Oceania galleries in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing with movement and sound.

This performance is presented in conjunction with The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.

Free with Museum admission

Baaba Maal
Saturday, May 30, 7 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

Join the legendary singer, guitarist, and cultural ambassador for a special night of music and storytelling to celebrate the Arts of Africa galleries. Raised on the banks of the Senegal River, the visionary musician Baaba Maal is one of West Africa’s most iconic performers. The “voice of Wakanda” from the Black Panther series’ soundtracks, he has garnered acclaim for his singular contemporary twist on the tradition of griots—storytelling troubadours—encountered over years of musical pilgrimage across West Africa. Now, celebrate The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing’s Arts of Africa galleries with a performance from Maal and his jazz quartet, featuring music from Maal’s Tales of the Sahel project. This performance will include a conversation with the artist.

Tickets start at $35

David Lang: the national anthems
Saturday, July 4, performance times to be announced
The Charles Engelhard Court

As composer David Lang researched the world’s national anthems, he noticed the lyrics shared a common theme: that freedom is fragile and easily lost. Lang channeled this discovery into his 2014 choral composition the national anthems, a poignant reflection on national identity and finding common ground.

Join us for performances of the national anthems featuring the five-time Grammy-nominated Clarion Choir alongside Grammy winners and 2022-24 MetLiveArts Quartet in Residence Catalyst Quartet in the American Wing’s light-filled Charles Engelhard Court.

This performance is part of The Met’s programming to mark America’s 250th anniversary.

Free with Museum admission

Exhibition Credits

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
We thank all who have made possible the renovation of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, including leadership commitments from The Carson Family Charitable Trust, Kyveli and George Economou, Bobby Kotick, Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm, Adam Lindemann and Amalia Dayan, Samuel H. and Linda M. Lindenbaum, Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, The Marron Family, Naddisy Foundation, the City of New York, the Estate of Abby M. O’Neill, Andrall E. Pearson and Rappaport Family, the Estate of Ruth J. Prager, Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer, Carlos Rodríguez-Pastor and Gabriela Pérez Rocchietti, Alejandro and Charlotte Santo Domingo, and the Skarstedt Family. Major support was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lockwood Chilton, Jr., Mariana and Raymond Herrmann, Mary R. Morgan, and Laura G. and James J. Ross.

Events and programming related to the reopening of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing are made possible by the Breyer Family Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Samuel and Gabrielle Lurie, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Thompson Family Foundation. Additional support is provided by Stephen M. Cutler and Wendy N. Zimmermann, Kyveli and George Economou, Ed and Dale Mathias, the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation Inc., and two anonymous donors.

Raphael: Sublime Poetry
The presenting sponsor of the exhibition is Morgan Stanley.

Major funding is provided by Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst, and Jessie and Charles Price.

Significant support is provided by the Richard Riney Family Foundation, the Ing Foundation, and Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang.

Additional support is provided by Jim Breyer, the Fay Etta and Irving Flax Foundation, Julie and David Tobey, Barbara A. Wolfe, Gilbert and Ildiko Butler, Debra and Leon Black, Mark Gorenberg and Cathrin Stickney, the Robert Lehman Foundation, Dinah Seiver and Thomas E. Foster, Ann M. Spruill and Daniel H. Cantwell, and The Coby Foundation, Ltd.

Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck
The exhibition is made possible by Elsa A. Brule.

This exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with the Finnish National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum.

Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages
The exhibition is made possible by the Michel David-Weill Fund and Kathryn A. Ploss.

Program Credits

Met Collection Pianos in Concert
This performance is made possible by David Katz and the Abraham J. and Phyllis Katz Foundation, and features performers who are alumni of the National YoungArts Foundation

Julian Lage
This performance is made possible by David Katz and the Abraham J. and Phyllis Katz Foundation.

All ticket prices include fees.

###

January 21, 2026

Image: VOU Fiji, photo by Kama Catch Me Photography