The Seattle Symphony makes its announcements in style; conductor Ludovic Morlot lugged his whole group down to City Hall for a free concert this afternoon before releasing the 2012–2013 lineup. Fine, Ludo—we’re listening.

Morlot’s second season invites back some of the same big names that paid us a visit in his first; Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, and Hilary Hahn all return. But there’s new stuff, too, like revamped Rush Hour concerts—they’re now called Symphony Untuxed, and they’re followed by cocktail mingling with the musicians. Plus, there’s a new concertmaster, Alexander Velinzon, straight from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Find the whole lineup here; book a subscription by March 3 to be entered into a contest for a free Alaskan cruise. Icebergs aside, here’s the big news from the new season:

• Joshua Bell is making an even bigger splash. The virtuoso violinist who rocked Benaroya a few weeks ago will return for the opening night gala on September 15, which features a program of George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

• Sonic Evolution strikes again. Last year, brand-new compositions paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain; this year’s October 26 event will have new stuff inspired by Alice in Chains, Blue Scholars, and Yes.

• The Russians are coming. For two days in January, the symphony goes all Rachmaninov, all the time, playing his four piano concertos in Rach Fest. In May, Gerard Schwarz returns to conduct a Russian Spectacular series, featuring Tchaikovsky and a whole lot of Shostakovich (six pieces, to be exact). And don’t forget Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, a haunting piece heard March 28–30.

• There’s a funky new sound in town. For the Turangalîla Symphony by Messiaen in January, soloist Cynthia Millar plays the ondes martenot. It’s a kind of proto-electrical instrument that uses vacuum tubes to create an eerie wail.

• Retro is in. The first of the Seattle Pops Series is the Cocktail Hour: Music from the Mad Men Era, with plenty of bossa nova; later Marvin Hamlisch conducts his own tunes from A Chorus Line and The Way We Were.

Symphony geeks should be satisfied, but will neophytes? Those who merely want to hear something they recognize—say, from a car commercial or a Bugs Bunny cartoon—can choose from mounds of blockbusters on the schedule: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Rossini’s William Tell Overture, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite.