Southbank Centre Classical Events

Philharmonia Orchestra

p.goudal

Petrenko conducts Rachmaninov

Vasily Petrenko conducts a programme of orchestral showpieces, ending with Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, the movements of which seem to summarise Rachmaninov's compositional life.

The Symphonic Dances were among Rachmaninov's last works. Originally with programmatic movement titles of 'Noon', 'Twilight' and 'Midnight', the three movements almost seem to summarise Rachmaninov's compositional life, with quotations from his First Symphony and the Dies irae leitmotif that haunts so many of his works.

The programme opens with one of Hindemith's most popular works, full of the dancing melodies of Weber set into a true showpiece for orchestra, and Sibelius's Violin Concerto forms the haunting and dark-hued heart of this concert.

Start Date:

Sunday 26 February 2012 - 15:00

End Date:

Sunday 26 February 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £29 £23 £18 £14 £11 £8 Premium seats £45

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Philharmonia Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko conductor
Valeriy Sokolov violin

Repertoire:

Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Interval
Sergey Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Philharmonia Orchestra

p.mcguinness

Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem

Brahms's German Requiem is achingly beautiful, dwelling on the hope of the resurrection as well as consoling those who remain on earth.

Brahms first considered writing a Requiem Mass after the death of his close friend Robert Schumann, but was only catapulted into its composition a decade later after the death of his mother caused him inconsolable grief. He completed his tribute to her four years later with a mass unlike any conventional Requiem.

Ein deutsches Requiem sets sections of Luther's translation of the Bible, dwelling far more on the hope of the resurrection than on the fear of Judgement Day. The first movement, 'Blessed are they that mourn', consoles those that remain on Earth with achingly beautiful suspensions from the chorus. The work moves through divinely beautiful music to the dramatic highlight of Brahms's tone-painting of the resurrection of the dead. Yet the work ends back on an earthly level, a reminder that we cannot know what awaits us.

Click here to buy the Philharmonia Orchestra Beethoven Symphony No.4 CD.

Start Date:

Thursday 16 February 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Thursday 16 February 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £29 £23 £18 £14 £11 £8 Premium seats £45

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Philharmonia Orchestra
Christoph von Dohnányi conductor
Susan Gritton soprano
Thomas Hampson baritone
Philharmonia Voices
Philharmonia Chorus

Repertoire:

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Symphony No.4
Interval
Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Anneke Scott and Kathryn Cok

Virtuoso works for natural horn and fortepiano

Two leading talents from the emerging generation of period performers present an exciting and dramatic programme of late classical music for natural horn and fortepiano.

Works by Haydn and Beethoven are juxtaposed with compositions by their acclaimed contemporaries Kuhlau, Ries and Danzi in a vibrant and wide-ranging concert.

'Anneke Scott...one of the finest horn soloists I have ever heard... this was absolute perfection' (Andrew Benson-Wilson for Early Music Review).

'Have valveless horns ever sounded so trouble-free for modern players?' (James R. Oestreich for The New York Times).

Further information on the artists can be found at annekescott.com and kathryncok.com.

Start Date:

Monday 5 March 2012 - 19:45

End Date:

Monday 5 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

£14 £12 £10

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Anneke Scott horn
Kathryn Cok piano

Repertoire:

Friedrich Kuhlau: Andante e polacca for horn & piano
Ferdinand Ries: Horn Sonata in F, Op.34
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Horn Sonata in F, Op.17
Interval
Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonata in E flat, Hob.XVI/52
Franz Danzi: Sonata in E flat for horn (or cello) & piano, Op.28

Facility Description:

Purcell Room

Images

Babelfish

Friday Tonic

Babelfish is the collaborative project of vocalist Brigitte Beraha and Barry Green on piano, featuring a mix of their originals and music inspired by classical and literary works from Britten through to E.E.Cummings and Raymond Carver.

Also featuring Chris Laurence (bass) and Paul Clarvis (percussion), the band shows a wide range of influences from Kenny Wheeler, Chico Buarque and Paul Bley.

'A great musician, Brigitte Beraha uses her voice like an instrument in the tradition of people like Flora Purim, Tania Maria and the recently acknowledged bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding' Julian Joseph, Jazz Line Up, BBC Radio 3

'Barry Green's work can be both intricate and assertive, and is constantly inventive'. Pete Martin, Jazz UK

Start Date:

Friday 30 March 2012 - 17:30

End Date:

Friday 30 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

The Royal College of Music Presents...

Some of the College's finest young musicians perform a contrasting programme of Viennese and Russian string music.

Featuring Aiko Kojima (violin), Emma Fetherston (viola), Anne Chauveau (cello), Margarida Castro (double bass), Pedro Gomes (piano), and Joo Yeon Sir (solo violin) accompanied by Irina Andrievsky (piano).

Start Date:

Friday 30 March 2012 - 13:00

End Date:

Friday 30 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Repertoire:

Franz Schubert: Piano Quintet in A, D.667 (Trout)
Alfred Schnittke: Sonata No.1 for violin & piano

Southwark Spring Showcase

For the second year The Clore Ballroom in Royal Festival Hall showcases the very best of Southwark's talented young musicians.

From the children who have been learning for just one term to the most advanced players of the Southwark Youth Orchestra, all are showing their talents today.

Joining us for the first time this year is the new David Idowu Choir. This choir, which comes with an agenda for social change and is only six months old, already has a performance diary to rival the latest winner of the X Factor.

This performance is by Southwark Music Service in partnership with Excellence in Southwark and Southbank Centre.

Start Date:

Wednesday 14 March 2012 - 16:00

End Date:

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Tomorrow's Warriors Youth Jazz

As an appetiser to the later Purcell Room Firebird concert, the 16-piece Youth Warriors are back on home ground, using traditional techniques to find their own distinctive jazz voice.

This evening they welcome a group of young musicians from Voss Jazzskule in Norway which, like Tomorrow's Warriors, is developing a new generation of outstanding jazz musicians.

The Warriors will start things off with new arrangements written by the band members. These are followed by a set from the young Norwegian musicians before everyone joins in together for the climax of the event.

Start Date:

Saturday 3 March 2012 - 18:00

End Date:

Saturday 3 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

London Philharmonic Orchestra

peter.mallon

A Child of our Time

Hear A Child of our Time, Tippett's powerful message of hope and optimism against war and oppression.

As Europe slipped towards fascism, Michael Tippett felt the urge to protest in music - to show solidarity with those downtrodden by poverty and prejudice.

Then, in 1938, a young Polish Jew oppressed by the rise of Nazism shot a German diplomat dead in Paris. Tippett had the central figure for his 'oratorio of contemplation', A Child of our Time.

Taking Bach's Passions and Handel's Messiah as his models, Tippett ended each of his sections with his own arrangements of African-American spirituals.

'The world turns on its dark side,' proclaims the opening movement of Tippett's masterpiece, but it remains a work of stringent hope and optimism.

Free pre-concert event, 6.15pm until 6.45pm, Royal Festival Hall
Writer and broadcaster Daniel Snowman takes a look at Tippett's A Child of our Time.

Start Date:

Wednesday 1 May 2013 - 19:30

End Date:

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Ticket Prices:

£39 £33 £27 £21 £16 £12 £9 Premium £65

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Ryan Wigglesworth conductor
Rebecca Evans soprano
Pamela Helen Stephen mezzo-soprano
Ben Johnson tenor
Matthew Rose bass
London Philharmonic Choir

Repertoire:

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.4 in F minor
Interval
Michael Tippett: A Child of our Time

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Late Romanticism

Rich, moving, magical - hear musical Romanticism in its last throes at this concert of works from the first decade of the 20th century.

Gustav Mahler's culminating synthesis of song and symphony, Das Lied von der Erde, is the composer's most profound musical exploration of what life means.

It is a piece whose concurrent darkness and radiance changed the parameters of vocal and orchestral expression forever and placed a full-stop on the most remarkable compositional career of the age.

The evening opens with the gentle, undulating beauty of Webern's Im Sommerwind, followed by Schoenberg's demonstrations of condensed orchestral effect, his Five Orchestral Pieces.

Start Date:

Wednesday 23 January 2013 - 19:30

End Date:

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Ticket Prices:

£39 £33 £27 £21 £16 £12 £9 Premium £65

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder conductor
Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano
Paul Groves tenor

Repertoire:

Anton Webern: Im Sommerwind - idyll for orchestra
Arnold Schoenberg: 5 Orchestral Pieces, Op.16
Interval
Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Philharmonia Orchestra

LUTOSLAWSKI CENTENARY: MUSIC IN POLAND 1913-2013

Continuing the Lutoslawski anniversary celebrations Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Concerto for Orchestra and Cello Concerto alongside Debussy's La Mer.

Our Lutoslawski centenary celebrations continue with two major works of crucial importance. The virtuoso fast-reflexes of the Concerto for Orchestra form a blazing climax to his early period and mark a new fascination with Bartók and the musical potential of indigenous folksong, while the glorious Cello Concerto (1970), commissioned originally by the Royal Philharmonic Society, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, was composed during a time of great political unrest in Poland.

Debussy's principal aim in La Mer was 'to create a mysterious harmony between nature and the imagination', something that clearly had a vital impact on Lutoslawski's own creative thinking.

6pm at Royal Festival Hall - pre-concert recital with Esa-Pekka Salonen featuring Polish contemporary music. Free

Start Date:

Thursday 7 March 2013 - 19:30

End Date:

Thursday 7 March 2013

Ticket Prices:

£40 £31 £25 £20 £15 £12 £9 Premium seats £48

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Philharmonia Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Truls Mørk cello

Repertoire:

Claude Debussy: La mer
Witold Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto
Interval
Witold Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Philharmonia Orchestra

Maazel conducts Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky

Maestro Maazel conducts an all-Russian programme. Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No.2 with soloist Vadim Repin, excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky's Pathétique Symphony.

Few symphonies have attracted as much conspiracy theory as Tchaikovsky's Pathétique. Just nine days after its 1893 premiere, the composer died suddenly. Was the symphony's brooding solemnity - with its pathos and final descent into eerie silence - a portent of Tchaikovsky's own demise? Or indeed a symphonic suicide note?

Whatever the truth behind the enigma, the Sixth certainly took its emotional toll on Tchaikovsky, who declared that 'I have without exaggeration put my whole soul into this work...'

This all-Russian concert also features Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto and selected excerpts from Romeo and Juliet.

Start Date:

Saturday 8 December 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Saturday 8 December 2012

Ticket Prices:

£40 £31 £25 £20 £15 £12 £9 Premium seats £48

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Philharmonia Orchestra
Lorin Maazel conductor
Vadim Repin violin

Repertoire:

Sergey Prokofiev: Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet
Sergey Prokofiev: Romeo at Juliet's Tomb from Romeo and Juliet
Sergey Prokofiev: The Death of Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet
Sergey Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor, Op.63
Interval
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 (Pathétique)

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Joseph Calleja

Acclaimed opera star Joseph Calleja, the 'Maltese Tenor', makes Royal Festival Hall debut with a popular selection of his favourite arias from La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot, Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, together with his own special tribute to Mario Lanza with hits such as 'Because', 'Be My Love' and many more.

Start Date:

Friday 11 January 2013 - 19:30

End Date:

Friday 11 January 2013

Ticket Prices:

£50.00 £45.00 £32.50 £27.50 £20.00 £15.00 Premium £60.00

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Philharmonia Orchestra
Andrew Greenwood conductor
Joseph Calleja tenor
soprano to be announced

Messiah by Candlelight

Following a sold-out performance in 2010, four acclaimed soloists join the London Chorus to perform Handel's grand choral masterpiece in an evocative candle-lit style setting.

Start Date:

Sunday 9 December 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Sunday 9 December 2012

Ticket Prices:

£37.50 £28.50 £22.50 £16.50 £14.50 Premium £44.00

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Mozart Festival Orchestra in full 18th century costume
Oliver Gooch conductor
Rhian Lois soprano
Kitty Whately mezzo-soprano
Nathan Vale tenor
Charles Rice baritone
The London Chorus

Repertoire:

George Frideric Handel: Messiah
Interval
continued

Mozart Requiem

Mozart's choral masterpiece crowns a sublime evening of his greatest works.

Start Date:

Friday 28 September 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Friday 28 September 2012

Ticket Prices:

£37.50 £28.50 £22.50 £16.50 £14.50 Premium £44.00

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

English Chamber Orchestra
David Hill conductor
Ruth Jenkins soprano
Carolyn Dobbin mezzo-soprano
Christopher Turner tenor
Njabulo Madala baritone
Anthony Hewitt piano
The Bach Choir

Repertoire:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Overture, The Magic Flute
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No.21 in C, K.467
Interval
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem

London Sinfonietta

peter.mallon

Perfect Constructions: the music of Conlon Nancarrow

The London Sinfonietta celebrates the works of 20th-century musical maverick Conlon Nancarrow. A former soldier in the Spanish Civil War, Nancarrow spent most of his life in Mexico exploring intricate rhythmic designs only playable by mechanical instruments. This event highlights existing and new arrangements of his jazzy and hyperkinetically energetic music, plus György Ligeti's Pieces for Wind Quintet.

Start Date:

Saturday 21 April 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Saturday 21 April 2012

Ticket Prices:

£22 £15 £9

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

London Sinfonietta
Baldur Brönnimann conductor
Rex Lawson pianola

Repertoire:

Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.21 (Canon X) arr. Murcott
Conlon Nancarrow: Piece No.1 for small orchestra
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.6 arr. Mikhashoff
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.15 transc. Mikhashoff for 4 hands
Frank Zappa: G Spot Tornado
Gyorgy Ligeti: 10 Pieces for wind quintet
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.26 arr. Matt Rogers
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.3c arr. Mikhashoff
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.12
Gérard Grisey: Tempus ex machina for 22 percussionists
Conlon Nancarrow: Player Piano Study No.26
Conlon Nancarrow: Toccata for violin & player piano
Paul Usher: Nancarrow Concerto for pianola & chamber orchestra

Facility Description:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Images

Instrumental Quintet of London

peter.mallon

A musical journey from classical to impressionist

The Instrumental Quintet of London takes its name from the Quintette Instrumental de Paris, formed in 1922 by René Le Roy.

Both Classical and Romantic works for different instrumental combinations are performed in this colourful program. The concert ends with the virtuosic and flamboyant Concert a Cinque, a concerto for five instruments by the Belgian composer Joseph Jongen, which demonstrates the flair and versatility of the performers.

The Quintet comprises Susan Milan (flute), Nicholas Ward (violin), Matthew Jones (viola), Sebastian Comberti (cello) and Ieuan Jones (harp).

Start Date:

Tuesday 28 February 2012 - 19:45

End Date:

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Ticket Prices:

£15

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Instrumental Quintet of London

Repertoire:

Jean-Michel Damase: Quintet for flute, harp, violin, viola & cello, Op.2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Quartet in C, K.285b
Claude Debussy: Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Interval
Ludwig Van Beethoven: String Trio in C minor, Op.9 No.3
Joseph Jongen: Concert à cinq for flute, harp, violin, viola & cello, Op.71

Facility Description:

Purcell Room

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

peter.mallon

Roméo et Juliette

Sir Mark Elder conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in a performance of Berlioz's mammoth Roméo et Juliette.

'His orchestration is so dirty that I have to wash my hands after turning over the pages of his scores,' said Mendelssohn of Berlioz.

Berlioz was never one to do things by halves, and Roméo et Juliette is probably one of his most ambitious projects - the first performance had an orchestra of more than 100 players, a chorus of 101 voices plus soloists.

It is a passionate, lush piece which pushed the limits of what an orchestra could do and its vivid and dramatic scene-setting upstages that of many operas.

£70 premium box seats include an post-performance wine reception.

Weston Roof Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras. Berliz expert David Cairns talks about this rarely-performed piece.

Start Date:

Saturday 18 February 2012 - 19:00

End Date:

Saturday 18 February 2012

Ticket Prices:

£39 £33 £27 £21 £14 £9 £6 Premium £60 Premium box seats £70

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Mark Elder conductor
Sonia Ganassi mezzo-soprano
John Mark Ainsley tenor
Orlin Anastassov bass
Schola Cantorum
BBC Symphony Chorus

Repertoire:

Hector Berlioz: Roméo et Juliette
No interval

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Vladimir Jurowski & Russian National Orchestra

m.critcher

War and Peace

Rich orchestral colours, melodic brilliance and a wide dramatic scope are features of both British and Russian 20th-century composers. When they turn their talents to the subject of war, the results have been spectacular.

Not often heard in London and described as the most 'European' of the great Russian orchestras due to their refined sound, the Russian National Orchestra under guest conductor Jurowski, take on two powerful symphonies born out of the Second World War.

Vaughan Williams' richly melodic work belies its composer's pastoral tendencies with music that cries out in violence and desperation. Whereas Prokofiev's war response created his most compelling, heroic orchestral work, a piece he said at the time was intended as 'a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit'.

Start Date:

Thursday 4 October 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Thursday 4 October 2012

Ticket Prices:

£45 £37 £29 £22.50 £17 £12 Premium £65

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Russian National Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski conductor

Repertoire:

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.6 in E minor
Interval
Sergey Prokofiev: Symphony No.5 in B flat

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Michael Tilson Thomas & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Explore the relationship between Schoenberg - one of the 20th century's greatest artistic radicals - and Brahms, the arch German Romantic, in a programme performed by one of the world's finest orchestras.

Famed for their refined sound, the Vienna Philharmonic perform under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Despite their apparently different sound worlds, Schoenberg was steeped in the Austro-German musical tradition of Brahms and his predecessors. In this concert hear Brahms' glorious Piano Concerto No.2 (1881), symphonic in scale and ambition, alongside his early Piano Quartet No.1 in an orchestral arrangement by Schoenberg which reveals the work's symphonic grandeur.

Opening the concert is Schoenberg's own Theme and variations for orchestra in which the septuagenarian composer returned to a more conventional idiom referencing his debt to the 19th century compositional style.

Start Date:

Tuesday 9 April 2013 - 19:30

End Date:

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Ticket Prices:

£68.00 £55.00 £47.50 £40.00 £35.00 £24.50 £15.00 Premium £85

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas conductor
Yefim Bronfman piano

Repertoire:

Arnold Schoenberg: Theme and variations arr. for orchestra, Op.43b
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2
Interval
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No.1 orch. Schoenberg

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

m.critcher

Messiah

In 1784 Handel's visionary, ecstatic Messiah was revived in a huge performance at Westminster Abbey, an event that ensured its still iconic status.

Today, we often take it for granted that musicians perform classical music from all ages - from Monteverdi right up to the present day, but that wasn't always the case. In the past, music was much more disposable (dare we say it, a little like some of today's pop music). Things were performed, became briefly popular and then disappeared. However, London became one of the first places to look back at the history of music, when Handel's glorious Messiah was revived in 1784, ensuring the work it's legendary, iconic status.

Royal Festival Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras. The Bible and Music. A look at how biblical stories have been represented across musical genres. Free.

Start Date:

Tuesday 11 December 2012 - 19:00

End Date:

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9 Premium £60

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Robert Howarth director
soprano to be announced
Timothy Mead countertenor
John Mark Ainsley tenor
Matthew Brook bass
Choir of the Enlightenment

Repertoire:

George Frideric Handel: Messiah
Interval
continued

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images