Southbank Centre Choral Events

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

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

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

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

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

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

m.critcher

A Saint, a Priest and a Great Bear

This joyous, celebratory concert contains some of the best-loved Baroque choral music in the repertoire.

Purcell's bright and sparkling Ode for St Cecilia's Day starts the evening off and is followed by Handel's extraordinarily powerful anthem, Zadok the Priest.

The concert ends with more music from Handel (apparently nicknamed The Great Bear by Londoners) with his glorious piece for five vocal soloists and orchestra.

Queen Elizabeth Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras. Pre concert event - details to be announced. Free.

Start Date:

Thursday 22 November 2012 - 19:00

End Date:

Thursday 22 November 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availablilty)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
John Butt conductor
Soloists from the Choir of the Enlightenment

Repertoire:

Henry Purcell: Hail Bright Cecilia
George Frideric Handel: Zadok the priest (Coronation Anthem No.1)
Interval
George Frideric Handel: Dixit Dominus in G minor

Facility Description:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: French Exchange

The Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers series continues with a programme that features the best of English and French Baroque and which demonstrates how French musical styles became fashionable in England too.

The programme includes music from French masters Lully and Rameau, including the Dardanus Suite which we defy you not to nod your head or tap your foot to.

Also included is the devastating lament from the Purcell's mini operatic masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas.

Fast rising star Jonathan Cohen conducts and the world-renowned soprano (and regular OAE collaborator) Sarah Connolly is the soloist.

Queen Elizabeth Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras at 5.45pm. We talk to soloist Sarah Connolly about tonight's concert programme. Free.

Queen Elizabeth Hall post concert - The Aftershow. Join artists after the concert for an informal discussion and Q&A.

Start Date:

Thursday 8 November 2012 - 19:00

End Date:

Thursday 8 November 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9 Premium £50

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Jonathan Cohen director
Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano

Repertoire:

Jean-Baptiste Lully: Passacaille from Armide, Act 5, Scene 2
Jean-Baptiste Lully: Venez, venez, Haine implacable from Armide
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Overture, Medée
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Princesse, c'est sur vous que mon espoir se fonde from Medée
Michel Richard de Lalande: Suite No.5 from Symphonies pour les soupers du roi
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Quoi, la terre e le ciel from Hippolyte et Aricie
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Cruelle mère from Hippolyte et Aricie
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Entrée de Polymnie from Les Boréades
Henry Purcell: Chacony in G minor for strings
Henry Purcell: Suite from Dioclesian
Henry Purcell: Suite from Dido and Aeneas
Henry Purcell: When I am laid in earth (Dido's Lament) from Dido and Aeneas
Michel Lambert: Ombre de mon amant
Michel Lambert: Ma bergère est tendre et fidèle
Jean-Fery Rebel: La fantaisie, ballet
Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Quel prix de mon amour from Medée
Interval

Facility Description:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

m.critcher

Dramatic Women: Three eras of divas

The OAE's Dramatic Heroines series opens with Sir Roger Norrington and star soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci.

Anna Caterina Antonacci joins the OAE for this concert that opens both the Orchestra's 2012/13 season and the Dramatic Heroines series. She sings three arias spanning three different musical eras, including an aria by Cherubini made famous by Maria Callas and a touching yet powerful aria from Berlioz.

Also in the programme is Gluck's viscerally thrilling Dance of the Furies and Bizet's fresh and uninhibited Symphony in C.

Royal Festival Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras. An introduction to both the orchestra's 2012/13 Southbank Centre series of concerts and the Dramatic Women series. With players from the OAE. Free

Royal Festival Hall post-concert discussion - The Aftershow. Join artists after the concert for an informal discussion and Q&A.

Start Date:

Sunday 30 September 2012 - 19:00

End Date:

Sunday 30 September 2012

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9 Premium £60

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Sir Roger Norrington conductor
Anna Caterina Antonacci mezzo-soprano

Repertoire:

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.85 (La reine)
Luigi Cherubini: Dei tuoi figli la madre from Médée
Christoph Willibald von Gluck: Dance of the furies from Orfeo ed Euridice
Christoph Willibald von Gluck: Dance of the blessed spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice
Christoph Willibald von Gluck: O malheureuse Iphigénie from Iphigénie en Tauride
Interval
Hector Berlioz: Ah! Ah! Je vais mourir from Les Troyens
Hector Berlioz: Adieu, fière cité from Les Troyens
Georges Bizet: Symphony in C

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

m.critcher

Queens, Heroines and Ladykillers: A Tribute to Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was one of the foremost sopranos of our time, and an artist the OAE worked with regularly, most notably at Glyndebourne and on CD.

Tonight's tribute to her sees three great sopranos take to the Royal Festival Hall stage to sing some of Handel's most dramatic and emotionally intense arias, interspersed with some of his gutsy orchestra music. A very special way to end the OAE's concert season.

Royal Festival Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras. A look back at the life and career of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. Free.

Start Date:

Monday 3 June 2013 - 19:00

End Date:

Monday 3 June 2013

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9 Premium £60

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availablilty)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
William Christie director
Stéphanie d'Oustrac mezzo-soprano
Anna Stephany mezzo-soprano
Renata Pokupic mezzo-soprano

Repertoire:

George Frideric Handel: Overture, Giulio Cesare
George Frideric Handel: L'angue offeso mai riposa from Giulio Cesare
George Frideric Handel: Ah! Whither should we fly (from Theodora)
George Frideric Handel: As with rosy steps the morn (from Theodora)
George Frideric Handel: Where shall I fly? from Hercules
George Frideric Handel: Concerto grosso in B minor, Op.6 No.12
Interval
George Frideric Handel: Overture, Theodora
George Frideric Handel: Lord, to Thee each night and day (from Theodora)
George Frideric Handel: Dopo notte from Ariodante
George Frideric Handel: Concerto grosso in B flat, Op.3 No.2
George Frideric Handel: Sveglaitevi nel core from Giulio Cesare

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

m.critcher

Creation

Haydn's vibrant oratorio The Creation, with Adam Fischer and an all-star cast of soloists.

Haydn's oratorio The Creation is not only one of the composer's most popular pieces, but is also one of the most vividly descriptive pieces of classical music there is. Each aspect of the story is brilliantly brought to life by Haydn's expressive music - you can really hear the black emptiness before the First Day, the lion leaping and experience the heat of the sun as it rises - and the added contrast and texture of period instruments only adds to the effect.

A wonderful way to start the new year.

Royal Festival Hall at 5.45pm - OAE Extras at 5.45pm. A look at the vivid musical descriptions in The Creation - is it 'programme music' before its time? Free.

Royal Festival Hall post concert - The Aftershow. Join artists after the concert for an informal discussion and Q&A.

Start Date:

Wednesday 9 January 2013 - 19:00

End Date:

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Ticket Prices:

£38 £22 £9 Premium £60

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availablilty)

Performer(s):

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Adam Fischer conductor
Soloists include:
Kurt Streit tenor
Choir of the Enlightenment

Repertoire:

Joseph Haydn: The Creation
Interval
continued

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Images

Ealing Choral Society

p.goudal

A Feast of Choral Music

Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, richly orchestrated with rhythms and harmonies reflecting his interest in jazz, tells of the 'writing on the wall' at the Babylonian king's sacrilegious feast, the fall of his kingdom and the release of the Jews from exile.
Poulenc's Gloria, criticised at the time for being irreverent, is exuberant with freshness and vivacity.

Start Date:

Saturday 28 April 2012 - 19:30

End Date:

Saturday 28 April 2012

Ticket Prices:

£25 £22 £16 £12

Concession/Group Prices:

50% off (limited availability)

Performer(s):

Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
Jonathan Williams conductor
Emily Rowley Jones soprano
David Stout baritone
Ealing Choral Society

Repertoire:

Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Francis Poulenc: Gloria
Interval
William Walton: Belshazzar's Feast

Facility Description:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Images

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Large Ensembles

Performances by talented junior children in Lambeth schools, featuring other ensembles from the borough as well as the In Harmony Lambeth project.

Part of the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival, in partnership with Lambeth Music Services, which this year involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools.

Start Date:

Wednesday 28 March 2012 - 14:00

End Date:

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Junior Singing Concert

A celebration of singing with choirs from Lambeth junior schools performing a wide range of songs together. Enjoy the sight and sound of a stage filled with hundreds of young singers.

Part of the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival, in partnership with Lambeth Music Services, which this year involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools.

Start Date:

Tuesday 27 March 2012 - 18:30

End Date:

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Infant Singing Concert

A celebration of singing with choirs from Lambeth infant schools performing a wide range of songs together. Enjoy the sight and sound of a stage filled with hundreds of young singers.

Part of the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival, in partnership with Lambeth Music Services, which this year involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools.

Start Date:

Tuesday 27 March 2012 - 13:30

End Date:

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

Royal Festival Hall

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Secondary Singing Concert

Singing performances delivered with energy and heart by around 750 young people from Lambeth schools. This concert is part of the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival, in partnership with Lambeth Music Services.

This year the festival involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools. The festival celebrates young people's musicality across a mixture of styles . This is your chance to hear Lambeth's young people to showcase their exciting repertoire of ensemble music.

The festival runs from 23 - 28 March 2012.

Start Date:

Friday 23 March 2012 - 17:00

End Date:

Friday 23 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

The Clore Ballroom

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Contemporary Music Concert

We're delighted to welcome back the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival in partnership with Lambeth Music Service, which this year involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools.

The Festival opens with concerts that celebrate young people's musicality across a mixture of styles. This is your chance to hear Lambeth's young people showcase their exciting repertoire of contemporary ensemble music.

The festival runs from 22 - 28 March 2012.

Start Date:

Thursday 22 March 2012 - 17:00

End Date:

Thursday 22 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

The Clore Ballroom

Lambeth Schools Music Festival 2012

p.goudal

Small Ensembles Concert

We're delighted to welcome back the Lambeth Schools' Music Festival in partnership with Lambeth Music Services, which this year involves a record-breaking 75 musical groups from 50 Lambeth schools.

The festival runs from 23 - 28 March 2012.

Start Date:

Thursday 22 March 2012 - 13:00

End Date:

Thursday 22 March 2012

Ticket Prices:

Free

Facility Description:

The Clore Ballroom