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Join the UK’s most popular classical music station for a night of the greatest classical music performed live. Classic FM presenters host this special concert centred around great British classics. Musical highlights include Vaughan Williams’s majestic The Lark Ascending, part of Elgar’s extraordinary Enigma Variations, and the soaring Spitfire Prelude and Fugue by Walton.

Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2021, the Canadian violinist has been described by The Times as ‘in a class of his own’. Here he joins with an American musician equally acclaimed as a soloist and collaborative pianist for a selection of substantial works from the 18th and 20th centuries.

This clutch of British compositions juxtaposes instrumental music by the young Vaughan Williams from 1912 with Elgar’s final chamber piece of 1919. Between them we hear George Butterworth’s atmospheric cycle for voice and string quartet, and folksongs arranged by Roderick Williams for the same forces.

This year the concert kicks off with a specially-commissioned Fanfare by Composer-in-Residence, Owain Park and Vaughan Williams’ beautiful ‘Fantasia on Christmas Carols’ with additional readings from the Christmas story. Audience carols including ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ and choral classics such as Holst’s ‘On Christmas Day’, Rutter’s ‘What Sweeter Music’ as well as our arrangement of ‘O Holy Night’ also feature. The concert also includes the winning piece from this year’s LCS Carol Competition.

Hush…when the great Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho died in 2023, she left behind her a trumpet concerto unlike any other, crafted to showcase the remarkable, genre-crossing artistry of trumpeter Verneri Pohjola. He gives its UK premiere tonight. a final, profoundly moving testament from one of our century’s greatest creative spirits, as she took her own 'journey to silence'.

Kick-start your evening with a Half Six Fix concert. One piece in a 60-minute concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.

Immerse yourself in an evening of awe-inspiring music with the "Half Six Fix: Vaughan Williams" concert, presented by the London Symphony Orchestra at the iconic Barbican on Wednesday, 12th February 2025, starting at 6:30 pm. This unique concert experience, designed to enrich your evening, features Vaughan Williams’ monumental "A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)," under the baton of the esteemed Sir Antonio Pappano, who also takes on the role of presenter for the evening. The performance promises to be a profound exploration of the sea, its vastness, beauty, and power, through the lens of Vaughan Williams' surging orchestration and the evocative poetry of Walt Whitman. The London Symphony Chorus lends its mighty voice to the performance, ensuring an immersive experience as they sing through nearly the entirety of this magnificent work. Soloists Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha (soprano) and Will Liverman (baritone) join the orchestra, adding depth and emotion to the evening's narrative. The concert is part of the innovative "Half Six Fix" series, offering a 60-minute early evening performance that includes live introductions from the musicians and conductors. This format, along with screens in the hall, brings the audience closer to the action, providing insights into the music and its performance. Tickets are available at various price points, with a booking fee applicable for online and phone transactions. Discounts and special offers, such as the "Half Six Fix Season Pass" and "Wildcards," provide flexible options for regular attendees and those seeking a guaranteed spot at all eight concerts in the season. For those interested in attending, tickets can be booked online at lso.co.uk or barbican.org.uk, by phone, or in person at the Barbican Centre. The London Symphony Orchestra and the Barbican Centre are committed to accessibility, offering detailed access information and discounted tickets for those with specific needs. Prepare to be transported by the power of live music in this captivating concert experience, where the majesty of the sea and the brilliance of Vaughan Williams' composition come to life in the heart of London.

Sometimes the symbolism is clear, like in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending; it beautifully depicts a soaring bird, brought to life by the solo violin. Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House draws from a fairy-tale like setting of light and dark text. Other pieces leave their narratives open to interpretation, like Coleridge-Taylor’s Four Noveletten (translated as ‘short stories’) which lets listeners’ imaginations run wild.

Don’t be misled by the title: for Tchaikovsky, ‘Pathétique’ meant ‘full of emotion’ and when he composed his autobiographical final symphony… well, let’s just say that he didn’t hold back. Soaring romance, desperate tragedy and brilliant celebration: it’s all here, in a symphony that leaves no heartstring un-tugged, right up to its devastating and unforgettable conclusion. If you’ve heard our guest conductor Antonello Manacorda in action at the Royal Opera House, you’ll know that he aims straight for the heart of everything he conducts. So expect elegance and joy in Mozart’s exuberant Overture to The Magic Flute, and pure energy when he joins RPO Artist-in-Residence Johan Dalene to perform the piece with which Dalene shot to fame in 2019: the powerful Violin Concerto by Carl Nielsen. It’s possible that no one alive plays it better.

From the Scottish Isles in Macmillan’s punchy Saxophone Concerto to the pastoral English countryside of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves, the programme showcases the rich variety of folk-influenced classical music. As well as spanning the globe, tonight’s music also traverses time, transporting you from Dowland’s olde lute-inspired Flow My Tears to the contemporary pizzicato in Jessie Montgomery’s Strum.