Organist

Alongside the symphonic pieces in the festival, this concert celebrates three classic Adams works for smaller ensembles. The Chamber Symphony, inspired by Schoenberg’s work of the same name, combines its rigour with the hyperactive energy and humour of classic 1950s cartoon music. Hallelujah Junction and John’s Book of Alleged Dances, both works from the 1990s, also share Adams’ ability to mix demanding performances with a sharp sense of wit.

EPSG:4326

Chamber Series: John Adams Chamber Symphony

Royal Northern College of Music

Composer and conductor Thomas Adès has long been a fan of Sibelius: ‘He’s obsessed with nature – you’ve always got this sense that he is on the edge of some vast wilderness.’ Adès drew inspiration from the Finnish composer’s incidental music for The Tempest when writing his own opera on the Shakespeare play. He conducts suites from both these storm-laden, supernatural works, along with The Swan of Tuonela, in which Sibelius summoned up his skill as a bard of Swedish folk tales. James McVinnie is the soloist in Gabriella Smith’s organ concerto Breathing Forests, a cavernous ‘sonic forest’ and howl of protest against natural destruction.

Adès Conducts the BBC SO

Royal Albert Hall

With his diverse career, James McVinnie comes to the Meyerson for an immaculate organ recital you won’t want to miss.

Organ Recital: James McVinnie

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

James McVinnie completes his residency in a recital with a difference: a rare chance to hear Bach played on both the piano and the organ by the same performer.

James McVinnie: Bach for Organ & Piano

Southbank Centre

Continuing his residency, James McVinnie offers a programme that celebrates music of flair and fantasy on the Royal Festival Hall’s historic organ.

James McVinnie: Fantasias

Sensual and rhapsodic, Debussy’s prelude uses the solo flute to evoke the moody, dream-like atmosphere of a faun who awakens from a nap in the forest on a sunlit afternoon. In contrast with the more pastoral mood of this concert’s opening works, City Noir was inspired by the peculiar ambience and mood of Los Angeles ‘noir’ films, especially those produced in the late forties and early fifties.

City Noir

Severance Music Center

Rising young composer Gabriella Smith conjure the spaces and sounds of California, responding to landscapes both urban and rural, geographical and metaphysical. Igor Stravinsky depicts a festive, folk-inflected Slavic wedding in his ballet Les Noces, augmented by Steven Stucky’s orchestration and artist Hillary Leben's vivid new animated shorts. Stravinsky’s Octet for Winds and Brass, a uniquely scored neoclassical work, was inspired by a late-night dream.

California Festival: From the Edge

Davies Symphony Hall

In a concert produced in collaboration with the Ojai Music Festival, Vimbayi Kaziboni leads new music by California composers.

Green Umbrella

Walt Disney Concert Hall

California Festival

From Westminster Abbey to Walt Disney Concert Hall, the versatile British organist and popular collaborator returns to LA Phil for an ambitious and captivating program.

California Festival: James McVinnie

James McVinnie

The LA Phil’s Conductor Laureate—now Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony—exults in a program that includes his tribute to Frank Gehry, a major premiere by the exceedingly creative Gabriella Smith, and Strauss’ whirlwind of a symphonic poem that begins with an awesome fanfare to end all fanfares, well known for its use in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Strauss, Smith, and Salonen

Organists Anna Lapwood and James McVinnie team up to take on this immense piece, written by Jonny Greenwood to commemorate and celebrate the unique legacy of organs in historic buildings.

The Hallé Presents: 605 Years of Reverb

Manchester Cathedral

Experience Jonny Greenwood’s immersive work ‘605 Years of Reverb’ in this unique event, set in the stunning surroundings of Manchester Cathedral. Organists Anna Lapwood and James McVinnie team up to take on this immense piece, written by Jonny Greenwood to commemorate and celebrate the unique legacy of organs in historic buildings. Drawing upon influences from Indian music, the work gradually builds in texture and complexity, slowly introducing new musical ideas and striking new sound worlds. ‘Melodies in Indian music are often thought of as circular, rather than linear,’ says Greenwood, ‘You’re climbing on to a moving wheel, not starting and ending in silence.’ A truly unique experience – music will fill the space and light will move around Manchester Cathedral as the sun sets throughout the event, ending as darkness falls. Join for the full eight hour experience or for a timed slot, available every two hours.

Organist

James McVinnie

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 28, 2026

The Hallé Presents: 605 Years of Reverb · The Hallé

Feb 28, 2026

The Hallé Presents… 605 Years of Reverb · The Bridgewater Hall

Past events

Oct 31, 2025

Chamber Series: John Adams Chamber Symphony · The Hallé

Sep 2, 2025

Adès Conducts the BBC SO · BBC Symphony Orchestra

Future and recently performed repertoire

Organ in Years of Reverb by Greenwood

The Hallé

Organ in 605 Years of Reverb by Greenwood

The Bridgewater Hall

About

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