Name: Beethoven’s Ninth
Start: 2026-03-28T19:30:00
Location: Southbank Centre

The London Philharmonic Orchestra invites audiences to experience an orchestral extravaganza like no other. With the UK premiere of Tan Dun's Nine and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Southbank Centre, and the epic Lord of the Rings concert trilogy at the Royal Albert Hall, these events promise a cultural feast where music and storytelling unite in an unforgettable celebration.

A Symphony of Sagas: Beethoven and Tolkien Come Alive in London

Immerse yourself in a musical odyssey where the grandeur of Beethoven meets the epic journeys of Middle-earth. This spring, the London Philharmonic Orchestra presents an extraordinary series of concerts that span cultures and genres. From the UK premiere of Tan Dun’s choral concerto 'Nine' to the cinematic majesty of 'The Lord of the Rings' in concert, audiences are invited to experience these masterpieces in iconic venues across London. These events promise to be a feast for the senses, celebrating universal themes of peace, adventure, and unity.

Harmonizing Cultures: A Musical Journey from Beethoven to Middle-earth

In an awe-inspiring cultural convergence, the London Philharmonic Orchestra is set to captivate audiences with two monumental events: the UK premiere of Tan Dun's 'Nine,' a tribute to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and the epic trilogy of 'The Lord of the Rings' films brought to life in concert. As East meets West and cinema melds with symphony, these performances promise not only to entertain but to transcend artistic boundaries, celebrating the universality of music and storytelling. These events, staged across two of London's iconic venues, are poised to be unforgettable cultural experiences.

A Symphony of Harmony: Beethoven and Tolkien Unite with the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Immerse yourself in a symphony of cultures and epic journeys with the London Philharmonic Orchestra's 2026 lineup. From Tan Dun's compelling tribute to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, bridging Eastern and Western musical traditions, to the immersive experience of The Lord of the Rings in concert, these events promise unforgettable performances. Join renowned conductors and performers as they bring these masterpieces to life across London's iconic venues, making for a truly memorable musical journey.

A Symphony of Cultures and Epic Journeys: London Philharmonic Orchestra's 2026 Highlights

John Findon

Tan Dun

Hongni Wu

Elizabeth Watts

Dingle Yandell

London Philharmonic Choir

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Harmony with Nature isn’t always quiet. The music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Orthodox Easter celebrates the rebirth of spring and light. The enchanted world of Stravinsky’s The Firebird lies trapped in a wintry darkness, until the magic of fire, love and dazzling music restores it to glowing, vibrant life. And with a piano concerto like no other, composer pianist Gustavo Díaz-Jerez takes us to the island of La Palma, where the volcano Tajogaite creates even while it destroys.

The Firebird

Southbank Centre

Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf tells the tale of a boy, a bird, a duck, a cat… and a wolf! Ignoring his grandpa’s warnings, Peter heads out to the meadow, because who’s afraid of a wolf? A classic for a reason, Peter and the Wolf is the perfect example of brilliant music that introduces different instruments of the orchestra through compelling storytelling. This interactive concert is presented by Rachel Leach and conducted by Michael Seal, and also features other music that showcases the many wonderful sounds of the orchestra.

FUNharmonics: Peter and the Wolf

Young hearts run free. Mozart was still a teenager when he wrote his Fifth Violin Concerto, but genius is genius and the result is the sparkiest, quirkiest and most stylish showpiece ever written for a world-class violinist. Maria Włoszczowska brings it to life today – a sparkling centrepiece to a concert that begins with Ravel’s bittersweet homage to a vanished world, and ends with Beethoven in full, dazzling flight. His youthful Second Symphony is daring, dashing, and packed with musical humour – perfect, in other words, for conductor Erina Yashima and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Beethoven’s Second

Congress Theatre

That’s how Sergei Prokofiev described his Second Symphony, and it’s right on the nail – this is music from the machine age, forged in the furnace of revolution. For an artist as adventurous as LPO Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski, it’s an irresistible challenge, as well as a gripping counterpart to Ukrainian composer Anna Korsun’s all-too-contemporary study of an industrial landscape shattered by war. Expect nature music with a serious bite – but poetry, too, as pianist Anna Vinnitskaya embraces both the danger and the romance of Rachmaninov’s glittering Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

It was the musical equivalent of raising the Titanic. When musicologists rescued Mahler’s incomplete Tenth Symphony and brought it back into the concert hall, they salvaged a masterpiece of 20th-century art: a huge, impassioned meditation on life, death and all that lies between. Cries of pain turn into vaulting songs of love, and musical puzzles yield the most intimate of secrets. If you haven’t yet heard the Tenth Symphony, you don’t know Mahler, and Vladimir Jurowski believes that this completion by Rudolf Barshai is as close as we can get to hearing Mahler’s own final thoughts.

Mahler’s Tenth

In the 20th century, the nations of Central Europe experienced both glory and terror – and composers responded with music that blazes with energy and imaginative power. For LPO Principal Conductor Edward Gardner, it’s a source of pure inspiration, and tonight, in the first of two Phoenix Lands concerts, he shares his passion. Janáček retells bloody folktales, Grażyna Bacewicz strikes a note of defiance, and Lutosławski and Martinů each do their own deliriously imaginative thing. These composers have a thousand tales to tell, and with the aid of the superb young Czech violinist Josef Špaček, their story starts here.

Bohemian Rhapsodies

Our current cohort of Future Firsts join forces with students from the Royal Academy of Music and members of the LPO for a vibrant performance conducted by our Principal Conductor, Edward Gardner. The programme is part of our ‘Phoenix Lands’ week and features works by two musical titans: Ligeti’s intricate Melodien and the energetic Dance Suite by Bartók.

LPO Showcase: Foyle Future Firsts and the Royal Academy of Music

Bartók’s ballet is a fairytale, for sure, but this is 20th-century Hungary, where folklore has a habit of growing teeth and claws. Edward Gardner shares the choral ecstasies of Szymanowski’s gorgeous Stabat Mater, and champions the utterly original music of Vítězslava Kaprálová. Expect surging emotions, burning colours and glorious singing; but above all, prepare to be transported.

The Wooden Prince

There’s only one Edward Elgar – or is there? For the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor Edward Gardner, Elgar is more than just a national institution with a walrus moustache. He’s the haunted, autumnal poet of the Cello Concerto (composed among the Sussex Downs); he’s a wit, a statesman, a romantic and – above all – he’s the composer who poured out his soul in ‘Nimrod’, the unforgettable centrepiece of the Enigma Variations. You’ll hear all this and much more when we play both of these much-loved classics, with the great Jan Vogler – a legend among cellists – making a rare Eastbourne appearance.

Edward Gardner conducts Elgar

A book of fairytales, painted in a thousand subtle and ravishing sounds. A symphony transformed into a multicoloured vortex of desire; and another, split into pieces and rebuilt as a musical monument. Sounds fantastic? You’d expect nothing less when Sir George Benjamin is conducting. The LPO’s new Composer-in-Residence is a sonic alchemist in his own right – a composer who transforms subtle and exquisite sounds into vast emotional landscapes. He’ll conduct his own work Palimpsests, too: music inspired by the many different tales written on medieval manuscripts, and framed tonight by masterpieces that set Benjamin’s own imagination on fire.

Mother Goose

Tonight she’ll take you to Broadway: torch songs and love letters from Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter and more, including hits from West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate and South Pacific. It’s sassy, it’s sexy and it’s straight from the heart – all gift-wrapped in the luxurious sound of the full London Philharmonic Orchestra. Go on, treat that special someone … or yourself!

A Little Bit in Love

Brighton Dome

Saffron Hall

The LPO Junior Artists programme supports the progression of talented teenage musicians from backgrounds currently under-represented in professional UK orchestras.

LPO Showcase: Junior Artists

Beethoven wanted his Ninth Symphony to embrace all humanity, so when Tan Dun set out to compose his own tribute to Beethoven, he aimed just as high, combining ancient poetry from China and Europe to create an ‘ode to peace’ worthy of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. His choral concerto Nine is everything you’d expect from the composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and tonight Tan Dun joins us to conduct the UK premiere – plus a full performance of Beethoven’s world-changing symphony. East meets West, and the result transcends both.

Beethoven’s Ninth

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