Name: Elgar’s Enigma Variations
Start: 2025-04-16T19:30:00
Location: Cadogan Hall

Immerse yourself in the timeless beauty of Edward Elgar's compositions as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra present a series of unforgettable performances. From the deeply emotional 'Cello Concerto' to the grandiose 'Enigma Variations', this season commemorates the rich legacy of Elgar and other British music titans, including the ethereal works of Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Elgar's Legacy Shines in a Stellar Season of Concerts

London is the place to be for Edward Elgar enthusiasts this season! From the serene choral works of The Sixteen at Royal Albert Hall to the grandeur of the Last Night of the Proms, there's something for every classical music lover. Don't miss the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano, the youthful energy of the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, or the intimate chamber music of the Nash Ensemble. Cap off the year with the New Year's Day Proms and explore the enigma of Elgar's Variations at Cadogan Hall and Southbank Centre.

Celebrate Edward Elgar: Must-See Musical Events in London

This spring and summer, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra invites everyone to partake in a diverse range of musical events. From workshops for disabled adults to grand orchestral performances, each event promises a unique experience. Whether creating music collaboratively or reliving cinematic moments, these events highlight the transformative power of music. Join us as we explore the artistic contributions and innovative programs that make these events extraordinary.

A Symphony for Everyone: Inclusive Musical Experiences with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Martyn Brabbins

Mark Bebbington

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

From delicate piano chords that ripple like grass in the wind, to melodies in the strings that soar into a blue infinite sky, little music can make your imagination instantly take flight like the music of Joe Hisaishi. This November, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra welcomes the renowned composer – whose scores for the films of Studio Ghibli have enchanted a captive audience of millions across the world – to the stage of Royal Albert Hall as he conducts a selection of his own works.

Beyond the screen, Joe Hisaishi’s music for the concert hall has been performed extensively: from the BBC Proms to Seoul's Lotte Concert Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. His contemporary music unites his gift for orchestration with inspiration that draws from minimalism to Romanticism to the Baroque. Expect something extraordinary and startlingly inventive as we perform the UK premiere of his kaleidoscopic Concerto for Orchestra.

To let the unrestrained magic of Joe Hisaishi’s music work on you, there’s nothing like being there to hear it in person.

Hisaishi conducts Hisaishi

Royal Albert Hall

Back by popular demand, Sir John Rutter’s Christmas Celebration returns to the Royal Albert Hall in 2026.

Join us for this much-loved Christmas spectacular – full of John Rutter’s own works and arrangements, as well as seasonal symphonic classics and sing-along carols – all conducted by Sir John himself and featuring the highly esteemed Bach Choir.

Sir John Rutter's Christmas Celebration

Christmas music couldn’t feel more at home than at the cosy Cadogan Hall – located in the heart of London’s most exquisite borough, Chelsea.

The winter season sees the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra don woolly white beards and bobbled hats to bring you a sackful of festive orchestral delights.

Conductor Stephen Bell and two guest vocalists make for the perfect Christmas elves as they magic up some Yuletide spirit with blazing brass fanfares, enchanting croons under the Christmas tree, Christmas chart-toppers old and new, and sing-a-long carols with a resounding ‘five gold rings’ from the entire Hall guaranteed… you won’t want to say that you missed our Christmas Cracker.

Christmas Cracker

Cadogan Hall

The darkness lies heavily on the demon-king Kastchei’s shadow kingdom – so heavily that you can almost hear it and feel the air shimmer. Suddenly, there’s a flash, and with a dazzling cascade of sound, an adventure begins. Stravinsky’s The Firebird is one of the great musical fairytales; a story that Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are delighted to retell tonight. And there’s a reason why Grieg’s Piano Concerto is one of the world’s favourites, too. Melodies this good always feel fresh, and never fresher than when they’re played by Eric Lu – the multi-award-winning pianist who’s taking the world by storm. First, though, ancient passions burn beneath the tranquillity of the English countryside in Butterworth’s haunting rhapsody. This should be something special.

Stravinsky The Firebird

‘Thus fate knocks at the door’: even if you’ve never heard a Beethoven symphony, you’ll know the shattering four notes that open his Fifth. But if that’s all you know, you’re in for the ride of your life, as Vasily Petrenko conducts the symphony that redefined classical music – a white-knuckle ride from despair to triumph, told in music so powerful that it left Beethoven’s contemporaries gasping for breath. Follow that? You can’t, so we’re beginning with a symphonic scene from Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova, her last piece of composition before her marriage to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and a showstopper from the 20th century, the daredevil piano concerto that the young Prokofiev wrote in an age of revolution to demonstrate his own off-the-scale skills. And who better to play it than a good friend of the RPO – the ‘pristine, lyrical and intelligent’ (The New York Times) Jan Lisiecki?

Vasily Petrenko conducts Beethoven 5

From the dim lights of New York City jazz clubs to the glimmering marquees of old Hollywood, the Great American Songbook has illuminated some of the world’s most romantic and glamorous places. This Valentine’s Day, take a trip with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and be transported to a time when dance halls swelled with swing rhythms and love songs floated out of theatres late into the evening.

Lush orchestral arrangements meet heart-melting melodies, popularised by great performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett and Judy Garland, including: So in Love, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye, My Funny Valentine, The Way You Look Tonight, Someone to Watch Over Me, It Had to Be You, A Fine Romance, The Lady is a Tramp, and more. Showstopping soloists Sumudu Jayatilaka and Iain Mackenzie and sparkling conductor Richard Balcombe will bring the music to life.

Romantic, elegant and full of familiar melodies, this is the perfect excuse to spend time with the special people in your life enjoying classic songs and music that have defined love for generations.

’S Wonderful: Timeless Love Songs

Enjoy Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony? Now discover his symphony from the old world! Dvořák simply couldn’t stop writing good tunes, and his Eighth Symphony begins with a hymn and ends with an all-out knees-up. In between, you’ll hear birdsong, thunder, village bands and graceful waltzes: this is folk music turned to symphonic gold, and it’s the perfect complement to Smetana’s joyous comedy overture. This is a concert that positively sparkles with sunlight – and masterpieces don’t get much sunnier than Beethoven’s youthful First Piano Concerto, especially when played by Sunwook Kim, a pianist and conductor who sees far beyond the notes. Tonight, he directs Beethoven’s concerto from the keyboard, just like the composer himself.

Beethoven and Dvořák

‘The forests, the cascading Danube, the wide, open fields… this is my homeland, this wild, untamed nation!’ Franz Liszt never did anything by halves, and when he discovered the folk music of his native Hungary, his imagination caught fire. That passionate spirit blazes through this sizzling concert from RPO Associate Conductor Emilia Hoving, a celebration of untamed rhythms, endless longing and melodies that tingle like paprika. Zoltán Kodály tells the tallest of musical fairytales, and his friend Bartók toasts the foundation of the city of Budapest, throwing a chain of dances right across the Danube. But first, we’ll hear from Liszt himself – music by the greatest pianist who ever lived. No problem for our soloist, Hungarian pianist János Balázs: ‘I’m a real romantic’, he says.

Liszt Hungarian Fantasy: Hommage á Cziffra

Back by demand, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Best of Broadway returns to the Royal Albert Hall for one night only.

Join the RPO and a sensational cast of West End stars for a celebration of Broadway musicals.

Including much-loved music and smash-hit songs from: Chicago, Mamma Mia, Wicked, Hamilton, The Lion King, Chess, Dreamgirls, Six, Little Shop of Horrors, Cats, &Juliet, Les Misérables, Hadestown, Kinky Boots… and more.

Best of Broadway

Romance, rhythm and the dance of life itself: that’s the story of this colourful concert performed by Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Tchaikovsky put all his energy and youthful longing into his famous retelling of Romeo and Juliet, and the result is one of the greatest love themes in all music. They say that Rachmaninoff imagined a dream ballet when he composed his last masterpiece, the Symphonic Dances – a vision of haunted waltzes and raw, unstoppable life force from a genius in exile. And as for Saint-Saëns’ exuberant Second Piano Concerto: well, one critic said that it begins in church and ends at an orgy. It’ll fizz like champagne tonight, as Vasily Petrenko partners one of France’s most brilliant pianists, Bertrand Chamayou.

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Southbank Centre

A man stands alone at the grave of a friend. Shattered by grief, he cries out in sorrow and takes the first step on an odyssey that will take him to the end of the world – and beyond.

This is Gustav Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony, and if it sounds epic on paper, just wait till you hear it live. It’s quite simply overwhelming – and if you only know it from recordings, you really haven’t heard it all. It could have been written for the Royal Albert Hall, so prepare yourself for the musical adventure of a lifetime, as RPO Music Director Vasily Petrenko conducts two outstanding singers and the mighty Philharmonia Chorus in music to shake the heavens – plus a haunting curtain-raiser from Arvo Pärt.

Mahler ‘Resurrection’

From tragic opening to climactic, world-embracing Ode to Joy, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has never been just another symphony – it’s an emotional experience with the power to change lives. Every performance is a special occasion, but tonight at Cadogan Hall Conductor-in-Residence Adam Hickox and the RPO have joined forces with the City of London Choir and a truly superb line-up of solo singers. They’re setting the mood with two very different – but equally gripping – outpourings of emotion. Brahms revered Beethoven, and his poignant Nänie is a true cry from the soul. And Rossini’s William Tell overture paints a whole world of wild Romantic adventure even before it gets to that famous finale – a gloriously entertaining salute to Beethoven’s anniversary year.

Beethoven 9

Elgar’s Enigma Variations began as a parlour game, a series of musical portraits of the composer’s nearest and dearest. It grew into the warmest, tenderest and most stirring masterpiece in all of British music: who isn’t moved by the profound emotion of Nimrod? Few artists understand British music better than former English National Opera music director Martyn Brabbins, and tonight Enigma crowns an all-British programme that opens with the serenity of Vaughan Williams and stars another great champion of British music, pianist Mark Bebbington, in the Piano Concerto by Sir Arthur Bliss. It’s not heard all that often, but it’s an absolute knockout: an art deco blockbuster, written on the eve of the Second World War. The greatest piano concerto you’ve never heard? Judge for yourself…

Elgar’s Enigma Variations

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