Name: Nicky Spence tenor; Dylan Perez piano
Start: 2024-12-29T19:30:00
Location: Wigmore Hall

London's most iconic venues, including Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, and Royal Festival Hall, are set to host a series of captivating concerts. From the celebrated Trio Chagall and Paddington Trio's chamber music to the grand orchestral pieces by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, each event pays tribute to the legendary composer Joseph Haydn. Highlights include performances of Haydn's Piano Trios, String Quartets, and Symphony No. 49, providing a rich tapestry of classical music for all to enjoy.

Musical Extravaganza in London: Celebrating Haydn Across Premier Venues

London's vibrant classical music scene is set to shine with a series of enthralling concerts featuring the works of Francis Poulenc. From the majestic Barbican Centre to the intimate Wigmore Hall, audiences can indulge in performances ranging from choral masterpieces to exquisite chamber music. Highlights include the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra & Chorus under Ludovic Morlot's direction, Malin Byström's soprano brilliance, and Quatuor Van Kuijk's string quartet renditions, all paying homage to Poulenc's timeless compositions.

Celebrating Poulenc: London Hosts a Series of Mesmerizing Concerts

London's iconic venues, including Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, and Southbank Centre, are set to host a series of enthralling performances that celebrate the timeless works of Henry Purcell. From the dramatic opera 'King Arthur' by Vox Luminis to the innovative fusion of The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble, these events promise a vibrant musical journey. Highlights include Jordi Savall's exploration of Early Music, Vilde Frang's Baroque program, and festive performances by The English Concert.

Celebrate Henry Purcell: A Journey Through London's Rich Musical Landscape

Get ready, London! Wigmore Hall is set to host a series of captivating events celebrating the genius of Hugo Wolf. From tenor performances and literary launches to avian-themed recitals and contemplative evenings, there's something for every classical music enthusiast. Mark your calendars and immerse yourself in the vibrant world of Hugo Wolf's compositions this fall.

Experience the Magic of Hugo Wolf: Upcoming Events at Wigmore Hall, London

This fall and winter, London becomes a hub of musical splendor with a series of enchanting performances dedicated to the works of William Byrd. From the meditative tones of 'Resounding Shores: Chamber and Chapel' at the Royal Academy of Music to the exhilarating 'James McVinnie: Fantasias' at the Southbank Centre, these events promise to captivate and inspire. Join us at Wigmore Hall for an array of soulful evenings, including performances by Stile Antico and The Gesualdo Six, culminating in a Shakespearean celebration by Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez. Don't miss this unique opportunity to experience the timeless beauty of Byrd's compositions.

Celebrate the Musical Genius of William Byrd Across London's Iconic Venues

London is set to become the ultimate destination for classical music enthusiasts with a remarkable series of events celebrating the works of Michael Tippett. From the imaginative 'Fairy-Tale Dances' by Lawrence Power and Thomas Adès at Southbank Centre on September 27, 2024, to the evocative 'Songs for Ariel' performed by Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez at Wigmore Hall on December 29, 2024, there's something for everyone. Don't miss the London Symphony Orchestra's tribute to Tippett, Turnage, and Vaughan Williams at the Barbican on January 12, 2025, or the profound experience of Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony, featuring Tippett's 'A Child of Our Time' on March 23, 2025.

Celebrate the Genius of Michael Tippett: Unmissable Classical Events in London

Nicky Spence

Wigmore Hall

In 2026, Jupiter celebrates John Dowland on the 400th anniversary of his death. Born in 1563, the composer and lutenist left us one of the most complete repertoires for his instrument, as well as numerous lyrical pieces contained in songbooks: the Songs of Ayres. Following the recording of Songs of Passion, an album released in September 2025 by Warner Classics and devoted in part to the composer’s passion arias, the ensemble honours him with a major programme that will include several excerpts from the songbooks and Lachrimae – compositions for viol consort – at the crossroads of poetry, lyricism and instrumental music. It will be performed by four singers, five gambists and lutenist Thomas Dunford, for whom ‘John Dowland was the John Lennon of the 16th Century.’ The popular dimension of his compositions is thus honoured, with a desire to highlight the different characters of music that is at once joyful, playful, mysterious, introspective, meditative and even amorous...

Thomas Dunford artistic director, lute; Jupiter Ensemble

The Elias String Quartet marks Sally Beamish’s 70th birthday year with a performance of two of the three quartets the group commissioned from her, each of which takes one of Robert Schumann’s string quartets as its point of creative departure. Its programme also includes a sequence of folk songs arranged by Donald Grant, Elias Quartet violinist and a master of the Scottish fiddle tradition.

Elias String Quartet

Internationally acclaimed British violinist Alex Redington leads The Purcell School Chamber Soloists in a performance of George Enescu’s monumental Octet. Redington is Head of Strings at The Purcell School of Music and is widely known as the founding first violinist of the Doric String Quartet, as well as for his distinguished solo and teaching career.

The Purcell School Chamber Soloists; Alex Redington director

A special showcase celebrating Samling Institute’s 30th anniversary. This recital brings together all the strands of Samling’s internationally recognised expertise in training young voices and pianists and features a glittering line-up of alumni from across the decades in an evening of song.

Samling Showcase

Yellow Barn’s Showcase continues with a compelling double bill. Ligeti’s 3 Pieces for 2 pianos, composed in 1978, opens with the thunderous chords of ‘Monument’ and includes the pulsating rhythmic energy of ‘Self-Portrait with Reich and Riley (and Chopin is there, too)’. The concert concludes with the eight movements of the Quatuor pour la fin du temps, composed and first performed in 1940, while Messiaen was a prisoner-of-war.

Yellow Barn Showcase Day

The Sunday Times praised the Jerusalem Quartet’s ‘immaculate, spirited playing’ in its recording of Mozart’s ‘Hunt’ Quartet, while The Times wrote of the ensemble’s ‘gold blend’ of ‘passion, precision, warmth’. It sets Mozart alongside the last of Bartók’s six quartets, completed shortly before its composer found refuge from war-torn Europe in the United States, before turning to Ravel’s ravishingly beautiful String Quartet in F.

Jerusalem Quartet

Vermont’s Yellow Barn, based in the heart of Putney Village Historic District, has become a chamber music haven, where international artists gather to work together with extraordinary rising talents and engage in a lively exchange of ideas. Wigmore Hall trains the spotlight on the Yellow Barn’s adventurous programming with a concert that explores the nature of spiritual transcendence and intercultural dialogue, complete with sounds from The Golden Record, two copies of which began their interstellar journey on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977.

Besides being one of the finest baritones of his generation, a natural successor to his great teacher, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Benjamin Appl is among the most thoughtful of programme builders. He opens his recital with the Jerusalem Quartet with Robert Schumann’s melodramatic Belsatzar, a spine-tingling ballad recalling Belshazzar’s feast from the Book of Daniel, and ventures into the world, past and present, and beyond into the infinite cosmos of dreams.

Benjamin Appl baritone; Jerusalem Quartet

Louise Farrenc’s Nonet raised its composer to celebrity status, propelled by the ovations with which the four-movement work was received at its première in 1850. Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, described by Strings Magazine as being like ‘A big, glorious house party with a long and fabulous guest list’, brings the French composer’s sonorous score to life alongside Mozart’s Quintet in E flat, with its beguiling blend of instrumental sonorities and dazzling array of themes.

Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective

Steven Isserlis’s programme recalls the musical powerhouse of Leipzig in the mid-1800s. Mendelssohn, so impressed by the works of William Sterndale Bennett, invited the young English composer to the German city, where he met and became friends with Robert Schumann. Bennett’s gift for melodic invention shines in his Sonata Duo, written in 1852 for the virtuoso cellist, Antonio Piatti, as does Mendelssohn’s in his Bach-inspired Second Cello Sonata of 1842.

Steven Isserlis cello; Connie Shih piano

Patricia Brennan’s septet brings the vibrant sonic world of Breaking Stretch to the stage, weaving rhythmic invention with taut ensemble interplay. A milestone recording, Breaking Stretch was named the 2025 Downbeat Critics Poll Album of the Year, comprising detailed compositions shaped by Caribbean and Latin inflections, textured horns and dynamic percussion.

Patricia Brennan Septet

Lara Downes is a devoted champion of classical music by women composers and Black Americans, and an equally unequivocal advocate for the cause of democracy and freedom. Her programme today stems from her Pentatone release Love at Last, a collection of works that span generations, continents and cultures, united in a stubborn belief in the possibility of humanity, brotherhood, peace, compassion and the everlasting power of love. The inspiration comes from a poem by the 19th-century Odessa-born poet Shaul Tchernichovsky.

Lara Downes piano

The Artist in Residence’s first programme of the Season invites us to look forward to the New Year in a Shakespearean manner.

Nicky Spence tenor; Dylan Perez piano

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