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

This autumn and winter, London will resonate with the enchanting melodies of French music, highlighted by the remarkable works of Lili Boulanger. From the evocative Requiem by Gabriel Fauré at the Royal Albert Hall to the nostalgic songs at Wigmore Hall, immerse yourself in a series of concerts honoring the rich legacy of French composers.

A Celebration of Lili Boulanger and French Music Across London

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 is set to become the epicenter of Shostakovich celebrations, with a series of captivating concerts featuring his iconic works. From the powerful Symphony No. 5 performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall to the emotional Piano Trios by Brahms and Shostakovich at LSO St Luke's, music lovers are in for a treat. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will host a special performance of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, while the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will bring his Festive Overture to life at Cadogan Hall. Don't miss out on this extraordinary musical journey!

Shostakovich's Legacy Resonates in London: A Series of Unmissable Concerts

London is set to resonate with the enchanting sounds of Claude Debussy this concert season. From the elegant interpretations by Javier Perianes and Saskia Giorgini at Wigmore Hall to the grand orchestral performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, there's an event for every classical music enthusiast. Don't miss the chance to immerse yourself in Debussy's masterpieces, including 'Estampes', 'Danse Estampes', 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune', and many more.

Celebrate Debussy: A Musical Odyssey in London

London becomes a musical haven this season, with a series of captivating events celebrating the works of Béla Bartók. From orchestral masterpieces like 'Divertimento for String Orchestra' and 'Piano Concerto No. 3' at the Barbican Centre, to intimate chamber music performances at Wigmore Hall, featuring Bartók's '6 Romanian Folk Dances' and 'Sonata for Solo Violin,' the city offers a rich tapestry of themes exploring nature, mathematical patterns, and cosmic rhythms. Don’t miss the immersive Half Six Fix concert at the Barbican, where Bartók's 'The Miraculous Mandarin Suite' will be brought to life by the London Symphony Orchestra under the versatile baton of Barbara Hannigan.

Exploring Bartók's Musical Legacy in London: A Journey Through Time and Sound

Prepare to be captivated by the timeless compositions of Sergey Rachmaninoff as London's most prestigious orchestras and venues come alive with his masterpieces. From the youthful exuberance of his First Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, to the soul-stirring choral symphony The Bells conducted by Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall, Rachmaninoff's legacy echoes throughout London. Experience the rich, deep sorrow of Rachmaninoff’s grandest works interpreted by world-class musicians in iconic locations like the Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, and Cadogan Hall.

The Essence of Rachmaninoff: A Musical Journey Through London's Premier Venues

London is set to become a hub of musical brilliance this season, featuring the works of Camille Saint-Saëns. From the grand finale of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall to the melodic tales at Wigmore Hall, and the majestic orchestrations at the Barbican Centre, this is an event series that promises to enthrall. Join us as we dive into a symphony of concerts celebrating the timeless genius of Saint-Saëns and his contemporaries.

Camille Saint-Saëns in London: A Musical Extravaganza Across Iconic Venues

London is set to host an array of spectacular concerts, bringing together the brilliance of Sergey Prokofiev and the lesser-known but equally captivating works of Grażyna Bacewicz. On September 12, the Royal Albert Hall will resonate with Prokofiev’s 'Romeo and Juliet' under the baton of Jaime Martín, featuring the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and soloist Nemanja Radulović. Grażyna Bacewicz's thrilling Overture will open the evening. On September 21, Wigmore Hall will showcase pianist Peter Jablonski's skill with a program rich in Polish connections, including Bacewicz's intricate Second Sonata. Come November 1, the Barbican Centre will host Kirill Gerstein's rendition of Busoni’s colossal Piano Concerto, with Bacewicz's Symphony No. 2 adding depth to the orchestral feast.

Musical Celebrations in London: From Prokofiev to Bacewicz

London is set to enchant classical music lovers with a series of extraordinary concerts highlighting the works of Gabriel Fauré. From the BBC Symphony Orchestra's performance at the Royal Albert Hall to intimate recitals at Wigmore Hall and grand showcases at the Barbican Centre, this musical journey promises to celebrate Fauré's legacy in style. Highlights include Fauré's Requiem, Barcarolle, Nocturne No. 12 in E minor, and much more.

Celebrating Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Journey Through London's Iconic Venues

London is set to be mesmerized by the timeless works of Maurice Ravel, along with pieces by Fauré, Boulanger, and other classical giants. From the sensual ballet 'Daphnis and Chloe' at the Royal Albert Hall to Kathryn Stott's final recital at Wigmore Hall, and the evocative 'Le Tombeau de Couperin' at Royal Festival Hall, classical music enthusiasts are in for a treat. Don't miss out on these spectacular performances celebrating the magic of Ravel and more across the city's iconic venues.

Ravel's Masterpieces Shine in London's Classical Music Scene

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

London is set to resonate with the enchanting compositions of Hector Berlioz as a series of captivating musical events unfold across the city's iconic venues. From the dramatic 'Symphonie Fantastique' and the tender 'L’enfance du Christ' to the enthralling 'Roman Carnival', these concerts feature world-class orchestras and soloists, promising an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Celebrating Berlioz in London: A Series of Unmissable Musical Events

London's prestigious venues, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Centre, are set to host a series of enchanting performances this autumn and winter. Featuring works by the distinguished Croatian composer Dora Pejačević, these events will not only highlight her genius but also offer audiences a rich tapestry of chamber and orchestral music. From the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective's Eastern European folk-influenced program to the BBC Symphony Orchestra's heart-stirring 'Glowing colours and grand passions', these concerts promise an unforgettable experience.

Celebrating Dora Pejačević: Musical Masterpieces in London

London's opera scene is set to dazzle audiences with a series of captivating performances of Giacomo Puccini's timeless works. From the gripping drama of 'Tosca' at the Royal Opera House to the emotional depth of 'La bohème' at the London Coliseum, and the melodic beauty of 'La rondine' at the Barbican Centre, there's something for everyone. Join us as we explore these iconic productions and the rich musical heritage of Puccini.

Experience Giacomo Puccini's Masterpieces in London: An Operatic Journey

From the grandeur of Chopin and Mahler at the Barbican to the intimate chamber music at LSO St Luke's, London's classical music scene is set to shine with a series of exceptional concerts. Highlights include Karol Szymanowski's masterpieces performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano, Quatuor Arod, Peter Jablonski, and more. Don't miss these unforgettable musical experiences on 19th September 2024 and beyond!

Celebrating Karol Szymanowski: Memorable Concerts in London

This autumn, London is set to become the epicenter of classical and contemporary music, with a series of remarkable events celebrating the genius of Charles Ives and other visionary composers. From the Philharmonia's debut at Bold Tendencies in Peckham, featuring Oliver Leith's innovative compositions and Charles Ives' 'The Housatonic at Stockbridge,' to the grand finale at the Royal Albert Hall with the Last Night of the Proms, and the Britten Sinfonia's electrifying performances with the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble at the Barbican Centre, there's something for every music lover.

London's Classical Music Extravaganza: Celebrating Charles Ives and More

London is set to resonate with the evocative sounds of Kaija Saariaho in a series of compelling musical events. From the refined spaces of Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and Southbank Centre to the historical Barbican Centre, immerse yourself in the enchanting compositions of Saariaho. Highlights include the Philharmonia Orchestra's tribute to Nordic Soundscapes, the London Philharmonic Orchestra's stirring performances, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra's poignant premiere of Saariaho's 'HUSH.'

Discover the Sonic Landscapes of Kaija Saariaho: Concerts Across London

London is set to be the backdrop for a series of captivating events celebrating renowned literary and musical figures. Kicking off with the launch of 'Goethe: His Faustian Life' by Ferruccio Busoni at Wigmore Hall on September 20, 2024, followed by Kirill Gerstein's performance of Busoni's monumental Piano Concerto at the Barbican Centre on November 1, 2024. The season closes with Jonathan Plowright's piano recital featuring Busoni’s Chorale Prelude at Wigmore Hall on December 27, 2024.

London Hosts Enchanting Events on Ferruccio Busoni and Goethe

Revolutions aren’t always noisy – and as the world around them broke up in war and turmoil, Dora Pejačević and Karol Szymanowski let their imaginations soar, creating beauty that still thrills and ravishes today. The young Strauss pictures eternity, and Richard Wagner writes a wordless poem to the love of his life: music so intimate that it almost feels as if we shouldn’t be listening.

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Glowing colours and grand passions

Barbican Centre

“Joy and pain interweave in the light of the world…Thousands of years flash by with glory and strength, revealing that which is indestructible”. Extraordinary claims; but then extraordinary is the only word for the heaven-storming choral finale of Ferruccio Busoni’s colossal Piano Concerto: a masterpiece on the scale of a symphony, composed in 1904 by one of Mahler’s greatest fans.

Gerstein plays Busoni’s Piano Concerto

A smash-hit Broadway play turned movie, David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly metamorphoses into music theatre as the UK premiere of Huang Ruo’s operatic reworking takes wing.

Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly

Channel waves, folk rhythms and the heartbeat of the cosmos, as conductor Dinis Souza, pianist Bertrand Chamayou and the BBC Symphony Orchestra play Debussy, Bartók and Unsuk Chin.

Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto

Join the BBC Singers as they celebrate their 100th birthday and look forward to the future with a host of star artists and special guests.

BBC Singers Centenary Concert

Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s tragic Sixth Symphony: a powerful opening to our new concert season.

Oramo conducts Mahler

The stars gather for an end-of-season party like no other. Joining the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Singers are Grammy Award-winning American soprano Angel Blue and one of Britain’s best-loved pianists, Sir Stephen Hough. Sakari Oramo returns to the podium for the world’s biggest classical music party.

Prom 73: Last Night of the Proms 2024

Royal Albert Hall

One fast-rising star and one firmly established. The inimitable Patricia Kopatchinskaja returns to the festival for this concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the latest conducting sensation to have emerged from Finland, Tarmo Peltokoski. After soothing Vaughan Williams and stimulating Schoenberg, we hear Shostakovich’s symphonic bid to save his own life in the face of Stalin’s wrath. The composer’s Symphony No. 5 is his most enduring of all, a spiritual battle in which he disguises protest as praise, creating his most bracing and powerful music in the process.

Prom 67: BBC SO plays Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony

The twin peaks of tonight’s all-French programme are two masterpieces from Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Ravel, beginning with the former’s consolatory Requiem, a work whose clean lines, pure vocal textures and elegant orchestrations appear to propose a new philosophy of religion. Prepare for temperatures to rise with the sensual awakenings and sultry dances of Ravel’s suite for the ballet Daphnis and Chloe, evoking an ancient world of pastoral delights. Two prayers by Lili Boulanger, who died tragically young at 24, and Fauré’s incidental music written for a London production of Maeterlinck’s Symbolist play Pelleas and Melisande complete the evening.

Prom 59: A French Fantasy – Boulanger, Fauré and Ravel

Sir Andrew Davis (1944–2024), the celebrated British conductor famed for delighting audiences at the BBC Proms with his sparkling wit and exquisite musicianship, is remembered in this Prom from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. The centrepiece of the concert is Reich’s Jacob’s Ladder, the composer’s ‘dream of ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth’ that was deemed ‘energetic, meditative, light, graceful and refreshing’ when premiered in New York last spring. The second half will now include the ‘Ritual Dances’ from Tippet’s opera The Midsummer Marriage and Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations, two pieces close to Sir Andrew Davis’s heart.



Prom 53: Stravinsky, Reich, Tippett and Elgar

One day in 1983, the troubled American composer Julius Eastman presented his ex-boyfriend with a rolled-up score – that of his Symphony No. 2. The music, which wasn’t seen again or performed until 2018, tells of their love and its disintegration in an orchestral language all of its own – part drone piece, part thematic symphony. The BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevska follows this remarkable work with Gustav Mahler’s songs on love, loneliness and withdrawal, sung by the inimitable Jamie Barton, and Sibelius’s most awe-inspiring symphony, the Fifth – his testament to nature’s capacity to embolden and console.

Prom 45: Dalia Stasevska conducts Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony

Stravinsky showed his true colours in The Firebird. In this coruscating ballet music he unleashed for the first time the vivid colours that would captivate generations of theatre-goers. He had the perfect subject matter in the compelling story of the young Prince Ivan outwitting the evil sorcerer Kashchey and freeing the 13 enchanted Princesses with the help of the magical Firebird. Tianyi Lu also conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Puccini’s effortlessly lyrical Preludio sinfonico, Dukas’s retelling of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice tale and a new Cello Concerto by Francisco Coll, powered by dances ranging from the tango to the waltz.

Prom 38: Stravinsky’s The Firebird with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

From Westminster Bridge and the bells of Big Ben to Bloomsbury Square, in his A London Symphony Vaughan Williams depicts the English capital, where horses still trotted through the streets and the countryside could be glimpsed from Marble Arch. Elgar’s ‘stout and steaky’ picture-postcard scenes of London life join anniversary composer Holst’s Hammersmith, commissioned for the BBC Military Band, in saluting the city. Vaughan Williams’s teacher Stanford (who died 100 years ago) completes the programme, with a selection of reflective songs performed by leading British baritone Christopher Maltman.

Prom 33: Titans of British Music

When the 14-year-old Richard Strauss got caught in a storm, lost in the mist, soaked by the rain or blistered by the sun while out mountaineering, his response was to sit at the piano and improvise a musical description of the experience. That sowed the seeds for a work born 35 years later: An Alpine Symphony. This spectacular symphony, which calls for an orchestra of 130 musicians – including wind machine, thunder machine, cowbells, organ and offstage brass – will surely raise the roof of the Royal Albert Hall. But only after Mozart – at his most charming in the Piano Concerto No. 9 – and the late Kaija Saariaho’s Mirage, a hypnotic snapshot of womanhood for soprano, cello and orchestra.

Prom 27: Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony

Deeply in love and enlightened by Sanskrit literature, Gustav Holst embarked upon what many consider his true masterpiece. The Cloud Messenger recounts an ancient tale in which a man sends a message of love to his distant wife via a passing cloud. It drew from the composer a rich and passionate work charting love’s trials and rewards. This performance, marking 150 years since Holst’s birth, comes after Elgar’s ever-popular, bittersweet Cello Concerto and the gentle exhalations of Jonathan Harvey’s Tranquil Abiding, inspired by Buddhist meditation.

Prom 19: Elgar’s Cello Concerto

In 2022 Yunchan Lim became the youngest ever winner of the Van Cliburn Competition, America’s most distinguished contest for outstanding pianists. He makes his Proms debut tonight with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, performing Beethoven’s final piano concerto, the ‘Emperor’, a work of heroism and virtuosity in which the soloist brings order to a world of sound and fury. The dashing final chapter of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 proved enough to herald a major symphonic career, but the programme opens at an opposite extreme, with Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Aditus (‘entrance’ or ‘approach’), a sizzling opener of existential, expressionistic drama.

Prom 14: Beethoven, Bruckner and Tüür

There has never been an artist quite like Nick Drake, one of the great poets of the folk-rock movement. Fifty years on from his death at the age of just 26, the British singer-songwriter has found a new, cross-generational audience – many of them beguiled by his fragility and fatalism, his music’s mingling of the outwardly simple and the inwardly complex. For this tribute Prom, Jules Buckley brings together a selection of artists to join the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a unique celebration, with songs including ‘River Man’, ‘Cello Song’, ‘Time Has Told Me’ and ‘Northern Sky’.

Prom 8: Nick Drake – An Orchestral Celebration

Beethoven railed against fate in his Symphony No. 5, capturing ideals of fortitude, defiance and bravery in an instant. In her First Night debut, conductor Elim Chan places Beethoven’s compelling score at the heart of a celebration that includes fireworks, jubilation and romance. The last comes with Clara Schumann’s tender and virtuosic Piano Concerto – performed by a pianist who has championed it tirelessly: Isata Kanneh-Mason, the eldest of the remarkable musical Kanneh-Mason siblings.

First Night of the Proms 2024

Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures bursts open, as the BBC Symphony Orchestra plays a live accompaniment to two wonderful animated adventures.

Quentin Blake's Box of Treasures: Live in Concert

Swedish conductor Christian Karlsen makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for this free evening studio concert at Maida Vale – with music by five composers.

Karlsen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Maida Vale Studios

The "Symphonic Mob" offers everyone who plays an instrument or likes to sing the great opportunity to make music together with the professionals of a world-class orchestra. After 600 amateur musicians and members of the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin completely thrilled the Kissinger audience in the Kurgarten last year, it is time for a sequel: in 2024, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo invite you to play together in Bavaria's largest spontaneous orchestra. Sheet music is available in the original and in a simplified version on the project website, and a joint rehearsal directly before the concert ensures perfect preparation.

BBC SO at Kissinger Sommer Festival 3

Max Littmann Hall

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo present two lyrical works. Elgar's Violin Concerto is elegiac in tune as a reprise of the late romantic tone of the 20th century - the Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang has the grace, the technical sovereignty and the great breath that the solo part demands. Beethoven’s Pastoral, on the other hand, is idyllic and hymn-like. In the finale of the symphony, in which, according to the movement's title, a musical "thanks to the deity" is formulated, the composer's religious veneration of nature is expressed. The fourth movement forms the dramatic counterpoint with its impressive thunderstorm scene.

BBC SO at Kissinger Sommer Festival 2

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Sakari Oramo, begin the program with the highly romantic Oberon overture. The eponymous Elf King then appears again in Mendelssohn's enchantingly atmospheric Midsummer Night's Dream music.

BBC SO at Kissinger Sommer Festival

Bulgarian conductor Delyana Lazarova returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a free afternoon studio concert at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios.

Delyana Lazarova conducts music by Tabakova, Mendelssohn and Dvořák

Full sail for new shores: Sakari Oramo conducts Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony, Britten’s Double Concerto and the London premiere of Oliver Knussen’s exquisite Cleveland Pictures.

A Sea Symphony

Alice Mary Smith was a formidably talented mid-nineteenth century composer who as far as is known wrote the first symphony produced by a woman in this country. The Masque of Pandora was not completed before her untimely death, but its overture is a lively and attractive piece.

BBC Symphony Orchestra in Basingstoke

The Anvil

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony maps a journey from darkness to light, reflecting the crisis of his collapsed marriage. It’s an emotional white-knuckle ride, from the blazing opening brass fanfare – through pain, anguish, daydreams and nostalgia – ending in hard-won triumph.

Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody

Martyn Brabbins takes the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on an adventure that spans oceans – from a majestic choral masterwork from 19th century Brazil to Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Old Pictures, New Worlds

Professor Jonathan Cross (University of Oxford) and Associate Professor Harriet Boyd-Bennett (University of Nottingham) introduce the world of Bruno Maderna, Luciano Berio, Luigi Nono and Luigi Dallapiccola.

Total Immersion: Italian Radicals Meet the Radicals!

Miniatures by Berio, Maderna, Nono and Dallapiccola, introduced and performed live by virtuoso instrumentalists and singers from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Total Immersion: Italian Radicals - O King

Milton Court Concert Hall

Professor Jonathan Cross (University of Oxford) and Associate Professor Harriet Boyd-Bennett (University of Nottingham) introduce the music in tonight's Total Immersion concert.

Total Immersion: Italian Radicals - Meet the Radicals 2

Imagine a symphony that takes everything a symphony has been and everything a symphony could be: an orchestral showpiece that’s simultaneously a protest, a celebration, and a postmodern prank from the heart of 1960s counterculture. Berio’s Sinfonia is the climax to a day-long immersion in the music of postwar Italy.

Total Immersion: Italian Radicals - Sinfonia... and more!

"For me, Mahler is a ship plying the ocean, a ship filled with fine things, magnificent people and gifts" said Luciano Berio, describing the central movement of his Sinfonia (1968): in this 1999 documentary he discusses the creative process behind a defining modern masterpiece.

Total Immersion: Italian Radicals Voyage to Cythera

Kate Atkinson is one of the best-loved storytellers of the 21st century – creator of Jackson Brodie, and a Whitbread and Costa Prize-winning writer whose novels turn a playful but always intensely perceptive eye on life, love and loss.

Kate Atkinson and the BBC Symphony Orchestra: Normal Rules Don't Apply

UK conductor-composer Jack Sheen makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a free evening concert at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, with new works from younger composers concerned with the environment. Finnish composer Ville Raasakka’s Black cloud, under ground recreates field recordings made in an abandoned coal mine underneath a town in Pennsylvania, where in 1962 a fire broke out in an abandoned coal mine. Toxic smokes slowly began to seep into the homes of the residents, and people were relocated in 1984. The fire will continue to burn for an estimated 200-250 years. Jack Sheen’s own Lung is about our lungs.

Jack Sheen conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Severed heads, demonic orgies and obsessive love. Jader Bignamini pairs Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with the equally colourful imaginations of Poulenc and Camile Pépin.

Fantastic Symphony

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is delighted to welcome the acclaimed young Italian-Turkish conductor Nil Venditti for her debut in this free afternoon studio concert at Maida Vale. She brings music by two Italian composers and Mozart.

Nil Venditti conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Puccini, Mozart and Casella

Emerging talent Jiří Rožeň returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a free afternoon studio concert at Maida Vale.

Rožeň conducts Smetana, Mozart and Janáček

Hilarious and horrifying, The Death of Stalin is a comedy of terrors, screened in live synchronisation with Christopher Willis' powerful score for the first time.

The Death of Stalin - In Concert

The Spanish conductor-composer Francisco Coll makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducting two of his own works. Aqua Cinerea – the title means evoking ash-grey water or perhaps even the image of ash falling as rain – is his magical first orchestral work written in 2005 when Coll was 19. Hímnica (2020) is a kind of passacaglia, or chaconne, in which a hymnic theme develops in different ways within one slow tempo.

Francisco Coll conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in music from Spain

Clemens Schuldt conducts Raymond Yiu’s powerful new violin concerto, framed by explosions of colour and joy from Kodály and Beethoven.

Clemens Schuldt conducts Beethoven

Let there be light! The UK premiere of James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux, conducted by the composer himself.

Let There Be Light

Still waters run deep: Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Chorus perform Brahms’s German Requiem, plus two emotionally-charged rediscoveries from postwar Finland.

Oramo conducts Brahms

The Austrian conductor Katharina Wincor makes her debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra with three works which showcase the sound of the orchestra – two by Austrian composers.

Katharina Wincor conducts Strauss, Berg and Connesson

Family memories, spiralling galaxies and a god of song, tormented by fate. In the orchestral works of Missy Mazzoli, private emotions inspire visions that span time and space. Dalia Stasevska conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra as the composer introduces four of her most powerful (and personal) orchestral pieces.

Total Immersion: Missy Mazzoli - Worlds in Us

Meet Missy Mazzoli – in person and on film. A collection of short films introducing Missy Mazzoli and her music, with an introduction to the music to played in the BBC Symphony Orchestra 1.30pm concert. Hosted by Sara Mohr-Pietsch.

Total Immersion: Meet Missy Mazzoli

Missy Mazzoli introduces her own music, and music that inspires her, performed by the superb young artists of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Total Immersion: Missy Mazzoli with Guildhall Musicians

The UK premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Song from the Uproar – the story of a woman who redefined the possible, performed by mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately, dancer Lucia Chocarro, the BBC Singers and musicians from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Total Immersion: Missy Mazzoli's opera - Song from the Uproar

Join Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevska and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for works by 3 UK and 2 American composers. There’s the UK premiere of RE|Member, by American Reena Esmail, who works between Hindustani and Western classical music – and the world premiere of Drifting Haze by a former BBC Proms Young Composer, Sasha Scott. We travel to ancient China with Dame Judith Weir’s Natural History, a setting of four brief texts taken from Chuang-tzu, a classic collection of Taoist writings – with soprano Lucy Crowe.

Celebrate women composers and performers with the BBC SO

Alexander Malofeev plays Prokofiev, and Hannu Lintu conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in colourful showpieces by Adams and Stravinsky – plus a Bernard Rands world premiere.

Fireworks and Fantasies

Take a deep breath and dive underwater in the concert hall submarine with its musical crew, the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

CBeebies: Ocean Adventure

Southbank Centre

Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony crowns an evening of music that speaks directly to the world around us, in the first London appearance by conductor Kahchun Wong.

Wong conducts Shostakovich

Young British conductor Adam Hickox returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He conducts Stravinsky’s colourful ballet Petrushka as well as Sofia Gubaidulina’s Fairytale Poem, based on The Little Piece of Chalk, a fairy-tale by the Czech writer, Miloš Macourek. And the concert begins with music from Dame Ethel Smyth’s 1906 opera The Wreckers.

Adam Hickox conducts Stravinsky’s Petrushka

Night thoughts: from the magic of Helen Grime to the fantasy of Richard Strauss and the unchained emotion of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique symphony, conducted by a true rising star.

Tchaikovsky, Grime & Strauss

The BBC’s celebration of singing in East London. Join the BBC Singers, the BBC Symphony Chorus and over 200 local performers for a showcase for talented choirs from across East London.

BBC Sing East!

Hackney Empire

Sakari Oramo joins star violinist Vilde Frang to bend time and play the unplayable – whether Andrew Norman’s American odyssey or Sibelius at his most passionate.

Frang plays Stravinsky

Sakari Oramo conducts The BBC Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius, at Culture Casino, Bern.

BBC Symphony Orchestra in Bern

Casino Bern

Sakari Oramo conducts The BBC Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius at the Tonhalle, Zurich.

BBC Symphony Orchestra in Zurich

Tonhalle Zürich

Sakari Oramo conducts The BBC Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius, at Victoria Hall in Geneva.

BBC Symphony Orchestra in Geneva

Victoria Hall in Geneva

Deserted by her lover, the beautiful Ariadne pours out her longing and loss. The virgin Mary sings to both heaven and earth in a moment of pure ecstasy. And Robert Schumann, smitten with his young wife Clara, weaves messages of pure love into a symphony inspired by Beethoven. Some say it’s his very greatest.

Heaven, Earth and the human heart

From the elemental grandeur of Sibelius to the miracle of a globe-skimming dragonfly, Sakari Oramo joins violinist Johan Dalene to explore new horizons and old.

Oramo conducts Sibelius

Alice Mary Smith defied the expectations of 19th century Britain, and her musical imagination travelled without boundaries. Today, she sets sail with Jason and the Argonauts: just the start of a concert that voyages East onboard Ravel’s ship of dreams, before confronting Napoleon Bonaparte himself in Beethoven’s revolutionary Eroica symphony.

Fantastic Voyages

Join Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo as he conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in an afternoon of UK premieres; Scottish composer Geraldine Mucha’s Summer Day (Letní den), German composer Detlev Glanert’s imaginative orchestration of Brahms’s Four Serious Songs with BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Konstantin Krimmel (baritone), and Finn Väinö Raitio’s fantastical Moonlight on Jupiter.

Oramo conducts Mucha, Brahms and Raitio

Two different centuries, and two very different – but equally heartfelt – fourth symphonies. Semyon Bychkov conducts music by Detlev Glanert and Johannes Brahms.

Bychkov conducts Brahms

The Eufonie Festival aims to popularize the cultural heritage of most countries known today as Central and Eastern Europe: from the Balkans, through Romania and Austria, the Visegrad Group countries, Ukraine and Belarus, to the Baltic States.

BBC Symphony Orchestra: Eufonie Festival, Warsaw

National Philharmonic

The BBC Symphony Chorus with pianist Michael Higgins survey the world and its seasons through Jonathan Dove’s virtuosic cantata for double chorus The Passing of the Year and shorter pieces that take us through the seasons from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Caroline Shaw and Reena Esmail. The concert begins with pieces that look at matters earthly and divine from Brahms, Michael Higgins and Sven-David Sandström. Conducted by BBC Symphony Chorus Director Neil Ferris.

The BBC Symphony Chorus at Maida Vale

In his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, British conductor Jonathan Bloxham conducts BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Alim Beisembayev in Tchaikovsky’s romantic and thrilling Piano Concerto No. 1, in a concert also featuring Helen Grime’s Limina, and Borodin's effervescent Second Symphony.

Alim Beisembayev performs Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra

French conductor Pierre Bleuse makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducting BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Santiago Cañón-Valencia in Saint-Saëns’s ever-popular First Cello Concerto.

Pierre Bleuse conducts Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto and music by Chausson and Widmann

A sultry flute, a shower of sparks, a flash of light and a sensuous, sumptuous wave of pure emotion. In the years before World War One, Debussy and Stravinsky transformed the way we listen: inventing musical colours that dazzled, startled and seduced. Debussy’s ravishing Prélude and Stravinsky’s Firebird open and close a concert filled with fantastic stories and sounds.

The Faun and the Firebird

The Soviets called Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony an “optimistic tragedy”, but the reality is infinitely more complex (and compelling) than that. It’s a symphony of dark secrets and shattering power: a powerful contrast to the heavenly radiance of Messiaen’s musical prayer, and the haunting tenderness and magical new sounds of Outi Tarkiainen’s Milky Ways.

Dark visions, Milky Ways

110 years ago, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring blew classical music wide open - and we’re still dealing with the aftershock. Sounds become colours, orchestras erupt like volcanoes and a century dances to the pure, liberating energy of unchained rhythm. It’s an explosive climax to a concert in which sound itself is the star.

Rites Remade

Rising young Finnish conductor Kristian Sallinen makes his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Kristian Sallinen conducts music by Tchaikovsky, Tarkiainen and Sibelius

In his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leslie Suganandarajah conducts BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, the Scottish classical accordionist Ryan Corbett in Václav Trojan’s Fairy Tales in a concert also featuring Unsuk Chin’s brief and colourful subito con forza, and Brahms’ serene Symphony No. 2.

Leslie Suganandarajah conducts music by Chin, Trojan and Brahms

Award-winning conductor Delyana Lazarova makes her debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a concert of music by Tchaikovsky and Adam Schoenberg.

Delyana Lazarova conducts music by Adam Schoenberg and Tchaikovsky

From the hillsides of Transylvania, shepherds’ horns echo and resound. Gustav Mahler contemplates personal tragedy, then fights his way – through waltzes, storms and a heartfelt musical love letter – to life, hope and triumph. And Dora Pejačević dreams out loud, in a neglected, impassioned masterpiece haunted by the shadows of the Great War.

BBC Symphony Orchestra

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Yeol Eum Son plays Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto

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Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ

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Wild Isles: Live in Concert

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A Meditation on Life

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Glowing colours and grand passions

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Gerstein plays Busoni’s Piano Concerto

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