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Barbican Presents is the Barbican’s own-curated classical music season, featuring some of the very best international and national artists.

Please find below information about the autumn 2019 concerts in the series, divided into visiting orchestras, artist focuses, special projects, early music, and chamber music and recitals. A chronological list of the entire 2019-20 classical music season at the Barbican can be found here.

VISITING ORCHESTRAS

• Australian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Richard Tognetti, residency
• Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko
• Insula orchestra conducted by Laurence Equilbey
• Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, residency
• Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer, with pianist Sir András Schiff

Australian Chamber Orchestra and Richard Tognetti –
International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court
In October 2019, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director Richard Tognetti return for their second residency as the Barbican’s International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court. The programme they bring to London once again demonstrates their imaginative programming, versatility, and unmistakable style and energy. Across the residency the orchestra performs a string arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Tognetti’s arrangement of Bach’s Canons on a Goldberg Ground, music by Adès, Webern and Britten, as well as works by Vaughan Williams and Schoenberg, performed side-by-side with Guildhall School musicians. Similar to the previous years, the residency includes a visual spectacle. Luminous is a 2005 cross-genre musical and visual collaboration with Australian photographer Bill Henson, which includes music by Britten, Janáček, Vasks and REM. In this UK premiere, Henson’s haunting, dramatic photography will remain the visual focus as the ACO is joined on stage by Israeli-Australian singer-songwriter Lior on vocals. In an interview during their last visit, Tognetti commented to The Sydney Morning Herald that the residency is “a dream come true […] the invitation to be a small component of the Barbican means we’ve found a space. We’ve been after such an opportunity for a long time”.

ACO: Goldberg Variations
Thu 3 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Milton Court
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (Violin), Erin Halyard (Keyboards)
Stravinsky Three pieces for String Quartet; Thomas Adès ‘Nightfalls’ from The Four Quarters; Bach Fourteen Canons on a Goldberg Ground, BWV 1087 (arr Tognetti); Bach Goldberg Variations (arr Labadie)
 

ACO: Luminous
Fri 3 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Milton Court
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (Violin), Bill Henson (photography, cinematography & editing), Lior (vocals)
Luminous
Music from Britten and Janáček to REM and Pēteris Vasks

ACO: The Lark Ascending
Sat 5 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Milton Court
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Guildhall Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (violin)
Webern Five movements for string orchestra, Op 5, Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending, Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko/ Leif Ove Andsnes 
Tue 22 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Strauss Don Juan, Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 16, Shostakovich Symphony No 10
The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra was founded a century ago. The Norwegian orchestra, which gave its first performance in September 1919, marks its centenary year with a landmark season at home and a major European tour under the direction of Chief Conductor Vasily Petrenko. The tour concludes at the Barbican on 22 October with a programme including perhaps the best-known work from Norway, Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, with celebrated Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist. The programme also features Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Juan, which was performed at the orchestra’s first subscription concert in 1919, and Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony No.10, a work from the heart of Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko’s repertoire.

Insula orchestra: Weber’s Der Freischütz
Mon 4 Nov 2019 7pm, Barbican Hall
Insula orchestra, Laurence Equilbey conductor, Stanislas de Barbeyrac Max, Johanni van Oostrum Agathe, Chiara Skerath Annchen, Steven Humes Kaspar, Christian Immler Eremit, Thorsten Grümbel Kuno, Samuel Hasselhorn Ottokar, Anas Seguin Kilian, Choeur Accentus
Conductor Laurence Equilbey brings her Insula orchestra back to the Barbican to present a concert performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s operatic fairy tale Der Freischütz, centring around the German folkloric legend of a hunter entering into a contract with the devil. Equilbey: “For me, Der Freischütz is one of the most fascinating operas from the early Romantic period. A glittering Singspiel, what appeals to me is its mixing of lively, unstable and dark language with more poetic and profound phrases.” Insula orchestra performs on period instruments, bringing historical authenticity to Weber’s opera that defined German Romanticism and is widely considered one of the first German masterpieces in the world of opera.
 

Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel
Barbican International Orchestral Partner – Residency 18-20 November 2019
Barbican International Orchestral Partner, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, celebrates its centenary this year. During their Barbican residency in November, Dudamel and his orchestra present a cross-section of the Philharmonic’s illustrious history and its commitment to new commissions. The programme includes the London premieres of two works that were special LA Phil centennial commissions: Andrew Norman’s Sustain, and a new piano concerto by the LA Phil’s Creative Chair John Adams, featuring dazzling soloist Yuja Wang. The residency programme also includes Bruckner’s Symphony No 4, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, music by Ginastera, new commissions from contemporary Latin American composers Paul Desenne and Gabriela Ortiz, and a collaboration with the legendary jazz pianist, and the Philharmonic’s Creative Chair for Jazz, Herbie Hancock. For this orchestra, a centennial is more than a celebration of the past. It is an opportunity to define the future. The residency will also include creative learning activities, such as masterclasses with Guildhall School musicians (details to be announced nearer the time).

LA Phil/Dudamel: The Rite of Spring
Mon 18 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
LA Phil/Dudamel/Wang
Part of Los Angeles Philharmonic International Orchestral Partner residency
Part of Yuja Wang: Artist Spotlight
Ginastera Variaciones Concertantes, John Adams Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? (London Premiere; LA Phil commission), Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
The residency opens with the music from Stravinsky’s ground-breaking ballet The Rite of Spring, and the London premiere of John Adams’ piano concerto with soloist Yuja Wang. This concert also marks the beginning of the Barbican’s season-long Yuja Wang: Artist Spotlight.

LA Phil/Dudamel with Herbie Hancock
Tues 19 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Part of Los Angeles Philharmonic International Orchestral Partner residency
Part of EFG London Jazz Festival
Paul Desenne Guasamacabra (European premiere, LA Phil commission), Gabriela Ortiz Téenek, Invenciones de Territorio (European premiere, LA Phil commission), Herbie Hancock
The LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel are joined in this concert by the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. The programme begins with two London premieres and LA Phil commissions, one from Venezuelan composer Paul Desenne and another from Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. The orchestra will then be joined by 14-time Grammy™ Award winner Herbie Hancock, who will perform selections of his own material with the orchestra as well as a full band set.
Two days earlier, on 17 November, Hancock, his trademark keytar and band can be heard at the Barbican as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.

LA Phil/Dudamel: Bruckner Symphony No 4
Wed 20 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Part of Los Angeles Philharmonic International Orchestral Partner residency
Andrew Norman Sustain (European premiere, LA Phil commission), Bruckner Symphony No 4
The LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel’s third residency concert features the European premiere performance of Andrew Norman’s Sustain, followed by Anton Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No 4, Romantic. When Dudamel led the world premiere of Norman’s Sustain, The New Yorker suggested this “may become a modern American classic”.

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven with Budapest Festival Orchestra
In anticipation of the big Beethoven celebrations in 2020, the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer arrive at the Barbican already in November to start their Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle. One of the greatest orchestras of our time is joined by the acclaimed pianist and Beethoven authority Sir András Schiff. The concerts pair music by Dvořák with a complete Beethoven piano concerto cycle, featuring two performances in November and two in May 2020.

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4
Fri 29 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer/Schiff
Part of Beethoven 2020 at the Barbican
Dvořák Legends, Op 59 No 1, Nepovim (I Won’t Tell) from Four Choruses, Op 29 No 3, Slavonic Dance, Op 46 No 2, Symphony No 7, Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto
Sat 30 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer/Schiff
Part of Beethoven 2020 at the Barbican
Dvořák Legends, Op 59 No 5, Ukolebavka (Lullaby) from Four Choruses, Op 29 No 2, Slavonic Dance, Op 72 No 8, Symphony No 8, Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 Emperor

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven’s Piano Concertos No 1
Sat 23 May 2020 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer/Schiff
Part of Beethoven 2020 at the Barbican

Sir András Schiff plays Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3
Sun 24 May 2020 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Fischer/Schiff
Part of Beethoven 2020 at the Barbican

ARTIST FOCUSES

• Alison Balsom – Milton Court Artist-in-Residence
• Yuja Wang: Artist Spotlight

ALISON BALSOM – MILTON COURT ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
Acclaimed trumpeter Alison Balsom is the Barbican’s Milton Court Artist-in-Residence in the 2019-20 season. As part of the residency, she will bring three projects to the Barbican’s programme, starting with Gabriel in October. A theatrical celebration of Baroque music and 17th-century London, Gabriel premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2013. Author Samuel Adamson and director Dominic Dromgoole have now reimagined it for the Barbican as part of Balsom's Milton Court artist residency. The residency continues in March with a performance of Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain with Guildhall Jazz Ensemble, and concludes in May, when Balsom leads Britten Sinfonia, who are Associate Ensemble at the Barbican, in the world premiere of John Woolrich’s Hark! The echoing air. This will be part of a concert showcasing composers’ fascination with other composers’ music.

Alison Balsom in Gabriel: An Entertainment with Trumpet
Mon 21 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
The English Concert, Harry Bicket music director, Samuel Adamson text, Alison Balsom trumpet, Elizabeth Watts soprano, Christopher Lowrey countertenor, Gwilym Bowen tenor, Dominic Dromgoole director
Part of Alison Balsom: Milton Court Artist-in-Residence

Alison Balsom plays Sketches of Spain
Wed 18 Mar 2020 7.30pm, Milton Court
Alison Balsom trumpet, Scott Stroman director, Guildhall Jazz Ensemble
Rodrigo arr Miles Davis Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez (Sketches of Spain)
Part of Alison Balsom: Milton Court Artist-in-Residence

Britten Sinfonia with Alison Balsom
Thu 14 May 2020 7.30pm, Milton Court              
Britten Sinfonia, Alison Balsom trumpet, Jacqueline Shave director/violin
Purcell arr Berio, Maxwell Davies Fantasias and Pavans, John Woolrich (after Purcell) Hark! The echoing air (world premiere), Scarlatti Sonatas Set 2 (orch John Woolrich), Sir Harrison Birtwistle Virelai (Sus une fontayne), Ligeti arr Howarth Mysteries of the Macabre
Part of Alison Balsom Milton Court Artist-in-Residence

YUJA WANG: ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
In the 2019-20 season, the Barbican’s Artist Spotlight is on the phenomenal pianist Yuja Wang. She starts her series on 18 November with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, performing the solo part in John Adams’ new piano concerto Must the Devil have All the Good Tunes? (London premiere). She performed the world premiere with the same orchestra earlier this year to great critical acclaim. The spotlight series also includes intimate chamber music performances with critically acclaimed colleagues: only a few days later, Wang returns to the Barbican to play with clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer (the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal clarinettist) at Milton Court Concert Hall, and then again in January to perform with cellist Gautier Capuçon in the Barbican Hall. The series concludes with a highly-anticipated solo recital in March, showcasing her thrilling performances combined with an ‘ever-greater depth to her musicianship’ (Financial Times).
 

LA Phil/Dudamel: The Rite of Spring
Mon 18 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
LA Phil/Dudamel/Wang
John Adams Must the Devil have All the Good Tunes? (London Premiere; LA Phil commission)
Part of Los Angeles Philharmonic International Orchestral Partner residency

Andreas Ottensamer and Yuja Wang in recital
Thu 21 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Milton Court
Andreas Ottensamer clarinet, Yuja Wang piano
Programme includes Weber’s Grand duo Concertant Op 48, Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie L 116, and Joseph Horovitz Sonatina

Gautier Capuçon and Yuja Wang in recital
Mon 13 Jan 2020 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Gautier Capuçon cello, Yuja Wang piano
Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor, Introduction et polonaise brillante in C major, Op 3, Franck/Delsart Cello Sonata in A major

Yuja Wang in recital
Tue 31 Mar 2020 7.30pm, Barbican Hall

SPECIAL PROJECTS

• Third Coast Percussion
• James MacMillan: Le grand Inconnu
• Steve Reich/Gerhard Richter
• Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble
• Ada Lovelace: Imagining the Analytical Engine

Third Coast Percussion
Sat 21 Sep 2019 8pm, LSO St Luke’s 
Philip Glass Madeira River (UK Premiere of arrangement), Steve Reich Mallet Quartet, Philip Glass Perpetulum (UK Premiere), Devonté Hynes Perfectly Voiceless (UK Premiere), Gavin Bryars The Other Side of the River (UK Premiere), David Skidmore Take Anything You Want, Torched and Wrecked
Grammy Award-winning Chicago quartet Third Coast Percussion will give the UK premieres of Philip Glass’ Perpetulum – a new percussion piece commissioned by the group – and of their arrangement of Glass’ Madeira River. The concert also features UK premieres of Third Coast Percussion commissioned music by Devonté Hynes (Perfectly Voiceless) and Gavin Bryars (The Other Side of the River) alongside Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet and David Skidmore’s Take Anything You Want and Torched and Wrecked.

Founded in 2005, Third Coast Percussion is an artist-run quartet of classically-trained percussionists, who perform regularly, teach and have commissioned a series of new works by composers including Glenn Kotche, Chris Cerrone, Donnacha Dennehy, Timo Andres, David T. Little, Ted Hearne and Augusta Read Thomas.

Le grand Inconnu
Mon 14 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
The Sixteen, Genesis Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia, Harry Christophers conductor
Sir James MacMillan: Le grand inconnu and The Sun Danced (UK Premiere)
Sir James MacMillan is the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation. His latest major piece, Symphony No 5, Le grand Inconnu, receives its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, and comes to the Barbican for its London premiere in October. Commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, the work is a meditation on the mystery of the Holy Spirit and has been written for double choir and orchestra. MacMillan describes the starting point for the composition: The symphony was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation, and its founder, the philanthropist John Studzinski, gave me a copy of The Holy Spirit, Fire of Divine Love by the Belgian Carmelite Wilfred Stinissen. It was a good point of entry, theologically, but it also called to my attention some visionary poetry by St John of the Cross, and this line from the book in particular drew me in; “Even his name reveals that the Holy Spirit is mysterious. The Hebrew word ‘ruah’, the Greek word ‘pneuma’ and the Latin ‘spiritus’ mean both ‘wind’ and ‘breath’”, and it was these words which provided the very first sounds heard in my symphony. At the Barbican the work will be performed by The Sixteen, joined by alumni of the training programme Genesis Sixteen, and Barbican Associate Ensemble Britten Sinfonia, conducted by long-time MacMillan collaborator Harry Christophers. The concert also features the UK premiere of MacMillan’s The Sun Danced, an ecstatic choral celebration of the Miracle of Fatima, premiered in 2016 in Portugal, as well as music by Pärt and Britten.

Steve Reich/Gerhard Richter
Wed 23 Oct 2019 7.30pm and 9.30pm, Barbican Hall
Britten Sinfonia, Colin Currie conductor
Pioneering composer Steve Reich and Gerhard Richter, one of the most significant visual artists in modern art history, collaborate in this project that had its world premiere at The Shed in New York earlier this year. In 2012, Gerhard Richter published a book titled “Patterns”: Using a computer image of one of his abstract paintings, Richter divided it vertically into two halves and then divided those halves into quarters, making a mirror image of two of the quarters. He then divided the painting into fourths, eighths, 16ths, etc, up to 4096ths. Each step followed the same procedure of divide, mirror, and repeat, and it resulted in an abstract image that became a series of increasingly dense patterns, and eventually solid bands of colours. As part of Reich/Richter, there will be a film by Richter, made in collaboration with Corinna Belz, which applies this algorithmic process to his abstract painting 946-3 (from 2016). This film, for which Steve Reich wrote the music, is the “Patterns” book backwards: As the film progresses, the pixel count is multiplied. The music for the film follows that same structure. At the heart of the collaboration between Reich and Richter is a structural plan that can be applied equally to painting and music, forming an extraordinary installation. Britten Sinfonia conducted by Colin Currie performs Reich’s music, with the programme also including his 2016 piece Runner. Steve Reich will be in London for this European premiere and will be in conversation about this project and his music in general at a public talk on 22 October at LSO St Luke’s.

Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble
Wed 30 Oct 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Philip Glass Ensemble, Michael Riesman music director, Valérie Sainte-Agathe conductor, Tiffin Chorus, James Day Tiffin Chorus director
Glass Music with Changing Parts 
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Philip Glass Ensemble will be revisiting one of Glass’ early masterpieces, the trailblazing Music with Changing Parts, featuring a rare chance to see the composer himself performing with his pioneering group. This new arrangement includes the Tiffin Chorus and players from the London Contemporary Orchestra.
Premiered in New York in 1970, Music with Changing Parts was a transitional work in Glass’s career. Melding electronic and acoustic instruments and voice, the piece saw Glass experiment with richer harmonies and increased contrapuntal complexity, hinting at the landmark piece that he was to create next – Music in 12 Parts. ­

Ada Lovelace: Imagining the Analytical Engine
Sat 2 Nov 2019 6.30pm, Milton Court
Emily Howard curator, Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano, Britten Sinfonia
Emily Howard Ada Sketches (libretto by Laura Tunbridge) and New work (World premiere; Barbican commission), Patricia Alessandrini New work (World premiere; Barbican commission), Shiva Feshareki New work (World premiere; Barbican commission), PRiSM Team led by Robert Laidlow New work (World premiere; Barbican commission)
Supported by PRS Foundation's Open Fund for Organisation
The Barbican’s 2019 annual theme is Life Rewired. It is a cross-arts season exploring what it means to be human when technology is changing everything. Composer Emily Howard, whose inspirations range from geometry and magnetism to the human brain and neural networks, features in two major projects as part of Life Rewired: London Symphony Orchestra’s 2019/20 season will begin on 14 September with Sir Simon Rattle conducting the world premiere of her composition Antisphere, commissioned for Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO by the Barbican. On 2 November, Emily Howard curates an evening of new music and discussion inspired by the life and work of Ada Lovelace, an early pioneer of the computer. Howard, who has a background in mathematics and computer science, pays tribute to a woman, who united the worlds of 19th-century romanticism and cutting-edge science: Ada Lovelace explored far-reaching mathematical concepts and worked with Charles Babbage on his revolutionary Difference Engine, writing what is now recognised to be the world’s first computer programme. The evening at Milton Court combines words and music to offer a perspective on her legacy and achievement, with input from expert panellists Ursula Martin, Sydney Padua, Richard Holmes and Miranda Seymour. Britten Sinfonia performs the programme of world premieres of Barbican commissioned works by Patricia Alessandrini and Shiva Feshareki as well as Ada Sketches and the world premiere of a new work by Emily Howard herself. The evening also features music created using artificial intelligence, written in tribute to Lovelace, from the team at PRiSM (the interdisciplinary research centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music at the RNCM conservatoire in Manchester) led by Robert Laidlow.

EARLY MUSIC

• Tafelmusik and Elisa Citterio
• Les Arts Florissants and William Christie
• Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Trevor Pinnock

Tafelmusik: Love and Betrayal
Sun 24 Nov 2019, 7pm, Milton Court
Tafelmusik, Elisa Citterio violin & director, Karina Gauvin soprano
Music by Handel, Vivaldi and Locatelli
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir come to Milton Court in November, with a passionate programme of Handel, Locatelli and Vivaldi. Hailing from Toronto, led by music director Elisa Citterio, Tafelmusik is one of the world’s leading period ensembles and is Canada’s most toured orchestra. They’re joined by leading Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin for performances of operatic arias contrasting love with betrayal, including numbers from Agrippina and Ottone in Villa.

A Baroque Odyssey: 40 years of Les Arts Florissants
Sun 8 Dec 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie director, Paul Agnew director, Sandrine Piau soprano, Lea Desandre mezzo-soprano, Christophe Dumaux countertenor, Marcel Beeckman tenor, Marc Mauillon baritone, Lisandro Abadie bass
Music by Handel, Purcell, Charpentier, Lully and Rameau.
Les Arts Florissants, one of the most renowned and respected early music groups in the world, celebrates its 40th anniversary with a special Barbican concert. With music by Handel, Purcell, Charpentier, Lully and Rameau, director William Christie will direct the ensemble as they go on a journey to revisit some of the most exciting, entertaining and vibrant music that helped them cement a reputation as Baroque pioneers over their four decades.  

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: Handel’s Messiah
Wed 11 Dec 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Trevor Pinnock director, Katherine Watson soprano, Claudia Huckle alto, James Way tenor, Ashey Riches bass, Zürcher Sing-Akademie
Handel Messiah
Two of the most distinguished names in Baroque music, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock come to the Barbican for a traditional pre-Christmas performance of Handel’s Messiah.

CHAMBER MUSIC / RECITALS

• Tamara Stefanovich
• Pretty Yende
• Arcadi Volodos
• Angela Gheorghiu

Tamara Stefanovich: The Art of the Etude
Sun 10 Nov 2019, 2.30pm, 4pm, 7pm, Milton Court
Tamara Stefanovich piano
Three programmes of etudes From the past, In the present, and When two worlds collide.
Known for her captivating performances, critically-acclaimed pianist Tamara Stefanovich returns to the Barbican’s programme with a marathon day of music at Milton Court Concert Hall: Presenting The Art of the Etude, Stefanovich will take audiences on a musical journey across three centuries of etudes, known to be demanding both technically as well as musically. She will perform works by composers such as Scriabin, Debussy, Bartók, Messiaen, Unsuk Chin, Vassos Nicolaou, George Benjamin, Hans Abrahamsen, Rachmaninoff and Ligeti in three concerts, highlighting the evolution of the etude, as well as the enormous variety and imagination that composers poured into this form of composition. The day also features a world premiere etude by Serbian composer Milica Djordjević, commissioned by the Barbican. An etude is a ‘study’. But what does that mean? Tamara Stefanovich explores this question over three performances on 10 November.

Pretty Yende in recital
Mon 25 Nov 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Pretty Yende soprano, Michele d’Elia piano
Programme to be announced
South African soprano Pretty Yende has been described as capable of taking charge of the stage ‘wherever she goes’ (The Telegraph). This autumn sees the young opera star perform her debut recital at the Barbican, joined by pianist Michele d’Elia. Following performances at the Metropolitan Opera as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, this recital will be an opportunity to see Yende in a more intimate setting.

Arcadi Volodos in recital
6 December 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Arcadi Volodos piano
Liszt Petrarch Sonnet No. 123; La lugubre Gondola; Légende No. 1: St. François d'Assise: La Prédication aux oiseaux; Ballade No. 2 in B minor
Schumann Kreisleriana
Pianist Arcadi Volodos, known for combining astounding virtuosity with insight and a remarkable palette of colours, returns to the Barbican following an extraordinary recital last season. He performs a programme of music by Liszt and Schumann. Tickets for this recital go on public sale on 9 August.

Angela Gheorghiu in recital
Tue 10 Dec 2019 7.30pm, Barbican Hall
Angela Gheorghiu soprano, Alexandra Dariescu piano
Music by Pergolesi, Rameau, Bellini, Tosti, Brediceanu and Chopin
Celebrated Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu returns to the Barbican for a recital with Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu in December. The evening features music by Pergolesi, Rameau, Bellini, Tosti, Brediceanu and Chopin, designed to showcase the different dimensions of Gheorghiu’s extraordinary voice.