Barbican Presents
![A side-on shot of Gustavo Dudamel conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/hero_constrained_small/public/images/2024-03/LA-Phil-Promo-Photos-%C2%A9-Danny-Clinch-for-LA-Phil-8-e1703677666866.png?h=c707a10b&itok=uDw5iad8)
Barbican Presents brings some of the greatest international classical artists, orchestras and ensembles to London, in a stimulating and eclectic mix of classical, contemporary, and Baroque music.
Barbican Members enjoy 20% off tickets and pay no booking fees across the Barbican Presents season. Find out more.
Events
![A pale purple, oval shape, reflective of a mirror or window, sits in the centre of the image, surrounded by a dark orange colour with candle smoke and lens flares creating textural elements.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/20_Mar_classical_mahogany%20opera_visual_1080x1920_v13.jpg?h=eb76b87e&itok=UKUleBqO)
Rolf Hind: Sky in a Small Cage
Direct from the Copenhagen Opera Festival, Mahogany Opera opens our season with the UK premiere of Rolf Hind’s much-anticipated new work inspired by the influential Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi.
![The three members of Voice Trio singing on stage, with purple lights and a purple projection behind them](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Thre-Choirs-images-2.jpeg?h=5b2dc6bf&itok=Ipth1EsF)
Hildegard Transfigured: Medieval Trance for the 21st Century
The soaring, timeless 12th century arabesques of Hildegard of Bingen meet 21st century transfiguration in Voice Trio’s intimate and illuminating portrait.
![Roopa Panesar on stage playing an instrument smiling](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-08/Roopa%20Image%20Darbar.jpeg?itok=ikOthmSH)
Roopa Panesar
One of the UK’s finest sitar players, Roopa Panesar returns for a concert of Indian classical music, collaborating with trailblazing Indian classical and contemporary musicians.
![Lodestar Trio holding their instruments](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-06/Lodestar%20Trio%20by%20James%20Champion.jpeg?itok=JjWG-WlG)
Lodestar Trio
By inclination one of music’s most intrepid cross-pollinators the Lodestar Trio breezes through the baroque on an exhilarating genre-bending journey into Nordic folk music and beyond.
![A black & white photograph of Piotr Andrejewski](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/Piotr%20Andrejewski%20%28c%29%20MG%20de%20Saint%20Venant.jpg?h=a973e27f&itok=N3YsEseO)
Piotr Anderszewski
Beethoven and Bartók both insist that there’s no such thing as a ‘mere bagatelle’ when Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski pairs two compelling sets of inventive miniatures.
![Spinifex Gum](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/SPINIFEXGUM_007.jpg?itok=SUlC62hv)
Spinifex Gum
An all-indigenous female youth choir from North East Australia with dance, visuals, plus a visceral song cycle about ancestry and stewardship. The result? The dazzling phenomenon that is Spinifex Gum.
![The cast of The Golden Stool performing on stage, wearing long golden dresses](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/pressyvde4758%20credit%20Kurt%20Van%20der%20Elst.jpg?h=ae7e6253&itok=kIQRj1SX)
The Golden Stool, or the story of Nana Yaa Asantewaa
Interweaving singing, dance, and cutting-edge theatre, Gorges Ocloo’s ground-breaking AfrOpera re-examines Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s defiant stance against colonialism and cultural appropriation.
![Sheku Kanneh-Mason sitting on a wooden stool with his cello, in front of a pale blueish gray background](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Sheku%20Song%20Photo%204%20Credit_%20Ollie%20Ali%20%282%29.jpg?h=e083a044&itok=fmbJ9MtY)
Sinfonia of London/John Wilson with Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Embedding the intricacies of the patter song, Kenneth Hesketh’s orchestral show-stopper prefaces two compelling Russian master works as John Wilson and his Sinfonia of London return.
![The Dudok Quartet playing their instruments. They are positioned in a close huddle, each person facing a different direction. They are against a cream coloured background.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Dudok-Quartet-Amsterdam_Photo-4-Green-Room-Creatives-Yuri-Andries.jpg?h=0c81f2bf&itok=4GShnBrY)
Dudok Quartet: Abandoned Voices
Alongside something hot off the press, death, despair, and eternity stalk the Dudoks’ typically ear-opening programme in which Messiaen tempers the anguished ardour of Gesualdo and Schubert.
![Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-05/Ma-Stott2b_2020_%28c%29MarkMann.jpg?h=22bfbfa8&itok=DT2fT1Rf)
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma reunites with long-time duo partner Kathryn Stott in two masterly sonatas and sublimely unruffled Arvo Pärt.
![Rafael Payare striking a pose with his baton held above his head](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Rafael%20Payare%20credit%20Gerard%20Collett.jpg?h=f5378d51&itok=DvfM8s-q)
Orchestre symphonique de Montreal/Rafael Payare
Conducted by Rafael Payare, the Montréal orchestra’s Barbican concert launches a European tour. Preceding symphonic Berlioz, Daniil Trifonov is the soloist in Beethoven’s playful Piano Concerto No 1.
![Samantha Ege sat in front of a grand piano](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/SAM080%20credit%20Jason%20Dodd.jpg?h=2a007d3e&itok=UKsiOx4N)
Her Stories with Samantha Ege
‘Bold, brilliant, and daring women’ nourish Samantha Ege’s recital of 20th and 21st century piano music, including a work by Havanan ‘fusionista’ Camila Cortina Bello.
![Stephen Hough sitting on a concrete bench](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/Stephen%20Hough%201%20%28c%29%20Jiyang%20Chen.jpg?h=2a310c2b&itok=Qc1NAP7v)
Stephen Hough: Sonatina Nostalgica
Appearing as both pianist and composer, Stephen Hough wraps fiery Schumann and Chopin around his own sonatina trip down memory lane.
![Musicians from Connaught Brass standing together in a line, smiling at the camera](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/COB%20Group.jpg?h=fa18ac3b&itok=9bqw5rRh)
Christmas with Connaught Brass
For its Barbican debut, multi-prize-winning Connaught Brass despatches season’s greetings in a cracker of a programme that gift wraps festive joy with interludes of serene reflection.
![Khatia Buniatishvili wearing a coral pink dress, resting her head on her hand](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Khatia_Buniatishvili_cc_esther_haase_2%20%281%29.jpg?h=d9edd983&itok=4SDgIKxP)
Khatia Buniatishvili and Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Following last year’s solo recital, accompanied by the perennially stylish Academy of St Martin in the Fields, pianist Khatia Bhuniatishvili returns for two strongly contrasted Mozart concertos.
![Headshot of Gustavo Dudamel smiling at the camera while holding his baton.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/Gustavo-Dudamel-Promo-Photo-credit-Danny-Clinch-for-LA-Phil-01-scaled.jpg?h=5fded9bc&itok=cZeTu6kc)
Simón Bolívar Orchestra/Dudamel: Mahler 3
Gustavo Dudamel returns to the hall at the head of his ‘other’ orchestra: the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. There’s just one work, but Mahler’s mighty Symphony No 3 is a stand-alone masterpiece.
![A side-on shot of Gustavo Dudamel conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/LA-Phil-Promo-Photos-%C2%A9-Danny-Clinch-for-LA-Phil-8-e1703677666866.png?h=4da0a5ff&itok=bgVW_5RQ)
Simón Bolívar Orchestra/Dudamel: Odisea
For the 2nd concert of their Barbican stopover, Gustavo Dudamel and his orchestra are remembering home as the vibrant Latino vibes of Riccardo Lorenz and Gonzalo Grau encounter fate-full Tchaikovsky.
![Side profile photo of Katia and Marielle Labèque standing close together. Behind them is an illustration of the side profile of two women, mirroring the position of Katia and Marielle. The hair of the illustrated women flows backwards, turning into the keys of a piano.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-01/Cocteau%20Trilogy%20artwork.jpg?h=f5814dff&itok=OSD9NWa6)
Philip Glass: Cocteau Trilogy
Legendary sibling pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque present their recent collaboration with American minimalist composer Philip Glass: arrangements for two pianos of his Cocteau Trilogy.
![Members from Collegium Vocale Gent dressed in black, standing in front of a concrete wall](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/CVG-choir-2-by-Eric-de-Mildt-2022-scaled.jpg?h=97fb0ffe&itok=7HbNmCbn)
Collegium Vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe: Bach B Minor Mass
Philippe Herreweghe directs Collegium Vocale Gent in Bach’s glorious Mass in B minor, joined by outstanding soloists Dorothee Mields, Hana Blažíková, Alex Potter, Guy Cutting and Johannes Kammler.
![Gustavo Dudamel conducting the LA Phil](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/%C2%A9%20Stephan%20Rabold.jpg?h=88d7900f&itok=_1A5-eae)
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel: Fidelio
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil give a landmark performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio with Deaf West Theatre, in which the drama is played out between Deaf actors, with signed recitatives and arias (IS).
![Gustavo Dudamel conducting the LA Phil](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/LAPhil_DudamelWDCH_37Q0006_VernEvans.jpg?h=faf6626f&itok=vlqRd2Er)
Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel: Dvořák 9
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert of bold themes and dazzling orchestral colours, including the UK premiere of the Violin Concerto Altar de cuerda by Gabriela Ortiz.
![Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason smiling at each other. Sheku is holding his cello and bow and they are standing in front of a white background.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/07_07_21_Decca_Sheku_Isata_kanneh_Mason0953%20Final%20%281%29.jpg?h=ce306a45&itok=1OiO15hl)
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason team up for a recital of cello sonatas by Felix Mendelssohn, Fauré, Chopin and Beethoven, who pioneered the form.
![Photo of Fatma Said from the side, her head partially obscured by the red sleeve of her raised arm](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Fatma-Said-14-c-James-Bort.jpg?h=4baeda1f&itok=7ez2tHMt)
Fatma Said and Joseph Middleton
Soprano Fatma Said and pianist Joseph Middleton give a recital that contrasts songs on nocturnal theme by Mozart, Schubert and Robert Schumann with sunnier Spanish repertoire.
![Leonidas Kavakos with his hands clasped sitting on a bench, his violin standing upright next to him](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Leonidas%20Kavakos_credit%20Marco%20Borggreve%208.jpg?h=a20fee1e&itok=BpxYKPlH)
Kavakos Plays Bach: Part 2
Leonidas Kavakos gives the second of his two recitals devoted to the Six Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas by J S Bach, including the extraordinary Chaconne.
![Leonidas Kavakos looking to his right and smiling](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Leonidas%20Kavakos_credit%20Marco%20Borggreve%2026.jpg?h=f9ff9183&itok=KcR0fQb6)
Kavakos Plays Bach: Part 1
In the first of two concerts, Leonidas Kavakos performs three works from J S Bach’s Six Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas, each one an intimate, intricate masterpiece.
![Anthony McGill smiling at the camera while holding his clarinet](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Anthony%20McGill%20credit%20Todd%20Rosenberg%20photography%20AMG220225_160f.jpg?h=867b30ff&itok=0s90F9h3)
Anthony McGill: Gran Partita
Clarinettist Anthony McGill collaborates with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and stars of the next generation from Guildhall School, as he closes his Milton Court residency.
![Anthony McGill standing in front of a wooden barn holding his clarinet](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/20210228_mcgill_ER_033creditEricRuddPhotography.jpg?h=a6f7718b&itok=nvDlpvcb)
Anthony McGill and Kaleidoscope Collective
Delve into the depths of the human experience with deeply personal chamber music by Brahms and Messiaen, performed by clarinettist Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
![A composite image featuring the five artists in the concert. From left to right: Kit Downes, Alice Zawadzki, Heloise Werner, Colin Alexander and Allan Clayton. The image has a pink overlay.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-01/Clayton%20Zawadzki%20Werner%20event%20image%201920x1080px%20v1.jpg?h=f0703a54&itok=GJCoL8yi)
Aidan O'Rourke, Alice Zawadzki and Héloïse Werner
Celebrated singers Alice Zawadzki and Héloïse Werner are joined by fiddle player Aidan O'Rourke, pianist Kit Downes and cellist Colin Alexander in a programme of new works by each of the artists.
![Sean Shibe sitting in front of a dark grey background, holding his guitar upright](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-02/%28c%29%20Iga%20Gozdowska%202.jpg?h=f6f701a9&itok=h2f4kLQj)
Reformations: Concerto with Dunedin Consort and Sean Shibe
Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe and the Dunedin Consort, Scotland’s foremost Baroque ensemble, join forces for a feast of early and recent repertoire, including Cassandra Miller’s new concerto.
![Mathis Stier holding his bassoon in front of a concrete building](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Mathis%20Stier%20c%20Sophia%20Hegewald.jpg?h=ed8c60b6&itok=GcuGHYcl)
ECHO Rising Stars: Mathis Stier
With pianist Rie Akamatsu, ECHO artist Mathis Stier showcases the versatility of the bassoon in a programme that takes us from the 19th century through to the present day.
![Khatia Buniatishvili standing against a stone wall](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Khatia_Buniatishvili_cc_esther_haase_3%20%281%29.jpg?h=003c86f0&itok=ckzwPJdx)
Khatia Buniatishvili
Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili brings passion and vulnerability to her performances, qualities sure to abound in a recital of Beethoven and transcriptions by her hero, Liszt.
![Hera Hyesang Park smiling against a white background](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/Hera%20Hyesang%20Park_credit%20Chun%20Youngsang.jpg?h=6016a8e7&itok=ZNjXlyXs)
Hera Hyesang Park and Bretton Brown
Soprano Hera Hyesang Park and pianist Bretton Brown give a recital that celebrates Park’s Korean heritage, finding parallels and contrasts between western repertoire and Korean art and folk-song.
![Evgeny Kissin sitting on a stool with his hands clasped](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-08/emc521-003-MF-f-broede-e1489691243444.jpg?h=98225f00&itok=vgJ5K0im)
Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Kissin, one of the finest pianists of the age, gives a recital of formidable complexity: two great sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev frame music by Brahms and Chopin.
![The top half of the image shows Guy Johnston playing his cello against a black background. Superimposed over the bottom half of the image is an icon of Mary, Mother of God](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-01/Guy%20Johnston%20and%20Britten%20Sinfonia%20-%20The%20Protecting%20Veil%20LANDSCAPE.jpg?h=a9214613&itok=71TwgrJk)
Guy Johnston and Britten Sinfonia: The Protecting Veil
Star cellist Guy Johnston joins Britten Sinfonia in a programme of powerful music by Tavener, Beethoven and Bartók.
Discover
![photo of isata kenneh mason playing the piano](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2020-01/isata.jpg?itok=1Zm_xi_R)
Barbican Sessions: Isata Kenneh-Mason
Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Brahms's Op 118, No 3 'Ballade' in our Fountain Room
![an orchestra playing classical music in the barbican hall in central london](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/spotify_classical_0.jpg?itok=eNho-QTe)
Listen: Classical Music on Spotify
Follow our regularly updated Classical Music playlist for a sample of the music you'll hear across our programme.
![photo of satu vanska in barbican theatre](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2018-08/Screen%20Shot%202018-08-09%20at%2015.24.54_0.png?itok=o8Ih-Rvq)
Barbican Sessions: Satu Vänskä
In an empty Theatre, Satu Vänskä, Principal Violinist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, performs JS Bach's ‘Allemande’ from Partita II in D minor.
![Photo of man playing drum](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2017-09/contemporary_classical_genre.jpg?itok=1RevG9sc)
Listen: Contemporary Classical on Spotify
Discover music from across the Contemporary Classical spectrum – from Judith Weir and George Benjamin to Nils Frahm and Max Richter.
![Jess Gillam stands on the Barbican foyer, playing her alto saxophone during a recording session](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2022-01/Jess%20Gillam%20still.png?itok=ZLGbSKsq)
Barbican Sessions: Jess Gillam
In an empty Level G foyer, Jess Gillam performs her ECHO Rising Stars commission: Edmund Finnis's A Spiral Ascending, Kurt Weill's Je ne t'aime pas and Astor Piazzolla's 'Nightclub 1960' from Histoire du Tango with Leif Kaner-Lidström and Sam Becker.