London Symphony Orchestra
Resident Orchestra
![Official photo of the London Symphony Orchestra](/sites/default/files/styles/hero_constrained_small/public/images/2024-01/LSO-Orchestra-Photo-2022-C-John-Davis-%28web2%29.jpg?itok=8Do7p4Q5)
The London Symphony Orchestra is built on the belief that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere. It was established in 1904 and today is among the world’s top orchestras
As Resident Orchestra at the Barbican since the Centre opened, it performs some 50 concerts here every year, under the batons of a family of conductors that includes Chief Conductor Designate Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas.
Events
![Oliver Zeffman conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/%C2%A9MatthewJohnsonPhotographer-246%20%281%29.png?h=313010ae&itok=pdu2o9KR)
Classical Pride: LSO with Oliver Zeffman & Nick Grimshaw
The culmination of 2024’s Classical Pride, the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Oliver Zeffman celebrate LGBTQ+ classical music in this diverse programme presented by Nick Grimshaw.
![Sir Antonio Pappano conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/230212_SirAntonioPappano_Mark_Allen_1920_1080.jpg?h=797a75a4&itok=erDCfI6h)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Sir Antonio Pappano opens a new chapter as Chief Conductor of the LSO, conjuring stunning landscapes from Nielsen and Sibelius - and a world premiere from James MacMillan.
![Sir Antonio Pappano conducting the LSO on the Barbican stage, with LSO cellos and violas in the background.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/241212-Pappano-event-masthead-C-Mark-Allan.jpg?itok=fBYbbIiD)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Two giants of British music, two blistering orchestral works from the early 20th century, as Sir Antonio Pappano begins his first season as Chief Conductor of the LSO.
![Organist Anna Lapwood](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/Untitled%20design%20%2810%29.jpg?h=d9d39bcf&itok=Apuas-hJ)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Hector Berlioz goes to a Roman Carnival, Saint-Saëns gives a Symphony from the organ, and Serge Rachmaninoff shows youthful exuberance in his First Piano Concerto.
![Yuja Wang at the piano](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2020-02/210527_Wang_1920_1080.jpg?h=f076139c&itok=4T42oHO8)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
A celebration of pure romance in Frédéric Chopin’s lyrical Second Piano Concerto, while Gustav Mahler embraces the earth in his brilliant, bold First Symphony.
![Michael Tilson Thomas conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/230517_MTT_Mark_Allan_1920_1080.jpg?itok=jnM57LnQ)
London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas
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Big questions asked in a big piece – Gustav Mahler’s glorious Resurrection Symphony – as the LSO celebrates Michael Tilson Thomas’ 80th birthday.
![London SymphonyOrchestra performing on the Barbican Hall stage.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-06/231206%20Half%20Six%20Fix%20Tchaik%206%20-%20low%20res.%20Credit_Tom%20Lovatt-63.jpg?h=b7cf061f&itok=KsBllm5Z)
London Symphony Orchestra/ Half Six Fix – Beethoven
Kick-start your evening with a Half Six Fix concert. One piece in a 60-minute concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
![Isabelle Faust](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/Isabelle_Faust_c_Felix_Broede_1920_1080.jpg?itok=62-z1Meh)
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth
Composers being playful: early Beethoven's wit and jokes pair with a cat-and-mouse chase around the orchestra from Ondřej Adámek.
![Violinist Francesca Dego](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-03/241107-Francesca-Dego-event-masthead-%C2%A9-Davide-Cerati.jpg?h=d9d39bcf&itok=-V0cd2jk)
London Symphony Orchestra/Daniele Rustioni
A spotlight on Romanticism with three beautifully contrasting pieces: Liszt in fine form, late Mendelssohn and ‘Great’ Schubert.
![Klaus Makela is conducting in front of a black background, his right hand holding the baton and his left hand above his shoulder](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-05/1%20Klaus%20Makela%20colour_copyright%20Marco%20Borggreve_Oslo%20Philharmonic.jpg?h=5ed92aae&itok=65ibXqR_)
London Symphony Orchestra/Klaus Mäkelä
Tales of ancient spirits and savage dreams from Sibelius and Stravinsky, alongside the fluid, lyrical melodies of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto.
![London SymphonyOrchestra string section performing on the Barbican Hall stage.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-06/231206%20Half%20Six%20Fix%20Tchaik%206%20-%20low%20res.%20Credit_Tom%20Lovatt-70.jpg?h=51a20376&itok=narSJd0m)
London Symphony Orchestra/Half Six Fix – Lachenmann
Kick-start your evening with a Half Six Fix concert. A 60-minute concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
![London SymphonyOrchestra performing on the Barbican Hall stage.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-06/231206%20Half%20Six%20Fix%20Tchaik%206%20-%20low%20res.%20Credit_Tom%20Lovatt-22.jpg?h=93eceb58&itok=aTPMzjfg)
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth
Two sound worlds, two centuries apart: Lachenmann’s Melodies meets Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
![Sir Antonio Pappano conducting the LSO on the Barbican stage, holding a baton, with LSO string players in the foreground of the image and audience members in the background.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/241210-Pappano-event-masthead-C-Mark-Allan.jpg?itok=5TaZGcB8)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
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La rondine, Puccini’s story of love thwarted by society’s conventions, an opera glowing with melody and orchestral colour.
![Sir Antonio Pappano conducting, smiling and facing the musicians of the LSO.](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/241215-Pappano-event-masthead-C-Mark-Allan.jpg?itok=6TCdhxAa)
Vaughan Williams, Elgar & Bax, with David Cohen
Two reflective works from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar, plus Arnold Bax’s evocative portrait of the Cornish countryside.
![Christina Poulitsi](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/Screenshot%202023-03-17%20163203_0.jpg?itok=yAL5-H_b)
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
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Gianandrea Noseda steers the powerful forces of the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Carl Orff’s irresistible cantata, and Shostakovich’s Third Symphony.
![Noseda and Jansen](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/Screenshot%202023-03-17%20162838_0.jpg?itok=LqS3ihO2)
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
What is lost returns once more in emotive music conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, LSO Principal Guest Conductor.
![Noseda/prokofiev](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/Screenshot%202023-03-17%20163819.jpg?itok=q3Z4XChv)
London Symphony Orchestra: Half Six Fix – Prokofiev 7
As part of his exploration of Prokofiev's symphonies, Gianandrea Noseda introduces the composer’s mysterious Seventh.
![Anne-Sophie Mutter holding a violin](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/classica_2024_annesophiemutter_.jpg?itok=9uEiSLrs)
London Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Adès
Threads of the past are woven into a radiant future in four ingenious compositions, presented by Thomas Adès, Anne-Sophie Mutter and the LSO.
![Michael Tilson Thomas conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/230517_MTT_Mark_Allan_1920_1080.jpg?itok=jnM57LnQ)
London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas
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Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Mahler’s magnificent vision of a world teeming with joyful life.
![Abstract Purple digital art](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2024-04/milad-fakurian-dQDDMWgvotg-unsplash.jpg?itok=7cYpjNJU)
LSO Soundhub Showcase
Enjoy sounds from the cutting-edge of contemporary, as LSO musicians perform brand-new music by LSO Soundhub composers.
![Bertrand Chamayou](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/Bertrand-Chamayou-%28c%29-Marco-Borggreve---Warner-Classics-1920_1080.jpg?itok=DhJUs7FB)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
A playful concerto offers a boost to your mood, and a symphony reaches for hope in the midst of war.
![Janine Jansen](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/Janine_Jansen_-credit-Marco_Borggreve_1920_1080.jpg?itok=Iuu5DR6v)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
The sun comes out in Lili Boulanger’s lively tone poem, and lyrical feelings bloom in music by Samuel Barber and Sergei Rachmaninov.
![Alison Balsom](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/0222_AlisonBalsom_1920x1080.jpg?itok=2DeShrDP)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
The gauzy soundscape of Ravel’s pastoral ballet meets a sparkling new concerto by Wynton Marsalis, in this concert with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano and trumpet soloist Alison Balsom.
![François-Xavier Roth conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/230219_FXR_Doug_Peters_1920_1080.jpg?itok=Re1a7uYI)
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth
Vivid, moreish music by Unsuk Chin and Donghoon Shin, plus beguiling works by emerging talents, conducted by François-Xavier Roth.
![Hakan Hardenberger trumpet portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2019-01/2019-11-08%20H%C3%A5kan%20Hardenberger%20%C2%A9%20Marco%20Borggreve.jpg?h=6f970cc9&itok=y-uFmaLI)
London Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding
A solitary trumpet sounds: and so we enter Jörg Widmann’s heavenly maze and Mahler’s profoundly expressive Fifth Symphony.
![Bertrand Chamayou](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/Bertrand-Chamayou-%28c%29-Marco-Borggreve---Warner-Classics-1920_1080.jpg?itok=DhJUs7FB)
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth
A concert brimming with flare: Beethoven's Symphony No 2 and Symphony No 8, and Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto.
![Sir Simon Rattle with London Symphony Orchestra](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/LSO-Rattle-Barbican-credit-Mark-Allan-1920_1080.jpg?itok=MEIYQmS4)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
A new work by John Adams is flanked by Gershwin’s most seductive tunes.
Discover
![London Symphony Orchestra](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2018-08/lso_notext.jpg?itok=bHlYecEZ)
Profile: London Symphony Orchestra
Listen to our selection of LSO recordings from across the years in our Spotify playlist.
![Peter Moore playing trombone](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2018-07/Screen%20Shot%202018-07-26%20at%2009.39.17.png?itok=w-j2WzF0)
Barbican Sessions: Peter Moore
London Symphony Orchestra’s young trombonist, Peter Moore, performs 'Doolallynastics – a brief torture for solo trombone’ by Brian Lynn in our latest Barbican Session, filmed in one of our Frobisher Auditoriums.