Let's party like it’s 1749! Music of pure celebration as Laurence Cummings and the Academy of Ancient Music ignite their 50th anniversary season with Handel’s Fireworks Music and Water Music.
A royal court, a floating orchestra and a pyrotechnic display so dazzling that it brought London to a standstill. In early Georgian England, George Frideric Handel was the grand master of sonic pageantry, and his Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks are the sound of pure celebration: as fresh, as stirring and as gloriously tuneful now as they were three centuries ago.
But if you want to hear how Handel would actually have sounded back then: well, let’s just say that no period instrument orchestra has more of a history with these scores than the Academy of Ancient Music. Four decades ago, the AAM redefined the way we listen to Handel. Tonight, under the AAM’s 'exhilarating' (Evening Standard) music director Laurence Cummings, they’ll light up the sky all over again.
This performance will finish at approximately 9.30pm, including a 20-minute interval
Promoted by the Academy of Ancient Music
Programme
Performers
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Booking fees
£4 booking fee per online/phone transaction.
No fee when tickets are booked in person.
Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. Members do not pay booking fees.
Pre-concert talk
6.30pm, Fountain Room
Free
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Academy of Ancient Music
Hall
Location
The Barbican Hall is located within the main Barbican building. Head to Level G and follow the signs to find your seating level.
Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS
Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.
We’ve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus
Mobility
Spaces for wheelchair users in row U at the rear of the stalls (up to sixteen, depth of row 180cm) and the back row of the circle (four), both with fold-down companion seats. Some seats in row S of the stalls for people with very limited mobility.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs may be taken into the concert hall where there are a limited number of suitable seats in row G of the stalls. If you prefer, you may leave your dog with a member of the cloakroom staff during the performance.
Hearing facility
There is an induction loop in the concert hall. You can use this by adjusting your hearing aid to the ‘T’ setting.
Free large-print programmes
These are available for most of our concerts. Please contact [email protected] at least a week beforehand, to prebook a large-print programmme.
For more access information, please visit our Accessibility section.