Barbican Presents
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
The Met Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Joyce DiDonato, Angel Blue and Russell Thomas: if this dream team of singers wasn’t enough, add in Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the fabled Met Orchestra and you’ve got an unmissable end to our season.
Joby Talbot's Everest
The UK premiere of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer’s new opera Everest: a spectacular drama of life, death and the human spirit on the roof of the world.
Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth
Les Siècles and their conductor François-Xavier Roth bring their extraordinary sonic textures and native sensibilities to evocative masterpieces of the French repertoire.
Peter Donohoe
Due to illness, Daniil Trifonov is unable to perform his recital. We are very pleased to have programmed a recital by British pianist Peter Donohoe in its place.
Vespers with BBC Singers and Abel Selaocoe
Let the shadows of evening envelope you, as Rachmaninov's sacred All-Night Vigil meets African musical traditions in a captivating evening from cellist Abel Selaocoe and the BBC Singers.
Hélène Grimaud
Free-spirited French pianist Hélène Grimaud brings her radical approach to three transcendental and powerful masterpieces of the piano literature, in an evening of delightful musical contradictions.
Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris/Gustavo Dudamel
Don’t miss the first UK opportunity to hear superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel with his new Paris orchestra, in a French-themed programme that revels in life’s contrasts.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja: Maria Mater Meretrix
Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s virtuosity and imagination know no boundaries. Crossing time and genres, her thought-provoking programme explores the history of classical music and its depiction of women.
ECHO Rising Stars: Aris Quartett
ECHO Rising Stars Aris Quartett perform two masterpieces alongside a new work that explores the neurology of music, showing off the emotional, dramatic and intellectual range of the string quartet.
Arcangelo/Jonathan Cohen: Handel's Theodora
Period ensemble Arcangelo prove why Handel’s undervalued oratorio deserves its place on stage, both musically and for its depiction of an inspiring heroine, brought to life tonight by Louise Alder.
London Symphony Orchestra: Things to Come
Alexander Korda’s cinematic vision of the future, with Arthur Bliss’s classic score played live by the orchestra who originally recorded it – the London Symphony Orchestra.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra offer contrasting musical moods as they travel south with their Principal Guest Conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
Evgeny Kissin
Celebrated pianist Evgeny Kissin sweeps us across musical and geographic landscapes, revealing the vast breadth of the piano’s expressive range as well as that of his own imagination.
Nonclassical: the greenhouse effect
Explore our Conservatory in an immersive sound experience reflecting on our relationship with nature at a time of climate crisis.
ECHO Rising Stars: Cristina Gomez Godoy
ECHO Rising Star Cristina Gómez Godoy brings the oboe into the spotlight, showing off its unique timbre in a wide-ranging programme.
The English Concert – Handel: The Philanthropist
A star-studded cast and The English Concert recreate Handel’s legendary 1749 fundraising concert, offering a chance to marvel at the abundance of his imagination – as well as his good deeds.
Nadine Benjamin: Songs of Joy with Michael Harper
Soprano Nadine Benjamin leads a programme of songs and poems that celebrate the richness and joy of black and mixed-race experiences.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja & Joonas Ahonen
In the first recital of her Artist Spotlight, charismatic, mould-defying violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja brings her fresh interpretations to Beethoven and 20th-century classics.
Discover
Barbican Sessions: Isata Kenneh-Mason
Isata Kanneh-Mason plays Brahms's Op 118, No 3 'Ballade' in our Fountain Room
Listen: Classical Music on Spotify
Follow our regularly updated Classical Music playlist for a sample of the music you'll hear across our programme.
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.
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.
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.
