BBC Symphony Orchestra
Associate Orchestra
The backbone of the BBC Proms and one of the UK's finest orchestras, the BBC SO performs a thrilling, distinctive range of music, from works at the heart of classical music to contemporary premieres.
Events
![Photo of actor Ruth Wilson within the BBC Symphony Orchestra's branded frame](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-03/web01%20PIP%20RW_1920x1080_6.jpg?h=2ca43eb9&itok=gxJJv2dO)
BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Brabbins & Charles Styles
Beowulf and Job: two tales of courage, defiance and the triumph of the human spirit, retold in music by Iain Bell and Ralph Vaughan Williams, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
![Akiko Suwanai's centralised image is surrounded by yellow BBC SO branding](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/10%20March_Akiko%20Suwanai.jpg?h=3edd37d8&itok=9x5Xoo2y)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Bringuier & Akiko Suwanai
Lionel Bringuier conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in an evening of Debussy, Dutilleux, Roussel and Ravel. French music at its most poetic, and its most dangerous.
![Clemens Schuldt holding his baton](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2023-02/01%20clemens%20schldt_1920x1080_4.jpg?h=97d03102&itok=HtKS3sj_)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Schuldt
Swan Lake retold, and told anew. Violinist Tessa Lark takes the spotlight in a BBC Symphony Orchestra concert devoted to musical fairytales, both light and hauntingly dark.
![Gemma New faces left with her arms open wide. Green BBC SO branding surrounds her centralised image](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/24%20Feb_Gemma%20New.jpg?h=99635a42&itok=SHir931m)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/New & Lise de la Salle
American dreams and sonic fireworks as conductor Gemma New and pianist Lise de la Salle make their joint debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
![Hannu Lintu leans on his hand. Yellow BBC SO branding surrounds his centralised image](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/17%20Feb_Hannu%20Lintu.jpg?h=4f2a5de1&itok=PveNlAxN)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Lintu
Bright colours, dark emotions and uncompromising truths: Hannu Lintu conducts three vivid stories and from three powerful creative personalities.
![Johan Dalene plays his violin, looking down at the ground. BBC SO branding surrounds his image](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-09/10%20Feb_Johan%20Dalene.jpg?h=4f2a5de1&itok=VXkqLGsy)
BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/Oramo
Poles apart: Sakari Oramo and the BBC SO explore the sensuality and raw energy of two great Polish symphonies, while Johan Dalene and Timothy Ridout encounter Mozart at the very top of his game.
![Sakari Oramo conducts, with BBC SO branding around the edge of his centralised image](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-10/5%20October_Sakari%20V2.jpg?h=97d03102&itok=YeP5ZDB7)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo & Julie Price
Sunlight, defiance and unsung heroes: Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra by Antonín Dvořák and Grażyna Bacewicz, plus a delightful showcase for the BBC SO’s own Principal Bassoon.
![Illustration of various types of plants against a black background](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-06/fleuri%2001.jpg?h=3b237d8c&itok=7fPJ2ppV)
Our Precious Planet
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Marvel at the beauty and fragility of our world in a family concert of sound and storytelling, with Grégoire Pont’s drawings projected live alongside thrilling music from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
![Photo of Ryan Wigglesworth](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/01%20RYAN%20WIGGLESWORTH%20%281%29.jpg?h=464c6465&itok=Cysyg1WD)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Wigglesworth
Tragedy, triumph, and a whole life lived in between: Ryan Wigglesworth conducts Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, as well as his own song-cycle Till Dawning.
![Anna Fedorova has her hands clasped in the middle of an image with BBC SO branding around the outside](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/01%20ANNA_FEDOROVA_1920x1080_COLOUR.jpg?h=beff22f3&itok=FzcaNdj7)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Karabits & Anna Fedorova
Anna Fedorova plays Rachmaninov’s sweeping Third Piano Concerto, and Kirill Karabits rediscovers the epic, intensely dramatic music of Ukrainian symphonist Boris Lyatoshinsky.
![Mark Gatiss looking at the camera](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-10/web_01%20MARK%20GATISS_1920x1080_no%20logo.jpg?h=2ca43eb9&itok=W79nqVy5)
BBC Symphony Orchestra: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sherlock Holmes at Christmas: a powerful new adaptation by Neil Brand of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
![Jennifer Pike holding her violin](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/01%20PIKE_ARNO.jpg?h=e4d7c85a&itok=1F5ruhop)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Schuldt
Life, death and transcendence: Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending finds a 21st-century counterpart in a new work from Deborah Pritchard.
![Photo of George Walker looking at the camera](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/05%20GEORGE%20T%20WALKER.jpg?h=e4d7c85a&itok=fHL3cLnS)
BBC SO Total Immersion: Discovering George Walker
Alpesh Chauhan conducts four of George Walker’s most potent orchestral works: the climax of a day of Total Immersion in the imagination of this Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.
![Photo of George Walker playing the piano](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-10/George%20Walker%20Guildhall.jpg?h=2ca43eb9&itok=-bEhfd1X)
BBC SO Total Immersion: The World in a Grain of Sand
The world in a grain of sand: as part of today’s Total Immersion in the music of George Walker, Guildhall Musicians perform his songs and chamber music.
![Photo of Dalia Stasevska conducting](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/01%20DALIA.jpg?h=e4d7c85a&itok=6RhJ2-D7)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Stasevska & Sol Gabetta
Dalia Stasevska conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and cellist Sol Gabetta in Elgar’s Cello Concerto – the centrepiece of a concert powered by natural wonders and elemental emotions.
![Black and white photo of Jean Sibelius](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/05%20SIBELIUS.jpg?h=e4d7c85a&itok=t_AWNHTA)
BBC SO Total Immersion: Crossings, Creations and Immersions
The last word: an evening of music and words inspired by Finnish legend and landscape, before Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Sibelius’s final great masterpiece Tapiola.
![Black and white photo of Jean Sibelius](/sites/default/files/styles/event_listing_small/public/images/2022-03/04%20SIBELIUS.jpg?h=e4d7c85a&itok=iDbQdHBn)
BBC SO Total Immersion: Songs and Seasons
Explore Finland’s choral tradition, as Owain Park and the BBC Singers present songs and poetry by Sibelius, his pupils, and their Finnish contemporaries.
Discover
![architecture detail of the barbican hall](/sites/default/files/styles/discover_small/public/images/2018-12/DSC_6059_0_0.jpg?itok=6PHs6Ol8)
Composer Focus – Episode 5: Jean Sibelius with Sakari Oramo
In the final episode, host Edward Seckerson is joined by BBC Symphony Orchestra conductor Sakari Oramo to discuss his fellow countryman Jean Sibelius, and the themes of nature and Finnish national identity woven throughout his music.