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
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.
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.
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.
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.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Stories, Quests and Secret Sagas
Sibelius the Storyteller: Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in four vivid musical mini-epics, accompanied by readings from the ancient stories that inspired them.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Phantoms, Visions, Siren Voices
Poetry and music merge in readings and songs: an atmospheric starting point for the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s day of Total Immersion in the world of Sibelius the Storyteller.
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo
Boris Giltburg plays Rachmaninov and Sakari Oramo conjures sounds of pure enchantment as the BBC Symphony Orchestra opens its new season with a glittering programme.
BBC SO/Chauhan & Stephen Hough
Star pianist Stephen Hough plays Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini while Alphesh Chauhan conducts Bruckner’s unfinished final symphony.
BBC SO/Stutzmann: Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6
Nathalie Stutzmann makes her BBC Symphony Orchestra podium debut in Tchaikovsky’s most emotional symphony, while orchestra and chorus are united for Brahms at his most hushed.
BBC SO/Wigglesworth: The Other Vaughan Williams
The composer who brought us gentle, pastoral music like The Lark Ascending processes the aftermath of war, in a concert featuring the modern premiere of a lost work by César Franck.
BBC SO/Saraste: Kidane, Prokofiev and Nielsen
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts three works that respond in different ways to the pandemic, to a personal loss and to the devastation of war.
Zadie Smith and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Zadie Smith, one of the most influential cultural figures in Britain joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a concert blurring boundaries between music and words.
BBC SO/Oramo & Benedetti: Romantics in Exile
Sakari Oramo conducts a forgotten symphony overflowing with passion and Nicola Benedetti plays the violin concerto that stole the movies’ greatest tunes.
BBC SO/de Souza: Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
Much talked-about Canadian conductor Jordan de Souza makes his UK concert debut in music devilishly enjoyable, wickedly entertaining and frantically unpredictable.
BBC SO/Storgårds: Gubaidulina, Mussorgsky and Shostakovich
John Storgårds joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra to conduct Dmitri Shostakovich’s dramatic Fifth Symphony, a journey through life by Modest Mussorgsky and a fantastical work from Sofia Gubaidulina.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Zappa Goes Large
For Frank Zappa, the symphony orchestra was the consummate vehicle for musical storytelling. Brad Lubman leads this live streamed evening culminating in Zappa’s acknowledged orchestral masterpieces.
Discover
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.
