London Symphony Orchestra
Resident Orchestra
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
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle: Beethoven 250
Marrying emotive force with theatrically, Sir Simon Rattle sheds light on a rarely performed Beethoven masterpiece and Berg’s lyrical Violin Concerto with Lisa Batiashvili.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle: Beethoven & Berg
Sir Simon Rattle presents a triptych of Alban Berg’s early masterpieces paired with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
Half Six Fix: London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle marries two works of extraordinary intensity, played back-to-back in just one hour in this early-evening Half Six Fix concert, and introduced on-stage by the conductor.
London Symphony Orchestra/Nathalie Stutzmann: Mendelssohn
Nathalie Stutzmann brings together three landmark German composers from the Romantic era: Wagner, Mendelssohn and Brahms.
London Symphony Orchestra/François-Xavier Roth: Bartók
Two works written in the same year yet poles apart in style – in François-Xavier Roth’s words, ‘the post-Romanticism of Elgar combined with Bartók’s scary, strange, erotic, disturbing work’.
LSO Chamber Orchestra/Emmanuelle Haïm
Rich storytelling, high drama and bold ideas. Be drawn into magnificent operatic worlds with music from the towering giants of the Baroque, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm.
A Choral Christmas/LSO Brass
Sing your festive favourites with the LSO Brass Ensemble and a 300-strong choir of singers, and get your festive season off to a flying start.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano: British Roots
Sir Antonio Pappano explores an all-British programme, highlighting composers’ responses to the world around them in early 20th-century Britain. Note: change of artist
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich
‘Certain moments in history gave composers the possibility of saying something deeply personal’, says LSO Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda. ‘And Shostakovich speaks equally to us today’.
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Russian Roots
A mythical, magical tale, a fate-filled journey from darkness to light, and pure Romantic lyricism – Gianandrea Noseda conducts Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and Bruch.
Michael Tilson Thomas: 50th LSO Anniversary
The LSO’s Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas celebrates an incredible 50 years of conducting the Orchestra, with Russian masterpieces and a heartfelt original composition.
Half Six Fix: Prokofiev Fifth Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas introduces and presents Prokofiev’s most emotionally charged symphony, composed in the closing moments of World War II, in this early-evening concert.
Michael Tilson Thomas: LSO 50th Anniversary
Michael Tilson Thomas celebrates a 50-year collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, which has taken him from his debut in his twenties to Principal Conductor and now Conductor Laureate.
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Russian Roots
History, heritage, fate, and a tour-de-force of piano skill and colour combine in this ‘Russian Roots’ concert from Gianandrea Noseda, bringing together Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky.
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich
Atmosphere and mood are conjured up in three darkly-hued works from the 20th century, from the stormy seas to the knife-edge uncertainty of life in Soviet Russia.
Discover
Profile: London Symphony Orchestra
Listen to our selection of LSO recordings from across the years in our Spotify playlist.
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.
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