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 (subject to availability). Find out more.
Events
Consone Quartet X Chiaroscuro Quartet
Two leading instrumental groups – period ensemble Consone Quartet and the acclaimed Chiaroscuro Quartet – join forces to present an evening of beloved classical works.
The Hermes Experiment: Let Us Be a Mighty River
A collaboration between The Hermes Experiment and five international sound artists, this immersive concert-installation responds to the climate emergency.
The Marian Consort: The Language of Flowers
Acclaimed choral ensemble Marian Consort pays tribute to flowers and gardens both actual and allegorical, with music from the late Renaissance to the present day.
Arcadi Volodos in Recital
The Russian born master pianist Arcadi Volodos returns to the Barbican for a journey to the heart of the Romantic spirit.
The National Youth Orchestra
Join us as The National Youth Orchestra takes to the stage for a massive orchestral experience, alongside conductor Alexandre Bloch and cellist Inbal Segev.
Riot Ensemble: Too Much is Never Enough
Step into a kaleidoscopic world of sound as one of the UK’s leading new-music ensembles, Riot Ensemble, brings an electrifying programme by a new generation of creatives.
Julia Wolfe: unEarth
US composer Julia Wolfe’s major new work unEarth receives its UK premiere at the Barbican, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, National Youth Voices, and Danish soprano Else Torp.
Maxim Vengerov and Polina Osetinskaya in Recital
The world-renowned duo of violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Polina Osetinskaya take to the Barbican stage for an evening that sets the gold standard for contemporary duet performance.
Sea Beneath the Skin / Song of the Earth
Reflecting on the powerful words of the late Kiribati poetess and activist Teresia Teaiwa, Lemi Ponifasio's Sea Beneath the Skin creates a poignant performance featuring the Theatre of Kiribati.
Tamara Stefanovich in Recital: Labyrinth
Tamara Stefanovich presets Labyrinth - a curated sequence including works by JS Bach (Art of Fugue), Claude Debussy (Preludes), Franz Liszt and Gyorgy Kurtag (Jatekok).
ECHO Rising Stars: Valerie Fritz
Austrian cellist and ECHO Rising Star Valerie Fritz performs with acclaimed Bosnion accordionist Goran Stevanovich in the atmospheric setting of LSO St Luke’s.
Fretwork with Ian Bostridge & Elizabeth Kenny
Tenor Ian Bostridge is joined by Elizabeth Kenny on the lute, and viol consort Fretwork for an exploration of music by John Dowland.
Hildur Guðnadóttir & Friends: Where to From
Academy award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, known for her film scores to Chernobyl, Tar and The Joker, makes a rare appearance on stage to perform her new project, Where to From.
Tansy Davies: Passion of Mary Magdalene
The third and final work in a cycle of commissions with the Dunedin Consort, British composer Tansy Davies’ Passion of Mary Magdalene receives its premiere at the Barbican.
The Tallis Scholars: Mysteries & Miracles
Performed by the world-renowned Tallis Scholars, this programme explores music inspired by miraculous events in the life of Jesus, as told through the works of a diverse range of composers.
Evgeny Kissin in Recital
Celebrated pianist Evgeny Kissin sweeps us across musical landscapes, revealing the vast breadth of the piano’s expressive range including works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt.
Maria Joāo Pires and Marc-André Hamelin in Recital
Legendary pianists Maria João Pires and Marc-André Hamelin join forces for the first time to perform seminal works for piano duo.
Gabriela Montero in Recital
Venezuelan pianist and composer Gabriela Montero performs an assortment of piano pieces from and inspired by Spain.
Darkness Visible: Âme x Lawrence Power
Âme Creative Studios make their Barbican debut with Lawrence Power in a concert that breaks down the walls of the concert hall and takes you on a musical journey across the City of London at night.
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason
Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason team up for a recital of cello sonatas by Felix Mendelssohn, Fauré, Chopin and Beethoven, who pioneered the form.
Fatma Said and Joseph Middleton
Soprano Fatma Said and pianist Joseph Middleton give a recital that contrasts songs on nocturnal theme by Mozart, Schubert and Robert Schumann with sunnier Spanish repertoire.
Kavakos Plays Bach: Part 2
Leonidas Kavakos gives the second of his two recitals devoted to the Six Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas by J S Bach, including the extraordinary Chaconne.
Kavakos Plays Bach: Part 1
In the first of two concerts, Leonidas Kavakos performs three works from J S Bach’s Six Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas, each one an intimate, intricate masterpiece.
Anthony McGill: Gran Partita
Clarinettist Anthony McGill collaborates with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and stars of the next generation from Guildhall School, as he closes his Milton Court residency.
Anthony McGill and Kaleidoscope Collective
Delve into the depths of the human experience with deeply personal chamber music by Brahms and Messiaen, performed by clarinettist Anthony McGill and the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective.
Aidan O'Rourke, Alice Zawadzki and Héloïse Werner
Celebrated singers Alice Zawadzki and Héloïse Werner are joined by fiddle player Aidan O'Rourke, pianist Kit Downes and cellist Colin Alexander in a programme of new works by each of the artists.
Reformations: Concerto with Dunedin Consort and Sean Shibe
Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe and the Dunedin Consort, Scotland’s foremost Baroque ensemble, join forces for a feast of early and recent repertoire, including Cassandra Miller’s new concerto.
ECHO Rising Stars: Mathis Stier
With pianist Rie Akamatsu, ECHO artist Mathis Stier showcases the versatility of the bassoon in a programme that takes us from the 19th century through to the present day.
Khatia Buniatishvili
Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili brings passion and vulnerability to her performances, qualities sure to abound in a recital of Beethoven and transcriptions by her hero, Liszt.
Hera Hyesang Park and Bretton Brown
Soprano Hera Hyesang Park and pianist Bretton Brown give a recital that celebrates Park’s Korean heritage, finding parallels and contrasts between western repertoire and Korean art and folk-song.
Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Kissin, one of the finest pianists of the age, gives a recital of formidable complexity: two great sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev frame music by Brahms and Chopin.
Guy Johnston and Britten Sinfonia: The Protecting Veil
Star cellist Guy Johnston joins Britten Sinfonia in a programme of powerful music by Tavener, Beethoven and Bartók.
ECHO Rising Stars: Sonoro Quartet
The Sonoro Quartet, ECHO Rising Stars for 2023/24, plays a programme of new works alongside music by Guillaume Lekeu and Shostakovich’s searing String Quartet No 8.
Dido and Aeneas
A sumptuous pairing of Baroque masterpieces featuring an all-star cast conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev, with Joyce DiDonato and Andrew Staples as the ill-fated lovers in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
Freya Waley-Cohen and Manchester Collective: Spell Book
Manchester Collective, soprano Héloïse Werner and mezzo-sopranos Fleur Barron and Katie Bray perform the world premiere of the complete Spell Book by British-American composer Freya Waley-Cohen.
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.
