What’s on

Fri 12 Dec 2025, 19:30

The Russian born master pianist Arcadi Volodos returns to the Barbican for a journey to the heart of the Romantic spirit.

Mon 15 Dec 2025, 19:00

Laurence Cummings and Academy of Ancient Music perform Handel’s Messiah – a Christmas tradition that they’ve made their own.

Wed 17 –Thu 18 Dec 2025

Relive the golden age of Hollywood with music by some of cinema’s most brilliant and influential composers.

Fri 19 Dec 2025, 19:30

Sir James MacMillan conducts a starry performance of his huge, life-affirming Christmas Oratorio – music that speaks to listeners of all faiths and none.

Sun 4 Jan 2026, 19:00

Join us as The National Youth Orchestra takes to the stage for a massive orchestral experience, alongside conductor Alexandre Bloch and cellist Inbal Segev.

Tue 13 –Thu 15 Jan 2026

A 300-year-old woman confronts mortality, identity and lost love in this concert performance of Janáček’s intense operatic drama.

Fri 16 Jan 2026, 19:30

Clemens Schuldt and the BBC Symphony Orchestra perform Shakespearean classics, Strauss at his most sumptuous, and a new British concerto for cellist Guy Johnston.

Sun 18 Jan 2026, 19:00

Two showcases of Bartók’s unbridled passion for Hungarian folk music, plus de Falla’s sun-drenched tale of love and deception. 

Thu 22 Jan 2026, 20:00

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.

Fri 23 Jan 2026, 19:30

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.

Sun 25 Jan 2026, 19:00

Subtle elegance and introspection infuse Mozart’s late piano concerto, while Brahms brings hope and solace in times of loss. 

Wed 28 Jan 2026, 19:30

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.

Wed 28 Jan 2026, 19:30

An exhilarating re-imagining of Holst's The Planets for folk duo and orchestra, interspersed by text written and narrated by acclaimed nature and climate writer Robert Macfarlane.  

Thu 29 Jan 2026, 19:00

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja revels in a modernist masterwork, before Rachmaninoff’s tempestuous Symphony No 2, full of Romantic ardour. 

Fri 30 Jan 2026, 19:30

Music that glitters, sings and dances for joy, as Sakari Oramo pairs two newly minted classics with Beethoven’s brightest symphony.