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
Cassie Kinoshi x Ensemble Intercontemporain
Spearheaded by France’s flagship contemporary music group, the new, the nearly new, and a 20th century classic are stitched into a programme that explores slavery and the Caribbean experience.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 5
Our Shostakovich cycle began with the Quartet No 1, and ends, inevitably, with No 15, staring death resolutely in the face, a work heart-stopping in its searing intensity.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Lukas Sternath
Join pianist Lukas Sternath for a mesmerising recital featuring an eclectic programme full of contrasts.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Carlos Ferreira
Jazz-inspired music meets a brand new commission plus one of the cornerstones of the clarinet repertoire, with Portuguese clarinettist Carlos Ferreira.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Quatuor Agate
The Quatuor Agate pairs Ligeti's Bartók-inspired Métamorphoses Nocturnes with Ravel's masterful String Quartet.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Sào Soulez Larivière
Embark on a journey from the Baroque to the present day with Sào Soulez Larivière, as he brings electronics on board to explore a whole new side to the viola.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Benjamin Kruithof
Kickstart your morning with music from some of the most influential composers of the late 19th and 20th centuries, performed by cellist Benjamin Kruithof.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Matilda Lloyd
British trumpeter Matilda Lloyd presents a thrilling programme of music that tells a story.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Rakhi Singh & Friends
Rakhi Singh, violinist and co-founder of Manchester Collective, is joined by a stellar string quartet for an afternoon of contemporary chamber music.
Khatia Buniatishvili & Friends
For the finale to Khatia Buniatishvili’s Barbican residency, the pianist invites friends from the performing world to join her for an intimate evening of music and words.
No Friend but the Mountains
Inspired by Behrouz Boochani's book of his refugee journey and six-year-long incarceration in Manus Island, the LSO give the UK premiere of this heart-stopping song-cycle.
Evgeny Kissin
Chopin at his most mercurial, and Shostakovich’s response to Bach as well as his piano sonata swansong all come under the spotlight as the great pianist attends to unfinished business.
CBSO/Abi Sampa: The Orchestral Qawwali Project
This glorious blend of Sufi poetry, Indian Classical dance and symphony orchestra comes to the Barbican.
ANNO: Four Seasons by Anna Meredith & Antonio Vivaldi
Experience the passage of time through a surprising and utterly fresh interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Oum – A Son’s Quest for His Mother
We are proud to present the UK premiere of Bushra El-Turk’s latest music theatre work, featuring star singers Ghalia Benali, Dima Orsho and Bernadeta Astari.
Lang Lang
One of the most influential pianists of the 21st century plays music by Fauré, Schumann and Chopin.
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir: Adam's Lament
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is joined by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra for an evening of beloved 20th century works in celebration of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's 90th birthday.
Les Arts Florissants & Amala Dianor Company
Blending a cappella singing with expressive movement, Gesualdo Passione crowns Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants' work on Carlo Gesualdo, in a modern creation by choreographer Amala Dianor.
Sinfonia of London: Serenade
The barnstorming Sinfonia of London have garnered rave reviews since their relaunch in 2018, and this concert presents a rare opportunity to hear them in a smaller, more intimate arrangement.
Elgar's Cello Concerto & Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances
A Russian in exile, an Englishman in despair, and a Puerto Rican take on fantastical fandangoes: a welcome visit from the RLPO under its charismatic Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan.
Quatuor Diotima: Boulez Anniversary Concert
Performed by one of its outstanding interpreters, Boulez’s uncompromising Livre pour quatuor is at the heart of a centenary tribute to the composer referencing Webern, Bach, and impassioned Debussy.
The English Concert/Bicket: Giulio Cesare
A runaway hit at its 1724 premiere, Louise Alder stars in Giulio Cesare - arguably Handel’s most popular operatic creation – a drama teeming with passion and political skulduggery.
Her Ensemble: The Three Dancers
Three beautifully-conceived 21st century works inspired by the visual arts, culminating in a celebration of Balkan folk tunes herald the return of Ellie Consta’s pioneering Her Ensemble.
Handel: Jephtha with Il Pomo D’oro and Joyce DiDonato
Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres star in Handel’s Jephtha – the composer's valedictory oratorio.
Mahan Esfahani: Harpsichord recital
Splicing classic Baroque works with a reminder that the harpsichord is no mere museum piece, Mahan Esfahani has opened up inspiring new territories.
Seong-Jin Cho: A Ravel-athon
A sold-out hall greeted Seong-Jin Cho’s Barbican debut in 2023. His much-anticipated return navigates a scintillating all-Ravel programme, saluting the composer in his 150th anniversary year.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 4
Four quartets unite to perform the Chamber Symphony enlargement of Shostakovich’s 8th quartet, crowning a programme including Firsova’s ardent, deftly-plotted Quartet No 4.
Britten's Canticles
Three outstanding young singers unite in a programme of love, loss, and remembrance, where Schubert and Errollyn Wallen are entwined in Britten’s five haunting canticles.
Sunwook Kim plays Beethoven
Pianist Sunwook Kim multi-tasks with the high octane Chamber Orchestra of Europe in a concert featuring Beethoven's Piano Concertos 3 and 4.
Moving Eastman
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Experience a new dance and sonic performance that takes inspiration from the intersectional life of the Black American composer Julius Eastman.
Khatia and Gvantsa Buniatishvili
Unfortunately due to illness, this Wednesday’s performance with Khatia and Gvantsa Buniatishvili is cancelled.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 3
The multinational young Kyan Quartet joins the Carduccis as Gubaidulina’s compact Quartet No 2 is stitched into a Shostakovich sequence including the penultimate quartet, with its focus on the cello.
Australian Chamber Orchestra
'Is there a better chamber orchestra in the world?' (The Guardian). Australia's premiere ensemble performs works by JS Bach, Sofia Gubaidalina and Shostakovich.
Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time with Jordi Savall
Journey into the unknown with musical pioneer Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI in a concert inspired by the 14th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta, and narrated by Peaky Blinders actor Assaad Bouab.
Czech Philharmonic/Semyon Bychkov: Mahler 5
The second concert in the Czech Philharmonic’s residency boasts Mozart's vivacious concerto written for (and tonight performed by) two siblings alongside Mahler's Symphony No 5.
Czech Philharmonic/Semyon Bychkov: Shostakovich 5
An orchestra blazing burnished colours, rich string tone, and boundless refinement, the Czech Philharmonic launches a two-day residency with a concert of Shostakovich.
Bog Cantata with the Dunedin Consort
Beguiling baroque expressions of loss and longing accompany an intriguing world premiere that originates from a medieval book of psalms found by chance in a peat bog in Ireland in 2006.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 2
Sofia Gubaidulina contemplates unfinished J S Bach as the Carduccis survey Shostakovich in triplicate across some two decades.
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.
