Saved events

Sound Unbound 2019

Illustration of an explosion of sound and instruments

Join us for a free music festival of unexpected sounds in unexpected places.

Music will burst from the Barbican and out across Culture Mile’s architectural gems with a line-up of artists for whom the boundaries between classical and contemporary, experimental and jazz are blurred – or never even existed in the first place.

Kick back to the music of Steve Reich on the Barbican Lakeside. Discover the symphony that changed music forever with Stephen Fry. Watch the Academy Award-winning film The Artist with music performed by a live orchestra. And hear the music of Philip Glass reimagined by electronica producer Max Cooper.

From authentic medieval sounds to hypnotic minimalist masterpieces, there are over 100 sessions, installations and more to explore – and you can tap into any of them for free.

Some sessions have limited capacity, and access is on a first-come, first-served basis

Saturday and Sunday guides

Download your complete guides to Saturday and Sunday at Sound Unbound, with full timing, venue and artist information for all 100+ sessions.

Discover

illustration for sound unbound

Listen: Sound Unbound playlist

A teaser of the music you could hear at this year’s Sound Unbound

christoph sietzen in cinema 1

Barbican Sessions: Christoph Sietzen

 

For our latest Barbican Session, percussionist Christoph Sietzen performs in an empty Cinema 1.

illustration of various music notes on yellow background

Listen: Sound Unbound DJ Mix

Listen to G Prokofiev & Classical MechanicsSound Unbound DJ Mix.

Photo of two men sitting down playing the guitar

Watch: Sound Unbound

A free music festival of unexpected sounds in unexpected places.

photo of bartosz glowacki

Barbican Sessions: Bartosz Glowacki

 

Accordionist Bartosz Glowacki performs the animated third movement ‘Thieves’ from Five views on the Archipelago Gulag by Ukrainian composer Victor Vlasov in the entrance to the Exhibition Halls.

Photo of Max Cooper talking to the camera

Watch: Max Cooper and Bruce Brubaker on Glassforms

Bruce Brubaker and Max Cooper talk about Glassforms.

Explore the programme

Head here for our headliners. Our 2000-seater concert hall is the place to hear everything from minimalist sounds reimagined to iconic music you’ll probably recognise – including Carl Orff’s explosive choral work Carmina Burana. Stephen Fry introduces the symphony that changed classical music forever, Beethoven’s Eroica. The charismatic Miloš blends classical guitar with the Beatles. And the soundtrack is the star in the Academy Award-winning love-letter to the silent film era The Artist (PG), screened here with a live performance of its toe-tapping score.

Saturday
12.30–1.20pm: Carmina Burana with London Symphony Chorus
4–4.40pm: Miloš + 12 ensemble – Bach to Beatles
8–10pm: The Artist, live in concert with BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sunday
12noon–1pm: Heroic Beethoven: Symphony No 3 introduced by Stephen Fry
2.30–3.10pm: Chineke! Orchestra – Elegy for Stephen Lawrence
4.45–5.25pm: Bach Recomposed with Peter Gregson
8–9.30pm: Max Cooper + Bruce Brubaker: Glassforms

Take a time out in the tranquil Norfolk Garden, where you can rest or stroll through Pleasure Garden, an interactive ‘listening garden’ installation. Grab a bite to eat, and enjoy the pop up performances around you.

Saturday
1.30–2pm: Elysium Brass
2.30–2.50pm: Street Orchestra Live
3.30–4pm: Elysium Brass
4.30–4.50pm: Street Orchestra Live

Sunday
1.30–2pm: Elysium Brass
2.30–2.50pm: Street Orchestra Live
3.30–4pm: Elysium Brass
4.30–4.50pm: Street Orchestra Live

Experience English Renaissance music reborn for a digital age with the electric guitar group Zwerm in one of the City’s few remaining medieval churches. And Mendelssohn’s romantic String Octet exploring the ecstasy, elation and anguish of young love is paired with an arrangement of Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros’s Fljótavík, both played by the dynamic young 12 ensemble.

Saturday
1.15–1.55pm: Young Love from 12 ensemble
3–3.40pm: Bach Recomposed by Peter Gregson
4.30–5.10pm: Bach Recomposed by Peter Gregson
6.45–7.25pm: Electric Renaissance from Zwerm

Sunday
1–1.40pm: Sacred Bones Sackbut Ensemble
3–3.40pm: No Time for Chamber Music from Collectif9
5–5.40pm: Electric Renaissance from Zwerm

Check out the best in new classical, electronic and experimental music – nonclassical take over one of London's most beloved nightclubs, putting their sound system to the test with experimental electronics, turntablist strings, short films, and a musical safari from nonclassical DJs.

Saturday
1.30–2pm: nonclassical @ fabric
2–2.40pm: nonclassical @ fabric: Tom Richards
2.45–2.55pm: ?Corporel with Tomyr Warcaba-Wood
2.55–4pm: nonclassical @ fabric
4–4.40pm: nonclassical @ fabric: Mira Calix
4.40–4.50pm: ?Corporel with Vittorio Angelone
4.50–6pm: nonclassical @ fabric
6–6.40pm: nonclassical @ fabric: Shiva Feshareki & Addelam
6.40–7pm: nonclassical @ fabric

A Culture Mile Event.

Sound Unbound is a joint project between the Barbican, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Academy of Ancient Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Thanks to The Charterhouse, St Bartholomew the Great, St Bartholomew the Less, City Music Foundation, St Giles’ Cripplegate, LSO St Luke’s, fabric, Dutch Performing Arts and Classical Futures Europe for their kind support.

The Artist is screened by kind permission of Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd. Wilton Diptych video reproduced by permission of Smarthistory.

Barbican and Culture Mile

Locations
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
St Giles' Cripplegate, Fore Street, EC2Y 8DA
SIlk Street Music Hall, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
Milton Court Concert Hall, 1 Milton Street, EC2Y 9BH
Piano Smithfield, 14 Long Lane, EC1A 9PN
St Bartholomew the Great, Cloth Fair, EC1A 7JQ
St Bartholomew the Less, 57A W Smithfield,  EC1A 9DS
Smithfield Rotunda, West Smithfield, EC1A 9DY
Fabric, 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ
Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AN
Gresham Centre, Gresham Street, EC2V 7BX
Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN
LSO St Luke’s, 161 Old Street, EC1V 9NG