London Symphony Orchestra
Resident Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos and an inimitable signature sound. It has been the Resident Orchestra at the Barbican since the Centre opened in 1982.
As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and a mission to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of people. This season includes 70 concerts at the Barbican under the batons of some of the finest conductors in the world, including Music Director Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, and Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas.
Events

London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich
The past and the contemporary meet, as Gianandrea Noseda conducts music by Russian composers who reached back in history to create something entirely new – and one of their Classical inspirations.

London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich
The past and contemporary, romance and sarcasm, all meet in this concert, as Gianandrea Noseda conducts music by Russian composers who reached back in history to say something new.

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle: Half Six Fix
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Beethoven’s final symphonic epic in this early-evening Half Six Fix concert, introduced on stage by the conductor.

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
Marrying emotive force with theatricality, 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
Soprano Iwona Sobotka takes centre-stage for a powerful account of Berg’s Lulu Suite in a programme also featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

London Symphony Orchestra/Elim Chan: Daphnis and Chloe
As spring approaches, Elim Chan leads us from the cold winter’s nights into the splendour of sunlight, in this concert of music spanning the 20th century to the present day.

London Symphony Orchestra/Kazushi Ono: Janáček
These three works draw inspiration from Czech culture and landscape, telling legends in music and invoking the spirit of the Moravian forests.

London Symphony Orchestra/Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Composers pouring their most personal thoughts and feelings into their work is not unusual, but these two pieces by Dvořák and Suk feel much more deeply connected than most.

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.

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.

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.

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: 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.
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.