Zadie Smith and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Zadie Smith, one of the most influential cultural figures in Britain joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra for a concert blurring boundaries between music and words.

Zadie Smith is one of Britain’s most notable living novelists. Her first work White Teeth, completed while the author was still a student, became an instant hit when it was published in 2000. Smith soon came to define what it was to live in Britain – and particularly London – at the turn of the new millennium.

Music courses through Smith’s works. At university she worked as a jazz singer, while her 2016 novel Swing Time, long listed for the Booker Prize, explores her love of music and dance. Smith joins the BBC SO for an entertaining evening featuring readings from a number of her novels and essays including White Teeth, NW and Swing Time, alongside music written by Leonard Bernstein, Gity Razaz, Rodgers and Hart, Frank Zappa and Adolphus Hailstork. There's even an opportunity to hear the author sing.

The performance ends at approximately 9.30pm, with a 20-minute interval.

This livestream will be available to watch back until Sun 24 Apr 2022 at 7.30pm. You can buy a ticket up until this point. The live stream is available globally.

Produced by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Digital Programme