London Symphony Orchestra
Resident Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is built on the belief that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere. It was established in 1904 and today is among the world’s top orchestras
As Resident Orchestra at the Barbican since the Centre opened, it performs some 50 concerts here every year, under the batons of a family of conductors that includes Chief Conductor Designate Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J Thomas.
Events
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Tchaikovsky juggles beauty and suffering, Britten reflects powerfully on grief and conflict, and Bernstein grapples with the modern world.
London Symphony Orchestra/Nathalie Stutzmann
Richard Strauss breathes dizzying life into 18th-century Vienna, Wagner recreates medieval Rome and Beethoven marries tenderness and high spirits.
London Symphony Orchestra: Half Six Fix – Mahler
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert, showcasing Mahler's Fourth Symphony, introduced by the performers and with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
Serenity, beauty and the sense of an ending infuse music by Richard Strauss and Mahler, preluded by Gerhard’s immersive soundscapes.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle
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Sir Simon Rattle conducts four powerful moments from the final chapter of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, alongside his Siegfried Idyll.
London Symphony Orchestra: Half Six Fix – Enigma Variations
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert, showcasing two works by Vaughan Williams. Introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO journey from darkness to light in Mahler's rapturous Fifth Symphony, alongside Elgar's Enigma Variations.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
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Wagner plunges the depths and rises to ecstatic heights in one of the greatest and most intense of operatic love stories.
London Symphony Orchestra/Klaus Mäkelä
Tales of ancient spirits and savage dreams from Sibelius and Stravinsky, alongside the fluid, lyrical melodies of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto.
London Symphony Orchestra/Daniele Rustioni
A spotlight on Romanticism with three beautifully contrasting pieces: Liszt in fine form, late Mendelssohn and ‘Great’ Schubert.
London Symphony Orchestra/Thomas Adès
Composers being playful: early Beethoven's wit and jokes pair with a cat-and-mouse chase around the orchestra from Ondřej Adámek.
London Symphony Orchestra/ Half Six Fix – Beethoven
Kick-start your evening with a Half Six Fix concert. One piece in a 60-minute concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
London Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson Thomas
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Big questions asked in a big piece – Gustav Mahler’s glorious Resurrection Symphony – as the LSO celebrates Michael Tilson Thomas’ 80th birthday.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
A celebration of pure romance in Frédéric Chopin’s lyrical Second Piano Concerto, while Gustav Mahler embraces the earth in his brilliant, bold First Symphony.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Hector Berlioz goes to a Roman Carnival, Saint-Saëns gives a Symphony from the organ, and Serge Rachmaninoff shows youthful exuberance in his First Piano Concerto.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Two giants of British music, two blistering orchestral works from the early 20th century, as Sir Antonio Pappano begins his first season as Chief Conductor of the LSO.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano
Sir Antonio Pappano opens a new chapter as Chief Conductor of the LSO, conjuring stunning landscapes from Nielsen and Sibelius - and a world premiere from James MacMillan.
Classical Pride: LSO with Oliver Zeffman & Nick Grimshaw
The culmination of 2024’s Classical Pride, the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Oliver Zeffman celebrate LGBTQ+ classical music in this diverse programme presented by Nick Grimshaw.
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
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Gianandrea Noseda steers the powerful forces of the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Carl Orff’s irresistible cantata, and Shostakovich’s Third Symphony.
London Symphony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda
What is lost returns once more in emotive music conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, LSO Principal Guest Conductor.
London Symphony Orchestra: Half Six Fix – Prokofiev 7
As part of his exploration of Prokofiev's symphonies, Gianandrea Noseda introduces the composer’s mysterious Seventh.
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.
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