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
The Hermes Experiment: Let Us Be a Mighty River
A collaboration between The Hermes Experiment and five international sound artists, this immersive concert-installation responds to the climate emergency.
The Marian Consort: The Language of Flowers
Acclaimed choral ensemble Marian Consort pays tribute to flowers and gardens both actual and allegorical, with music from the late Renaissance to the present day.
Arcadi Volodos in Recital
The Russian born master pianist Arcadi Volodos returns to the Barbican for a journey to the heart of the Romantic spirit.
The National Youth Orchestra
Join us as The National Youth Orchestra takes to the stage for a massive orchestral experience, alongside conductor Alexandre Bloch and cellist Inbal Segev.
Riot Ensemble: Too Much is Never Enough
Step into a kaleidoscopic world of sound as one of the UK’s leading new-music ensembles, Riot Ensemble, brings an electrifying programme by a new generation of creatives.
Julia Wolfe: unEarth
US composer Julia Wolfe’s major new work unEarth receives its UK premiere at the Barbican, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, National Youth Voices, and Danish soprano Else Torp.
Maxim Vengerov and Polina Osetinskaya in Recital
The world-renowned duo of violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Polina Osetinskaya take to the Barbican stage for an evening that sets the gold standard for contemporary duet performance.
Sea Beneath the Skin / Song of the Earth
Reflecting on the powerful words of the late Kiribati poetess and activist Teresia Teaiwa, Lemi Ponifasio's Sea Beneath the Skin creates a poignant performance featuring the Theatre of Kiribati.
Tamara Stefanovich in Recital: Labyrinth
Tamara Stefanovich presets Labyrinth - a curated sequence including works by JS Bach (Art of Fugue), Claude Debussy (Preludes), Franz Liszt and Gyorgy Kurtag (Jatekok).
ECHO Rising Stars: Valerie Fritz
Austrian cellist and ECHO Rising Star Valerie Fritz performs with acclaimed Bosnion accordionist Goran Stevanovich in the atmospheric setting of LSO St Luke’s.
Fretwork with Ian Bostridge & Elizabeth Kenny
Tenor Ian Bostridge is joined by Elizabeth Kenny on the lute, and viol consort Fretwork for an exploration of music by John Dowland.
Hildur Guðnadóttir & Friends: Where to From
Academy award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, known for her film scores to Chernobyl, Tar and The Joker, makes a rare appearance on stage to perform her new project, Where to From.
Tansy Davies: Passion of Mary Magdalene
The third and final work in a cycle of commissions with the Dunedin Consort, British composer Tansy Davies’ Passion of Mary Magdalene receives its premiere at the Barbican.
The Tallis Scholars: Mysteries & Miracles
Performed by the world-renowned Tallis Scholars, this programme explores music inspired by miraculous events in the life of Jesus, as told through the works of a diverse range of composers.
Evgeny Kissin in Recital
Celebrated pianist Evgeny Kissin sweeps us across musical landscapes, revealing the vast breadth of the piano’s expressive range including works by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Liszt.
Maria Joāo Pires and Marc-André Hamelin in Recital
Legendary pianists Maria João Pires and Marc-André Hamelin join forces for the first time to perform seminal works for piano duo.
Gabriela Montero in Recital
Venezuelan pianist and composer Gabriela Montero performs an assortment of piano pieces from and inspired by Spain.
Darkness Visible: Âme x Lawrence Power
Âme Creative Studios make their Barbican debut with Lawrence Power in a concert that breaks down the walls of the concert hall and takes you on a musical journey across the City of London at night.
ECHO Rising Stars: Giorgi Gigashvili
Georgian pianist and ECHO Rising Star Giorgi Gigashvili performs much-loved piano pieces alongside a new work by Georgian composer Natalie Beridze.
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.
Women of the Windrush
Abigail Kelly stars in Shirley J. Thompson’s one-woman, one-act opera which weaves together filmic documentary and song in a heart-warming love letter to the resilience of the Windrush settlers.
Commemorating Shostakovich: Evgeny Kissin and friends
A glittering constellation of performers join Evgeny Kissin for an immersive dive into three works that together span Shostakovich’s creative evolution – the last a soul-searing farewell.
ROBESON with Davóne Tines and The Truth
Davóne Tines and The Truth’s new work ROBESON explores the musical repertoire of Paul Robeson alongside pianist John Bitoy and sound artist Khari Lucas.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 1
Marking 50 years since the composer’s death, the Carduccis inaugurate a five-concert odyssey through the complete string quartets – works that enshrine his inner life, loves and closest friendships.
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra/Dudamel: Odisea
For the 2nd concert of their Barbican stopover, Gustavo Dudamel and his orchestra are remembering home as the vibrant Latino vibes of Riccardo Lorenz and Gonzalo Grau encounter fate-full Tchaikovsky.
Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra/Dudamel: Mahler 3
Gustavo Dudamel returns to the hall at the head of his ‘other’ orchestra: the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. There’s just one work, but Mahler’s mighty Symphony No 3 is a stand-alone masterpiece.
NYO: Illuminate
Join us as The National Youth Orchestra shines a light on the brilliance, passion and musical potential of a new generation.
SANSARA Choir with United Strings of Europe
SANSARA and United Strings of Europe join forces to explore the themes of sanctuary and solidarity in a programme built around Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands.
Khatia Buniatishvili and Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Following last year’s solo recital, accompanied by the perennially stylish Academy of St Martin in the Fields, pianist Khatia Bhuniatishvili returns for Mozart's Piano Concerto No 23.
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.
