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
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.
Anne-Sophie Mutter with Maximilian Hornung and Lauma Skride
Anne-Sophie Mutter will celebrate her 50th anniversary on stage in 2026 and 2027, presenting a programme alongside fellow trio musicians Maximilian Hornung and Lauma Skride
Le Poème Harmonique: Allegri's Miserere
Become immersed in the sounds of a different world with French ensemble Le Poème Harmonique, exploring the mystical, ceremonial energy at the heart of music from the Counter Reformation.
ECHO Rising Stars: Trio Concept
An opportunity to hear the award-winning Trio Concept performing a selection of piano pieces from Paris and beyond from across the last century.
Elisabeth Leonskaja In Recital
World renowned Russian-Austrian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja brings her dazzling technical prowess and exceptional musicality to the Barbican Hall for the first time in over a decade.
ECHO Rising Stars at 30: Lukas Sternath
Join pianist Lukas Sternath for a mesmerising recital featuring an eclectic programme full of contrasts.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 5
Our Shostakovich cycle began with the Quartet No 1, and ends, inevitably, with No 15, staring death resolutely in the face, a work heart-stopping in its searing intensity.
Cassie Kinoshi x Ensemble Intercontemporain
Spearheaded by France’s flagship contemporary music group, the new, the nearly new, and a 20th century classic are stitched into a programme that explores slavery and the Caribbean experience.
Elgar's Cello Concerto & Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances
A Russian in exile, an Englishman in despair, and a Puerto Rican take on fantastical fandangoes: a welcome visit from the RLPO under its charismatic Chief Conductor Domingo Hindoyan.
Quatuor Diotima: Boulez Anniversary Concert
Performed by one of its outstanding interpreters, Boulez’s uncompromising Livre pour quatuor is at the heart of a centenary tribute to the composer referencing Webern, Bach, and impassioned Debussy.
The English Concert/Bicket: Giulio Cesare
A runaway hit at its 1724 premiere, Louise Alder stars in Giulio Cesare - arguably Handel’s most popular operatic creation – a drama teeming with passion and political skulduggery.
Her Ensemble: The Three Dancers
Three beautifully-conceived 21st century works inspired by the visual arts, culminating in a celebration of Balkan folk tunes herald the return of Ellie Consta’s pioneering Her Ensemble.
Handel: Jephtha with Il Pomo D’oro and Joyce DiDonato
Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spyres star in Handel’s Jephtha – the composer's valedictory oratorio.
Mahan Esfahani: Harpsichord recital
Splicing classic Baroque works with a reminder that the harpsichord is no mere museum piece, Mahan Esfahani has opened up inspiring new territories.
Seong-Jin Cho: A Ravel-athon
A sold-out hall greeted Seong-Jin Cho’s Barbican debut in 2023. His much-anticipated return navigates a scintillating all-Ravel programme, saluting the composer in his 150th anniversary year.
Shostakovich Quartets: Intimate Portraits, Part 4
Four quartets unite to perform the Chamber Symphony enlargement of Shostakovich’s 8th quartet, crowning a programme including Firsova’s ardent, deftly-plotted Quartet No 4.
Britten's Canticles
Three outstanding young singers unite in a programme of love, loss, and remembrance, where Schubert and Errollyn Wallen are entwined in Britten’s five haunting canticles.
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.
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.
