Severed heads, demonic orgies and obsessive love. Francois Xavier-Roth pairs Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique with another untamed imagination: the astonishing, experimental music of Edgard Varèse.
‘Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium …’ Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is the musical head-trip to end all head-trips, a Technicolor phantasmagoria for an enormous orchestra. And French music specialist François-Xavier Roth has found its spiritual successor: the ear-tingling soundscapes of Edgard Varèse.
It’s an electrifying prospect: Roth’s award-winning recordings of French music have redefined the way we hear a great orchestra. And these are sonic showpieces unlike any others, whether Berlioz’s colossal, genre-bending symphonic spectacular, or Varèse’s pioneering adventure in percussion, Ionisation. Plus Arcana, an explosive, visionary sonic experiment that proves that dreamers can also be revolutionaries.
The performance is expected to finish around 9.30pm, including a 20 minute interval.
Programme
Performers
Booking fees
£4 booking fee per online/phone transaction.
No fee when tickets are booked in person.
Booking fees are per transaction and not per ticket. If your booking contains several events the highest booking fee will apply. The booking fee may be reduced on certain events. Members do not pay booking fees.
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Varèse, Ravel & Berlioz
Barbican Hall
Location
The Barbican Hall is located within the main Barbican building. Head to Level G and follow the signs to find your seating level.
Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS
Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.
We’ve plenty of places for you to relax and replenish, from coffee and cake to wood-fired pizzas and full pre-theatre menus
Mobility
Spaces for wheelchair users in row U at the rear of the stalls (up to sixteen, depth of row 180cm) and the back row of the circle (four), both with fold-down companion seats. Some seats in row S of the stalls for people with very limited mobility.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs may be taken into the concert hall where there are a limited number of suitable seats in row G of the stalls. If you prefer, you may leave your dog with a member of the cloakroom staff during the performance.
Hearing facility
There is an induction loop in the concert hall. You can use this by adjusting your hearing aid to the ‘T’ setting.
Free large-print programmes
These are available for most of our concerts. Please contact [email protected] at least a week beforehand, to prebook a large-print programmme.
For more access information, please visit our Accessibility section.
