What’s on

Thu 22 Jan 2026, 20:00

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.

Fri 23 Jan 2026, 19:30

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.

Sun 25 Jan 2026, 19:00

Subtle elegance and introspection infuse Mozart’s late piano concerto, while Brahms brings hope and solace in times of loss. 

Wed 28 Jan 2026, 19:30

An exhilarating re-imagining of Holst's The Planets for folk duo and orchestra, interspersed by text written and narrated by acclaimed writer Robert Macfarlane.  

Wed 28 Jan 2026, 19:30

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.

Thu 29 Jan 2026, 19:00

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja revels in a modernist masterwork, before Rachmaninoff’s tempestuous Symphony No 2, full of Romantic ardour. 

Fri 30 Jan 2026, 19:30

Music that glitters, sings and dances for joy, as Sakari Oramo pairs two newly minted classics with Beethoven’s brightest symphony.

Mon 2 Feb 2026, 19:30

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.

Fri 6 Feb 2026, 19:30

Love, death and pomegranates: Sakari Oramo rediscovers Stravinsky’s epic retelling of the myth of Persephone.

Sun 8 Feb 2026, 19:00

A world premiere concerto from one of Britain’s finest composers, folk-inspired celebration of dance by Bartók plus Rachmaninoff’s late and great orchestral showstopper. 

Thu 12 –Sun 15 Feb 2026

Bask in the Romantic flavours of Borodin’s folk-inspired Second Symphony, Stravinsky’s sublime neo-Classical homage to Tchaikovsky, and dazzling, deeply felt Chopin. 

Thu 12 Feb 2026, 19:30

Academy of Ancient Music performs Monteverdi’s genre-defying Madrigals of Love and War. Unrequited passion has never sounded sweeter. 

Fri 13 Feb 2026, 19:30

Rachmaninoff, Bernstein and Davóne Tines – a fresh perspective on America’s past, present and future from Daniele Rustioni and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Thu 19 Feb 2026, 19:30

Tamara Stefanovich presets Labyrinth - a curated sequence including works by JS Bach (Art of Fugue), Claude Debussy (Preludes), Franz Liszt and Gyorgy Kurtag (Jatekok).

Fri 20 Feb 2026, 20:00

Ensemble Modern is a curious loudspeaker for music of our times: courageous, uncompromising, energetic. An essential, aesthetically polyglot amplifier for trend-setting sound concepts.