What’s on

Fri 24 Apr 2026, 19:30

Hollywood dreams meet all-American nightmares. Fabien Gabel conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra in music from Vertigo and The Sea Hawk and dives into the myths and memories of a new American century.

Fri 1 May 2026, 19:30

Venezuelan pianist and composer Gabriela Montero performs an assortment of piano pieces from and inspired by Spain. 

Thu 7 May 2026, 19:30

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.

Fri 8 May 2026, 19:30

Dark ships and shining seas: John Adams’s Harmonielehre is the dazzling climax to a concert celebrating the American dream at its most terrible – and hopeful.

Sun 10 May 2026, 15:00

The BBC Singers join the Academy of Ancient Music under Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin for one of the ‘greatest musical work of art of all times and nations’: Bach’s monumental Mass in B minor. 

Sun 10 May 2026, 19:00

Tchaikovsky juggles beauty and suffering, Britten reflects powerfully on grief and conflict, and Bernstein grapples with the modern world. 

Wed 13 May 2026, 13:00

Georgian pianist and ECHO Rising Star Giorgi Gigashvili performs much-loved piano pieces alongside a new work by Georgian composer Natalie Beridze.

Thu 14 May 2026, 19:00

Richard Strauss breathes dizzying life into 18th-century Vienna, Wagner recreates medieval Rome and Beethoven marries tenderness and high spirits. 

Thu 14 May 2026, 19:30

Academy of Ancient Music joins The Wave Quartet in an ingenious, audacious musical voyage across five centuries. 

Fri 15 May 2026, 19:30

Nederlands Kamerkoor bring to the Barbican their urgent new project Forgotten – a moving musical and theatrical exploration of living with dementia.

Sat 16 May 2026, 19:30

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

Sun 17 May 2026, 19:30

The BBC Symphony Orchestra presents Requiem for America: Singing for the Invisible People — Brent Michael Davids’s searing work which confronts hard truths about America’s founding.

Wed 20 May 2026, 18:30

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.

Thu 21 May 2026, 19:00

Serenity, beauty and the sense of an ending infuse music by Richard Strauss and Mahler, preluded by Gerhard’s immersive soundscapes. 

Fri 22 May 2026, 19:30

Strangers in a strange land: Sakari Oramo conducts music by Bartók and Korngold, European composers stranded in America and dreaming of a better world.