The Barbican announces its autumn and winter season of classical music for 2024-2025
Across the 2024-25 season, with its family of orchestral residents, associates and partners, the Barbican will present a typically eclectic programme of symphonic magnitude, technical mastery and illuminating storytelling – across a millennium of human creativity and music making.
Helen Wallace, Head of Music says: ‘The Barbican music programme always strives to be ambitious, international and relevant. Across both our own programme, and those of our resident and associate ensembles, 2024-25 hums with creativity. From exciting new music theatre work and cross-cultural collaborations, welcome returns from both the Simón Bolivar Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Yo-Yo Ma and Darbar Festival, to debuts from Sir Antonio Pappano as the LSO’s Chief Conductor, Spinifex Gum, LOD muziektheater and more, we’re offering audiences a rich array of perspectives, captivating performances and, above all, brilliant art music.‘
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Sir Antonio Pappano begins his tenure as Chief Conductor of Barbican Resident Orchestra the London Symphony Orchestra with the world premiere of a new work by Sir James MacMillan (11 Sep). In December there will be two concert performances of Puccini’s opera La rondine (10 & 12 Dec),
Sir Simon Rattle marks his 70th birthday by opening the LSO’s Pierre Boulez centenary celebrations and conducting two new birthday gift pieces by Sir George Benjamin (9 Jan) and Mark-Anthony Turnage (12 Jan). Guest artists across the season include Yuja Wang, Vilde Frang, Isabelle Faust and more.
This season’s Barbican Artist Spotlight residency with Khatia Buniatishvili opens with a collaboration between the Georgian piano sensation and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (9 Dec)
Venezuelan superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel returns with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela for two performances of symphonic masterpieces and Latin American music – the orchestra’s first performances in London since 2016 (15-16 Jan)
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal make a long-awaited return to the Barbican with conductor Rafael Payare and pianist Daniil Trifonov (19 Nov)
Composer Rolf Hind’s new work with Mahogany Opera, Sky in a Small Cage, presents a poetic reflection of the life and works of Sufi poet Rumi (8 Sep)
LOD muziektheater & Toneelhuis present Gorges Ocloo’s Ghanaian ‘Afropera’, The Golden Stool, or the story of Nana Yaa Asantewaa – telling the story of the heroic woman who confronted colonial injustice in Ghana at the turn of the twentieth century (14 Oct)
The Barbican and the BBC Symphony Orchestra present M. Butterfly, an operatic semi-staging of David Henry Hwang’s Broadway smash hit play, with music by Huang Ruo and libretto by Hwang (25 Oct)
A star-studded roster of recitals run through the season as Piotr Anderszewski (3 Oct), Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott (2 Nov) and Stephen Hough (4 Dec) all return to the Barbican Hall
Darbar Festival returns for a weekend of transcendent Indian Classical Music featuring Dr L Subramaniam, Jasdeep Singh Degun, Dilshad Khan, Pandit Anindo Khan, Shalmalee Joshi and more (25-27 Oct)
The Carducci Quartet return to present a full Shostakovich string quartet cycle marking 50 years since the death of the Russian composer, interwoven with music by the women who knew him: Ustvolskaya, Gubaidulina and Firsova. The Carduccis will collaborate with musicians from Guildhall School of Music & Drama and young quartets coached by the ensemble (Jan – May)
The BBC Singers celebrate their 100th anniversary with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and cellist Abel Selaocoe (2 Oct) who will perform again with the BBC Singers in a concert of festive repertoire from around the world (5 Dec)
Barbican Associate Ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music launches its season-long exploration of the transformative powers of music with two operas derived from Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Charpentier’s Actéon and Rameau’s Pygmalion (9 Oct)
The stories of the Indigenous Australian Yindjibarndi people are told by Cairns-based musical collective in Spinifex Gum (6 Oct)
Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw make their Barbican Hall debut following a sold-out performance in Milton Court in 2023 (1 Dec)
For further details click here
Public booking opens on Fri 19 April, with advance priority booking for Principal and Premier Patrons from Thurs 11 April, to Barbican Patrons from Mon 15 April, Barbican Members Plus from Wed 17 April, and Barbican Members on Thurs 18 April.