Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts Symphony No 2 from the great Tchaikovsky and incidental music from Schubert’s Rosamunde. He is joined on stage by Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires who performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 27. PROGRAM Schubert: Entr’acte Nos. 2 & 3 from ‘Rosamunde’; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 ‘Little Russian’
LSO: Rattle conducts Sibelius & Bruckner
Sir Simon Rattle conducts music in which vast landscapes merge with the human soul: Sibelius’ tone poems and Bruckner’s radiant Seventh Symphony. Bruckner said that the beginning of his Seventh Symphony came to him in a dream, played by an angel. This huge, glowing mountain-range of sound is basically soul music by any other name. Far away in Finland, meanwhile, Sibelius was thinking big too. Whether it’s the sun dancing on the Mediterranean sea, or the forests of the far north, you can practically feel the freshness in the air. Sir Simon Rattle has been conducting Sibelius since he was a teenager, making him an unrivalled guide through this untamed musical landscape. PROGRAM Sibelius: The Oceanides, Tapiola; Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
LSO: Nathalie Stutzmann conducts Brahms & Beethoven
Nathalie Stutzmann dives deep into the dark heart of 19th century music, with storm-swept thrillers by Beethoven, Brahms and Franck. The stars shine most brightly when the night is at its darkest. Brahms stares tragedy in the face in his final symphony: music that wrestles beauty and hope from a lifetime of sorrow. Beethoven finds poetry among the shadows, in his moody Third Piano Concerto. And César Franck gallops through the night in a wild, supernatural sonic thriller. We’re going to hell and back – hold on tight! Nathalie Stutzmann’s concerts with the LSO always bring out the drama and emotion of romantic music, repertoire that she lives and breathes. In her own words, to inspire people, “you have to be the incarnation of the music you have in your heart.” PROGRAM Franck: Le chasseur maudit; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Brahms: Symphony No. 4
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms: German Requiem
Conductor Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra present Johannes Brahms’ greatest choral work, the German Requiem, featuring soprano Sally Matthews and baritone Christopher Maltman. PROGRAM Brahms: German Requiem
LSO: Noseda conducts Verdi: Requiem
Gianandrea Noseda gathers together an outstanding cast of Italian stars for this searing performance of Verdi’s Requiem. PROGRAM Verdi: Requiem
LSO: Rattle conducts Mahler & Turnage
Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO give the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Remembering. The work is written in memory of Evan Scofield, the son of guitarist John Scofield, with whom Turnage worked closely. The premiere is coupled with Mahler’s Sixth Symphony; a disturbing in its nihilistic despair yet attains a true and monumental grandeur. PROGRAM Turnage: Remembering ‘In Memoriam Evan Scofield’; Mahler: Symphony No 6
LSO: Roth conducts Bruckner, Debussy & Bartók
Francois-Xavier Roth conducts the LSO in Debussy’s evocative Prelude a l’apres-midi d’un faune, alongside Bartok’s Viola Concerto with Anton Tamestit and Bruckner’s Symphony No.4, filled to te brim with evocative images of love, nature and a simpler time. PROGRAM Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Bartók: Viola Concerto; Bruckner: Symphony No 4
LSO: Rattle conducts Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
From selling your soul to the devil to finding salvation – Sir Simon Rattle ventures through Berlioz’s tempestuous oratorio, The Damnation of Faust. PROGRAM Berlioz: La damnation de Faust
LSO: Rattle conducts Stravinsky Ballet Music
An authority on Stravinsky, Sir Simon Rattle celebrates three of the composer’s revolutionary ballets. Stravinsky sent shockwaves through classical music in the 20th century. His first three ballets – The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, all composed between 1911 and 1913 – brought a new and frenzied sense of rhythm, so distressing to audiences that it caused uproar; The Rite of Spring even caused a riot. And it’s not hard to see why. Is there any moment in music more demonic than the opening to The Firebird, a terrifying rumble of strings that would make Jaws tremble? There are few pieces more unsettling than The Rite of Spring with ist carnal, tribal rhythms; or Petrushka with ist impish Punch and Judy puppets. Sir Simon Rattle brings these three creations to life in this dramatic programme. PROGRAM STRAVINSKY The Firebird (original ballet), Petrushka (1947 version), The Rite of Spring
LSO: Bychkov conducts Mahler
Hear the full power of the LSO, soloists and chorus, as they take on Mahler’s epic ‘Ressurection’ Symphony. PROGRAM Mahler: Symphony No 2