Classical Season 2009/10

Southbank Centre's Classical Music Season 2009/10: On sale now

With almost 250 classical music concerts and events, our 2009/10 season offers unparalleled encounters with great composers and performers. Here you will find classical music presented in depth and variety via our four Resident Orchestras, year-long series and unique, tailor-made festivals at Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room.

Register for our classical music ebulletins for updates on forth-coming events, newly announced concerts, and fantastic competitions.

RESIDENT ORCHESTRAS

Four extraordinary orchestras call Royal Festival Hall home, performing over 150 classical music concerts here each season.

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra launches 2009/10 with Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, opening with two performances of Mahler’s Second Symphony, Resurrection and including an exploration of the music of Alfred Schnittke. In early 2010 the Orchestra presents Miraculous Logic: The Music of Jean Sibelius, conducted by fellow Finn Osmo Vänskä, and throughout the season the Orchestra presents prestigious premiere performances from internationally acclaimed composers.
Buy tickets / More info

Philharmonia Orchestra

Esa-Pekka Salonen, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, concludes City of Dreams: Vienna 1900-1935 with a semi-staged performance of Berg’s Wozzeck as well as conducting music by Bartók, Janacek, Stravinsky, Berlioz, Sibelius and Magnus Lindberg (UK premiere). Other highlights include the Philharmonia’s 65th Birthday Gala on 30 March 2010, conducted by Riccardo Muti; a Rachmaninov Piano Cycle performed by Nikolai Lugansky; a special performance marking Christoph von Dohnányi’s 80th Birthday; a Prokofiev/ Tchaikovsky Series conducted by Yuri Temirkanov; and concerts conducted by Lorin Maazel and Kurt Masur.
Buy tickets / More info

London Sinfonietta

The London Sinfonietta has always been closely associated with leading composer-performers, and this season is joined by John Adams, Steve Reich, George Benjamin and Oliver Knussen. There’s a major survey of the music of visionary iconoclast Edgard Varèse; and premieres from Richard Ayres, Gerald Barry, Richard Barrett and Dai Fujikura.
Buy tickets / More info

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

An undisputed highlight of the OAE’s new season is the Beethoven Symphonies Series. Complementing this, the season contains music ranging from Monteverdi’s extraordinary 1610 Vespers through to Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. The OAE’s late night series The Night Shift, also returns, as does the ever-popular study day and series of Insight Club events.
Buy tickets / More info

 

FESTIVALS & SERIES:

Southbank Centre presents exceptional performances from internationally acclaimed musicians in each of our year-long series. Explore our wide-ranging festivals featuring early music concerts to experimental masterpieces.

Shell Classic International 2009/10

Our exceptional season of concerts showcasing great orchestras from around the world returns to Royal Festival Hall. Highlights include performances from Bernard Haitink with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim with Berlin Staatskapelle and Leonidas Kavakos with Camerata Salzburg.
Buy tickets / More info

International Piano Series

The 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth falls in 2010, and the International Piano Series includes celebratory programmes from two of today’s greatest Chopin players, Krystian Zimerman and Maurizio Pollini, as well as important young artists, Cédric Tiberghien and Yevgeny Sudbin.
Buy tickets / More info 

International Chamber Music Season

The 2009/10 International Chamber Music Season offers audiences an enormous breadth of sonorities and styles, encompassing warmth and intimacy as well as high drama and excitement including performances by the Takács Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet and acclaimed violinist Leonidas Kavakos.
Buy tickets / More info

International Voices

World-class vocal performers starring Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Anne Sofie Von Otter and Bryn Terfel. The Sixteen present a three-part series Sacred Music, and Cape Town Opera bring Gershwin's Porgy and Bess to Royal Festival Hall.
Buy tickets / More info

The Bernstein Project

Project Artistic Director Marin Alsop curates this season-long project celebrating this great icon of 20th-century music making, including performances, talks and workshops.
Buy tickets / More info

Edgard Varèse 360°

Often described as the father of electronic music, Varèse completed just under three hours of music in his lifetime - all performed in this festival with visuals by American video artist Gary Hill in a production conceived by renowned theatre director Pierre Audi.
Buy tickets / More info

Take the Risk: A Weekend of Early Improvisation

A weekend exploring improvisation in early music, curated by lutenist Paula Chateauneuf and featuring some of the most innovative, experimental, and exciting performers in the world of early music.
Buy tickets / More info

Polish Music Weekend with Nigel Kennedy

British violinist Nigel Kennedy curates a weekend of Polish music performances in May, covering everything from jazz and klezmer to folk and classical music including performances by his own Nigel Kennedy Quintet.
Buy tickets / More info