London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been celebrated as one of the world’s great orchestras since Sir Thomas Beecham founded it in 1932.

Uniquely groundbreaking and exhilarating to watch and hear, the LPO aims to bring wonder to the modern world with every performance and cement its position as a leading orchestra for the 21st century.

The orchestra’s home is here at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, at the beating heart of London’s cultural life.

Its Principal Conductors have included some of the greatest historic names like Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2021 Edward Gardner became the 13th Principal Conductor, taking the orchestra into its tenth decade. Vladimir Jurowski became Conductor Emeritus in recognition of his impact as Principal Conductor, 2007–21. Karina Canellakis is the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor and Tania León its Composer-in-Residence.

Gardner opens the orchestra’s new season in September 2024 with Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Berlioz’s The Death of Cleopatra with Joyce DiDonato, and returns for four more concerts in Autumn/Winter, presenting some of music’s biggest and best-loved works like Sibelius’ Symphony No.5 and Brahms’ Symphony No.2.

Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis presents three concerts including Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony and Mozart with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. The orchestra also welcomes back Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski, as well as guest conductors including Sir Mark Elder, Sir Andrew Davis and Lidiya Yankovskaya.

Throughout the season, the orchestra explores the relationship between music and memory in its Moments Remembered series, featuring works like Strauss’ Metamorphosen, John Adams’ On the Transmigration of Souls and the world premiere of Freya Waley-Cohen’s Mother Tongue.

The LPO welcomes some of the biggest classical names this Autumn/Winter, including Gidon Kremer, Leif Ove Andsnes, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Víkingur Ólafsson, Amjad Ali Khan and Isabelle Faust.