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Lloyd’s Choir Summer Concert at St Katharine Cree Church – 12th July 2018
One of the delights of the City of London is the series of concerts that take place in many of the historic churches dotted around the Square Mile.
One of the oldest choirs in the City not connected directly to the churches is the Lloyd’s Choir which was first formed in 1922. The choir first performed in 1922, within the Underwriting Room at the Royal Exchange and concerts were then given regularly, mainly in the Public Hall of the same building.
After the Second World War, the choir was re-established and performed with considerable success. In the 1980s, the choir moved to St. Katharine Cree in Leadenhall Street which is still home to the choir today.
Jacques Cohen – Musical Director
Since then, a series of professional conductors have greatly enhanced the reputation of the choir. The choir regularly perform concerts in various locations around the city and has featured on television several times.
One of the highlights of the choir’s year is the Summer Concert to be held in the St Katherine Cree Church, Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 3DH on Thursday 12th July 2018 at 6.30 pm.
The programme will feature Rheinberger’s Mass in E flat ‘ Cantus Missae ‘ and Bruckner’s Ave Maria, Locus Iste, Os Justi, Jacques Cohen the music director will be conducting the choir.
Tickets £ 15 ( £10 Students).
For more information about the Lloyd’s Choir, visit their website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
London Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 season at the Barbican
The London Symphony Orchestra and its Music Director Sir Simon Rattle open their 2018/19 season at the Barbican with a programme affirming a continuing commitment to British music new and old on 16 Sep 2018 in the Barbican Hall. The concert features a world premiere by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, a defining figure in British music since the 1950s, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s 1995 work Dispelling the Fears, Holst’s masterpiece Egdon Heath, and Britten’s Spring Symphony. It is the first concert in an ambitious 51-concert season which runs to the end of Jun 2019 and explores in a broad defining concept the roots, origins and the future of music.
Simon Rattle conducts 16 concerts which explore the impact that different cultural traditions have had on music, from Eastern European folk music, through the British folk traditions in Grainger and Vaughan Williams, and on to the extraordinary impact of jazz. Gianandrea Noseda explores Russian identity in music, whilst continuing his cycle of Shostakovich’s symphonies, and conducts a Strauss programme featuring the soprano Diana Damrau in the final act of his last opera Capriccio.
François-Xavier Roth looks at the extraordinary spread of music traditions from Europe at the turn of the 20th Century, and in one concert, three composers from the central European tradition who were each in the vanguard of modern music in their time, Haydn, Bartók and Ligeti. Roth also heads up the third edition of LSO Futures, the Orchestra’s new music festival which is centred around the young composers taking part in the LSO’s new music development programmes, and also features David Lang’s Public Domain, written for 1000 community voices and performed in the Barbican foyers.
Michael Tilson Thomas, and Sir Mark Elder each explore American identity with music by the maverick Charles Ives, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner continues his Schumann retrospective with his completely fresh take on Romanticism. Verdi and Puccini are brought together with Ponchielli when Sir Antonio Pappano conducts non-operatic works by these three operatic giants and Barbara Hannigan is conductor and soprano in a programme featuring Berg’s Lulu Suite and music from Gershwin’s musical Girl Crazy alongside works by Haydn and Ligeti. Hannigan is also the soloist in Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you, which is conducted by Simon Rattle in Jan 2019.
The 15th Donatella Flick Conducting Competition will take place in Nov 2018 when conductors aged 30 and under compete for a cash prize and the position of Assistant Conductor with the LSO. The Competition’s final round, featuring violinist Vadim Repim, will be live-streamed from the Barbican for the first time on Medici.tv and YouTube. Bernard Haitink celebrates his 90th birthday conducting the LSO in Mahler and Bruckner in Dec 2018 and the LSO’s concerts marking the Leonard Bernstein Centenary come to a close in Dec, when Marin Alsop conducts two performances of Bernstein’s Candide, on the same stage where Bernstein himself conducted the work in 1989 with the LSO. The LSO’s Half Six Fix series which presents short, early-evening concerts will continue with four concerts this season, and there is a wealth of activity at LSO St Luke’s, the Orchestra’s music education and community centre.
The season ends in Jun 2019, with the return of the artistic partnership of Simon Rattle and the director Peter Sellars with two staged performances of Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen.
For more information , visit the Barbican website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Southbank Centre 2018/19 Classical Music Season
Southbank Centre have announced their 2018/19 Classical Music Season, The Southbank has four Resident Orchestras, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and four Associate Orchestras, Aurora Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
Philip Glass Photo Raymond Meier
The season will be a fascinating mix of contemporary composers, new work, and musical pioneers. The 2018/19 season sees the largest number of new works and premieres seen at the Southbank Centre in a decade, with the newly-reopened Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, alongside the Royal Festival Hall. 39 new commissions and premieres set the tone for a season that also features initiatives such as the Composers’ Collective, the inaugural new music festival New Music International, the first UK performance of Stockhausen’s Donnerstag aus Licht since its 1985 UK premiere and the European premiere of a new symphony commissioned from Philip Glass, based on the music of David Bowie.
Andris Nelsons – Photo: Marco Borggreve
World-class artists and ensembles will the three venues the including the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under new Kapellmeister Andris Nelsons, Mitsuko Uchida and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Leonidas Kavakos, Jordi Savall, Yuja Wang, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Sarah Connolly, Julia Fischer and Håkan Hardenberger.
Highlights of the season include:
European premiere of Philip Glass’ 12th symphony for organ and orchestra, based on the music of David Bowie and performed by James McVinnie with London Contemporary Orchestra alongside Glass’ two previous Bowie symphonies
A focus on the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, including the first UK performance of Donnerstag aus Licht since its UK premiere at the Royal Opera House in 1985, and a weekend of concerts and events curated by Artist in Residence Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
Launch of New Music International in January 2019, a new music festival with a global outlook, featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun, a portrait of composer Rebecca Saunders, MacArthur Fellow and flautist Claire Chase, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Aurora Orchestra
The inaugural year of Composers’ Collective, a new initiative giving composers at all stages of their career access to pioneering composers featured throughout Southbank Centre’s season including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Unsuk Chin, Gerald Barry, Charlotte Bray, Bryce Dessner, and more
The centenary of Dame Muriel Spark’s birth is celebrated by the Nash Ensemble and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly with the world premiere of a new work by David Matthews
PRS Foundation’s free music festival New Music Biennial returns in July 2019, with 20 new pieces spanning classical, folk, jazz, electronic, opera and sound art.
For more information , visit the Southbank Centre website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Lloyd’s Choir Spring Concert at St Giles, Cripplegate Church – 22nd March 2018
One of the delights of the City of London is the series of concerts that take place in many of the historic churches dotted around the Square Mile.
One of the oldest choirs in the City not connected directly to the churches is the Lloyd’s Choir which was first formed in 1922. The choir first performed in 1922, within the Underwriting Room at the Royal Exchange and concerts were then given regularly, mainly in the Public Hall of the same building.
After the Second World War, the choir was re-established and performed with considerable success. In the 1980s, the choir moved to St. Katharine Cree in Leadenhall Street which is still home to the choir today.
Jacques Cohen – Musical Director
Since then, a series of professional conductors have greatly enhanced the reputation of the choir. The choir regularly perform concerts in various locations around the city and has featured on television several times.
One of the highlights of the choir’s year is the Spring Concert to be held in the St Giles, Cripplegate Church, Fore Street, London EC2Y 8DA (in London’s Barbican) on Thursday 22nd March 2018 at 7pm.
The programme will have a nautical theme with Parry’s Crossing the Bar, Elgar’s Sea Pictures and Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony with Jacques Cohen conducting the choir with the Cohen Ensemble and soloists.
Tickets £ 20 ( £12 Students).
For more information about the Lloyd’s Choir, visit their website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
The Barbican 2018/19 Classical Music Season
The Barbican has announced its ambitious 2018/19 classical music season featuring the London Symphony Orchestra, Associate Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Barbican Associate Ensembles the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia alongside the Barbican’s own-curated concert series, Barbican Presents. The Australian Chamber Orchestra returns as the Barbican’s newly appointed International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court.
Highlights include:
Pioneering collaborations and special projects
Director Peter Sellars returns with two contrasting staged productions, a performance of Lassus’s a cappella Renaissance masterpiece Lagrime di San Pietro featuring the Los Angeles Masterchorale with conductor Grant Gershon; and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the LSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and featuring Gerald Finley, Lucy Crowe, Willard White, Sophie Burgos and Peter Hoare
To open their season the BBC SO join forces with Professor Brian Cox and conductor Ben Gernon to take a fresh musical and visual look at The Planets, 100 years since the landmark work received its premiere
A semi-staged performance of Purcell‘s Dido & Aeneas with the Academy of Ancient Music, concludes a three-year Purcell opera cycle, co-presented with the Barbican
Sound Unbound returns in May 2019 in what will be the third iteration of the Barbican Classical Weekender.
Marin Alsop conducts the LSO in two performances of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, on the same stage where Bernstein himself conducted the orchestra in this work in 1989.
In the year that marks 100 years since the successful Parliamentary appeal for universal suffrage, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performs Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D, commemorating a composer who was herself a key member of the women’s suffrage movement.
Other Worlds – the London Contemporary Orchestra and Choir with conductor Robert Ames present the UK premiere of Giacinto Scelsi’s Uaxuctum ; alongside a performance of John Luther Adam’s apocalyptic piece Become Ocean,.
Jóhann Jóhannsson: Last and First Men – a new multimedia work by the Oscar-nominated Icelandic composer, combining film – with narration by Tilda Swinton – and music, with the score performed live by the LSO and conductor Daníel Bjarnason
Enda Walsh and Donnacha Dennehy’s The Second Violinist – the Barbican presents the UK premiere of this modern opera telling the foreboding story of a life falling apart. Produced by Landmark Productions and National Irish Opera
Darbar Festival – the iconic festival of Indian classical music comes to the Barbican for the first time in Oct 2018.
Premieres and new commissions
Sir Harrison Birtwistle: Fanfare (world premiere) co-commissioned by the Barbican and the LSO for Sir Simon Rattle to open the LSO season and a new work (world premiere), a Barbican and LSO co-commission to be performed in May 2019
UK premiere of Alain Altinoglu’s arrangement of a suite from Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, performed by the BBC SO and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis
Die Stadt ohne Juden/The City Without Jews (1924): A Dystopian Prophecy of Intolerance – a live screening of the restored silent film directed by H K Breslauer with a new score by Olga Neuwirth (UK premiere), co-commissioned by the Barbican
Roderick Williams, Milton Court Artist-in-Residence – programmes for the baritone’s residency will include the world premiere of a new song cycle by Ryan Wigglesworth as well as the UK premieres of a new work by Williams himself and by composer Bob Chilcott performed by the BBC Singers
Sunleif Rasmussen: Quadroforone (world premiere, commissioned by the Barbican) and a new work by Anahita Abbasi (UK premiere), both performed by harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani
BBC SO present world premieres by Richard Causton, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gavin Higgins and Paweł Szymański, and a number of UK premieres by Thomas Larcher
The LSO gives world premiere performances of works by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, James MacMillan, and two young composers who have been part of the Orchestra’s new music development programmes, Liam Mattison and Donghoon Shin.
For the Fallen: Marking the First World War Centenary
100 years since the guns fell silent, For the Fallen looks to a future haunted and shaped by the past, with a series of concerts by living composers that bridge the century between that moment and now.
4 Nov 2018 – The LSO gives the world premiere of James MacMillan’s All the Hills and Vales Along, setting poetry by WWI poet Charles Sorley who was killed in action in 1915
9 Nov 2018 – Britten Sinfonia gives the world premiere of a new orchestral version of Nico Muhly’s poignant The Last Letter, settings of last letters to loved ones sent by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
10 Nov 2018 – The BBC SO’s Total Immersion: In Remembrance World War 1 will feature talks and music inspired by the First World War, culminating in a performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera The Silver Tassie based on a play by Seán O’Casey
11 Nov 2018 – The BBC Singers and their new Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin perform two new contemplative works: a Barbican and RIAS Kammerchor co-commission for Roderick Williams; and, to coincide with the centenary of Wilfred Owen’s death, Bob Chilcott’s setting Move him into the sun.
Composer and Artist Focuses
The BBC SO presents Total Immersion days dedicated to exploring the musical life and works of composers György Ligeti (2 Mar) and the Boulanger sisters – Lili and Nadia (6 Apr)
Diana Damrau sings Strauss – in recital with pianist Helmut Deutsch; in the Four Last Songs with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, and in the closing scene of Capriccio with the LSO under Gianandrea Noseda
Daniil Trifonov features in an LSO Artist Portrait performing with the Orchestra and in recital
Visiting orchestras and ensembles
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Ádám Fischer
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mariss Jansons
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
Il Pomo d’Oro with conductor Maxim Emelyanychev
Collegium Vocale Gent with conductor Philippe Herreweghe
Les Arts Florissants with conductor William Christie
Le Concert Spirituel with conductor Hervé Niquet
The 2018/19 classical music season opens in September 2018. Booking will open to the general public on 2 February 2018.
For more information , visit the Barbican website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
BBC Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 season at the Barbican
Opening the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s 2018/19 season, conductor Ben Gernon and Professor Brian Cox join the orchestra to present Holst’s The Planets, 100 years to the day since the piece was first performed.
The BBC SO’s Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo leads the orchestra in performances of landmark works, including Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and Dvorák’s Symphony No.7. A number of key centenaries are marked, including the end of the First World War, the 100th anniversary of Polish Independence and the 100th anniversary of the death of Debussy.
The BBC Symphony Chorus celebrates its 90th birthday with performances including Ethel Smyth’s rarely performed Mass in D, Bach’s Mass in B minor, Osavlado Golijov’s Oceana, Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ and works by Lili and Nadia Boulanger.
The BBC SO’s acclaimed Total Immersion days return; the first exploring the centenary of WW1 including a performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera The Silver Tassie – based on a play about the First World War written by Seán O’Casey and David Lang’s Memorial Ground – performed in the Barbican foyers with members of the BBC Symphony Chorus and community choirs.
Two further Total Immersion days focus on the music of György Ligeti (2 Mar) and the Boulanger sisters (6 Apr).
The BBC SO’s commitment to new music and rarely-performed works continues with performances of works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Thomas Larcher and Michael Tippett among others, while Stravinsky’s recently discovered Funeral Song, Op. 5 is performed following its world premiere earlier this year. The orchestra will also give the UK premiere of Alain Altinoglu’s arrangement of a suite from Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, conducted by BBC SO Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis.
BBC SO Günter Wand Conducting Chair Semyon Bychkov returns, and there are debuts from some of the most exciting young conductors and instrumentalists performing today, including conductors Karina Canellakis, Cristian Macelaru, Joana Carneiro, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov and violinist Lisa Batiashvili.
Former Principal Guest Conductor David Robertson conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1, and three Principal members of the orchestra step forward as instrumental soloists, including the world premiere of Gavin Higgins’ Trombone Concerto performed by BBC SO Principal Trombonist Helen Vollam. Shostakovich Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 9 and 11 all feature during the season.
The BBC Singers return to Milton Court for a series of four concerts, two of which will be led by their new Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin. They also host three early evening concerts complementing the BBC SO’s programme that follows, as well as appearing with the BBC SO in the Barbican Hall and at Total Immersion days.
For more information , visit the Barbican website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
The Barbican Classical Music Highlights 2018
Barbican brings some of the greatest international classical artists, orchestras and ensembles to London, in a exciting mix of classical and contemporary music.
Some of the highlights include:
Los Angeles Philharmonic International Associate Residency 2018 with Gustavo Dudamel
Wed 2 – Fri 4 May 2018, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm
Gustavo Dudamel leads the orchestra through a varied programme that includes two European premieres by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Ted Hearne, both Barbican co-commissions. Alongside Salonen’s premiere, the programme for the first concert also features Shostakovich’s epic Fifth Symphony and Varèse’s Ameriques. The second Residency concert sees the European premiere of American composer Ted Hearne’s Place. Set in a country at a crossroads where the intersections of manifest destiny and gentrification meet history and personal experience.
On 4 May 2018 the orchestra celebrates Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday year with a performance of his Chichester Psalms with the London Symphony Chorus, juxtaposed with Beethoven’s Symphony No 9.
Bach Weekend with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra
Fri 15 – Sun 17 June 2018, Various venues, 11am, 3pm, 7.30pm
To celebrate the 75th birthday of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Barbican has invited him to curate a Bach weekend. This will include a three-concert cycle of cantatas performed by the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, as well as featuring an outstanding line-up of artists in motets, violin sonatas, cello suites, and charismatic and energetic harpsichord player Jean Rondeau performing the Goldberg Variations at Milton Court. Also at Milton Court will be a concert of Bach’s first three Cello Suites, as performed by internationally celebrated French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.
Nils Frahm: All Melody
Wed 21 – Sat 24 Feb 2018, Barbican Hall
Globally celebrated Berlin-based composer, producer and performer Nils Frahm returns to the live stage in 2018; including three dates at the Barbican.
John Cale: A Futurespective
Fri 9 & Sat 10 Mar 2018, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm
Legendary songwriter, producer and musician, John Cale returns to the Barbican next spring for his first-ever career retrospective. Marking his 76th birthday, the event spreads over two epic nights at the Barbican Hall and will see Cale revealing tracks from his forthcoming Domino studio album as well as addressing music going back to 1964 that he has rarely, if ever, performed live, including selections from the Velvet Underground and Cale’s landmark solo albums recorded in his years with Island Records.
London Symphony Orchestra highlights
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the UK Premiere of Genesis Suite on 13 January, a collaborative work from 1945 America featuring music by seven leading emigré composers, including Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Milhaud. Genesis Suite has been heard only once since its 1945 premiere.
François-Xavier Roth, the LSO’s Principal Guest Conductor, takes charge of a major celebration of the century of Claude Debussy’s death in 2018. The series will survey Debussy’s career, those who influenced him and his successors across three concerts with the LSO, each featuring a different French soloist: cellist Edward Moreau (21 January), pianist Cédric Tiberghien (25 January) and violinist Renaud Capuçon (25 March). As part of the celebration, BBC Radio 3 will broadcast four lunchtime concerts from LSO St Luke’s curated by Cédric Tiberghien.
Helen Grime’s Fanfare acted as a curtain-raiser to Simon Rattle’s inaugural concert in September 2017 and a full version of the work will be given its world premiere on 19 April, coupled with Mahler’s Symphony No 9, and followed on 22 April with Tippet’s The Rose Lake, performed alongside Mahler’s Symphony No 10.
BBC Symphony Orchestra highlights
The BBC Symphony Orchestra launch the new year with the culmination of their acclaimed 17-18 Sibelius cycle, led by Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo and marking the anniversary of the centenary of Finnish independence (6 January).
A Total Immersion day will focus on the music of Leonard Bernstein in his centenary year (27 January) – dedicated as much to his concert and choral works as his jazz and cabaret talents, Bernstein the Renaissance Man is celebrated in film, conversation and performances, including popular choral works, as well as a rare chance to hear his Songfest.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus close the season with Sakari Oramo joined by Alice Coote, Stuart Skelton and Alan Ewing for a performance of Elgar’s greatest oratorio: The Dream of Gerontius (16 May).
For more information , visit the Barbican website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Lloyd’s Choir Christmas Concert at St Katharine Cree Church – 14th December 2017
One of the delights of the festive season in the City of London is the series of concerts that take place in many of the historic churches dotted around the Square Mile.
One of the oldest choirs in the City not connected directly to the churches is the Lloyd’s Choir which was first formed in 1922. The choir first performed in 1922, within the Underwriting Room at the Royal Exchange and concerts were then given regularly, mainly in the Public Hall of the same building.
After the Second World War, the choir was re-established and performed with considerable success. In the 1980s, the choir moved to St. Katharine Cree in Leadenhall Street which is still home to the choir today.
Since then, a series of professional conductors have greatly enhanced the reputation of the choir. The choir regularly perform concerts in various locations around the city and has featured on television several times.
One of the highlights of the choir’s year is the Christmas Concert to be held in the beautiful St Katharine Cree Church in Leadenhall Street on Thursday 14th December 2017 at 6:30pm.
The programme will be a mixture of new and traditional favourites with Jacques Cohen conducting the choir with Meridian Brass and Hilary Norris on the Organ
Tickets £15 including refreshments on the door
For more information about the Lloyd’s Choir, visit their website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Daniel Barenboim announces second Southbank Centre concert date with West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – October 29th 2017
Due to popular demand, globally-acclaimed conductor, pianist and humanitarian Daniel Barenboim has announced a second date with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall this October. The concert on Sunday 29 October at 2pm will raise funds for multiple sclerosis (MS) research in aid of the MS Society.
The Jacqueline du Pré tribute concert will see Barenboim, who first performed at Royal Festival Hall aged just 13, bring his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to the venue for the first time, in tribute to cellist Jacqueline du Pré, Barenboim’s wife of 20 years, who had MS and died aged just 42. This October marks 30 years since the death of du Pré, who was recognised as one of the most talented cellists in history before her illness forced her to give up playing.
Daniel Barenboim and academic Edward Said formed the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra to open dialogues between Israeli and Palestinian musicians. Under Barenboim’s leadership, the ensemble goes from strength to strength, defying political divides and delivering performances as profound as the philosophy behind its formation. This first appearance at Royal Festival Hall will feature Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.5 and Strauss’ Don Quixote, with the young Austrian-Persian cellist Kian Soltani as soloist.
Daniel Barenboim and West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Saturday 28 October, 6.30pm, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre – SOLD OUT
Sunday 29 October, 2.00pm, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
Performers
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim conductor
Kian Soltani cello
Repertoire
R Strauss: Don Quixote
Interval
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5
For more information , visit the Southbank Centre website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Sound Unbound: The Barbican Classical Weekender – 29th to 30th April 2017
After the successful first festival in 2015. Sound Unbound will once again return at the end of April to give audiences the chance to explore new music from medieval to modern, in a relaxed festival environment.
The festival features over 60 short concerts encompassing nearly 1000 years of music. Alongside new commissions, visitors can also hear some well-known classics.
Pianist, producer and composer Chilly Gonzales will present his guide to the orchestra in a specially commissioned work with Britten Sinfonia, conducted by Jules Buckley. The Academy of Ancient Music will be performing famous works including Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 5 and Pachelbel’s Canon. Organist James McVinnie, widely recognised for his fresh approach to the instrument and repertoire, will interpret music by Philip Glass and JS Bach. Alison Balsom and Timo Andres will also join forces with the Britten Sinfonia for Rhapsody in Blue and Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain.
Alison Balsom photo Mat Hennek
The weekend also features American soprano Angel Blue who has performed in the English National Opera’s La Bohème as well as alongside Donna Summer and Chaka Khan, acclaimed British countertenor Iestyn Davies in an intimate concert with lute player Thomas Dunford, and the Kanneh-Mason Trio, led by BBC Young Musician of the Year Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Iestyn Davies Photo Benjamin Ealovega
Film and Music
In 2017, the Barbican celebrates the medium of film with a “Film in Focus” series across the various artforms. As part of this, Sound Unbound features an exciting chance to hear the London Symphony Orchestra perform film music by John Williams.
The Norwegian siblings Mari and Håkon Samuelsen, a violin and cello duo, bring Nordic Noir to the Barbican, featuring new works from the composers of soundtracks for The Bridge and The Killing alongside music by Arvo Pärt.
Sound Unbound 2015 Mari Samuelsen Photo Mark Allan
In two Symphonic Cinema sessions, the BBC Symphony Orchestra performs Stravinsky’sballet score Firebird alongside a stunning film which director Lucas van Woerkum has created specifically to the music and story, and which he will synchronise in live-time to the orchestra’s performance (UK premiere).
LSO St Luke’s will host the BBC Singers for the UK premiere of German composer and producer Sven Helbig’s I Eat the Sun and Drink the Rain, a new work for choir, visuals and liveelectronics which explores searching questions about the role of nature and human relationships in a world of artificial intelligence and digital alienation.
Re-workings
Sound Unbound also features well-known works in unconventional versions. Bach’s Goldberg Variations will be played by a string trio from the Scottish Ensemble. Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, a work that shocked and changed the musical world for ever, can be heard in an arrangement for two pianos, performed by two of the most exciting and innovative young American pianists, Timo Andres and David Kaplan. Musicians from the Guildhall School’s Electronic Department will remix Haydn’s Toy Symphony, together with other well-known classical repertoire, in a specially commissioned arrangement for sound-producing electronic toys and devices.
Gabriel Prokofiev, Photograph by Malihe Norouzi
Music in The Pit, The Curve and the Conservatory
During the weekend, the Barbican opens up its many venues and so this unparalleled variety of music and artists can also be heard in an unusual range of venues: The Pit (the Barbican’s studio theatre), the Conservatory, The Curve gallery, the Barbican Lakeside, in the foyers, in the neighbouring Milton Court Concert Hall and LSO St Luke’s, as well as in the Barbican concert hall itself. On the Barbican’s Lakeside Terrace wind-up gramophones will invade the space with a collage of classical music through the ages, devised by musicians and staff of the Guildhall School’s Electronic Music Department. The Pit sessions, programmed in association with Boiler Room TV, include the innovative Calder Quartet, a Sound Unbound favourite from the first festival; a session from versatile viol player and professor of viola da gamba at the Guildhall School Liam Byrne, equally at home in very old and very new music; and London-based composer, producer, and founder of the NONCLASSICAL record label and club night, Gabriel Prokofiev.
The Curve will be a venue for choral music, alongside a new commission from Anna Meredith , a genre-defying British composer, producer and performer who moves comfortably between the different worlds of contemporary classical and experimental rock. Also filling the huge, resonant space of the Curve will be Tuning Up, a sound installation for forty helium balloons with harmonicas, devised by Stephen Cornford and Bill Leslie.
The Barbican Conservatory, the second biggest conservatory in London, will be the location for Silent Opera’s Carmen: Remastered, in which headphones let the audience into the tormented, internal world of Don José and his encounter with the woman he desires, as well as for Michael Gordon’s cult classic Timber, a meditation on sound and rhythm, bringing the physicality, endurance and technique of percussion performance to a new level.
The festival takes place on the 29th to 30th April 2017
Passes range from £20 to £40 , Young Barbican (14-25) Day passes £10
For more information and tickets , visit the Barbican website here
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