London Symphony Orchestra to return to Barbican Hall

The London Symphony Orchestra is to return to the Barbican Hall, where it is Resident Orchestra, to play regular concerts from 7 January 2021.

The programme, which has been announced up to the end of March 2021, consists of two performances of the same repertoire at 3.30pm and 6.30pm on every concert day, with socially distanced audiences. Each performance will have no interval and will last under 90 minutes.

The line-up of conductors is predominantly as originally announced for this period of the 2020/21 Season. On Thursday 7 January, Music Director Sir Simon Rattle opens the series with a double-bill comprising Berg’s Violin Concerto with violinist Leonidas Kavakos, coupled with Schubert’s Symphony No 9, ‘The Great’. The following week he pairs Schubert’s Symphony No 9 with Schumann’s Piano Concerto with guest soloist Mitsuko Uchida.

Sir Simon returns to the LSO in March for two further concerts. For the first, he conducts a programme of Haydn’s Symphony No 86, Brahms’ Serenade No 2, and Strauss’ Le bourgeois gentilhomme Suite. For his final March concert Sir Simon renews his partnership with soprano Barbara Hannigan for a programme consisting of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Harrison’s Song of Quetzalcoatl and Varèse’s Offrandes, top-and-tailed by Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin and Ma mère l’Oye.

Read: Rapid Covid-19 test supports London Symphony Orchestra’s return to live performance

Read: London Symphony Orchestra moves autumn season to LSO St Luke’s

Principal Guest Conductor François-Xavier Roth conducts a programme in February of Bartók’s Dance Suite, Ligeti’s Romanian Concerto, and Haydn’s Symphony 104, ‘London’. On 11 March, as part of LSO Futures, the two-week celebration of new and contemporary music, François-Xavier Roth conducts a programme featuring Francisco Coll’s new Violin Concerto for Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Charlie Piper’s 2013 piece flēotan alongside Betsy Jolas’ Well Met Suite and Ayanna Witter-Johnson’s Fairtrade?.

Thomas Adès celebrates his 50^th birthday, conducting Sibelius’ Symphony No 6 and his own composition In Seven Days with guest soloist Kirill Gerstein on 6 March. Other guest conductors in this early part of 2021 are John Wilson with a programme of Bennett, Dutilleux and Gershwin; Marin Alsop conducting Joan Tower’s Part 1 from Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Barber’s Symphony in One Movement and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 with Eric Lu as soloist; and Duncan Ward returning to the LSO to conduct Bacewicz’s Music for Strings, trumpet and percussion, Strauss’ Oboe Concerto with LSO Principal Oboist Juliana Koch and Schreker’s Chamber Symphony.

The Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition Final returns on 1 March in the Barbican Hall and the Panufnik Composers Workshop led by François- Xavier Roth on 8 March at LSO St Luke’s as part of LSO Futures.

The regular programme of lunchtime chamber concerts at LSO St Luke’s continues throughout the period.