London Philharmonic about to begin their 80th Season

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80 years and still going strong


The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 80th anniversary season opens next week! We begin the 2012/13 season with a diverse series of performances ranging from the dark theatrics of Strauss and Zemlinksy, spell-binding Russian bells, thought-provoking explorations of War & Peace, soulful cello concertos and brand new work from Carl Vine.


Upcoming Events

26 September – Strauss & Zemlinksy

Love, infidelity and scorn abound in Zemlinksy’s A Florentine Tragedy, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s play and Zemlinsky’s own embittered feelings towards former lover Alma Schindler. Greatly influenced by Richard Strauss, Zemlinksy’s colourful and gritty one-act opera is complemented by excerpts of Strauss’s own Die Frau Ohne Schatten.


29 September – Rachmaninoff The Bells

An all-Russian programme of bell-inspired works, two also inspired by the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe. Featuring UK premieres of Rodion Shchedrin’s Concerto for Orchestra No. 2, Denisov's Bells in the Fog and Miaskovsky’s Silentium alongside Rachmaninoff’s passionate choral symphony The Bells.


3-5 October – War & Peace

Vladimir Jurowksi leads a poignant mini-series centring on the theme of War & Peace, including works by Britten, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Walton, Vaughan Williams and Shostakovich. We begin this powerful series with excerpts from Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Walton’s Viola Concerto and Britten’s ‘plea for peace’ Sinfonia da Requiem.


12 October – Prokofiev, Elgar & Sibelius

Cellist Sol Gabetta joins the LPO to perform Elgar’s famous Cello Concerto in an evening of highly-tuned musical emotions, also featuring Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony and Sibelius’s aspirational Symphony No. 2.


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