Very pleased to receive a press release this morning detailing a whole range of indoor, outdoor and broadcast events the Southbank Centre has planned for the coming months up until August of this year. I’m counting down the days.
There’s a fair range of indoor classical events in the Royal Festival Hall including some well-chosen works that make for fitting musical statements that document the return of live music. Vaughan Williams 5 in particular will be a must-attend.
Chineke! kicks off the Summer Reunion with soloist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto (28 June). The following day, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra brings families together for its popular format, ‘Noisy Kids: Heroes & Villains’ (29 June).
The following week in June Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen bows out with two unmissable concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra after a disrupted final season; he is joined by Yefim Bronfman (4 June) and Mitsuko Uchida (10 June), two of his long-time collaborators.
The re-opening of the Southbank Centre coincides with the venue’s 70th anniversary. In May 1951 the Royal Festival Hall opened its doors for the first time as part of the ‘Festival of Britain’ – billed then as a post-war ‘tonic for the nation’.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Royal Festival Hall, a specially-commissioned poem about the beloved venue by Theresa Lola is to be filmed and released worldwide on 3 May. Theresa Lola is a British-Nigerian poet based in London and was appointed the 2019/2020 Young People’s Laureate for London.
Saturday 28 June, 7.30pm
Chineke! with Sheku-Kanneh Mason
Dvorak Cello Concerto
Wednesday 2 June, 7.30pm
Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Haydn Cello Concerto
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5
Thursday 3 June, 7.30pm
Alina Ibragimova and Friends
Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time
Friday 4 June, 7.30pm
Esa Pekka Salonen with Philharmonia Orchestra
Beethoven Symphony No. 1
Lizst Piano Concerto No. 2
Sibelius Symphony No. 7
Thursday 10 June, 7.30pm
Philharmonia Orchestra & Mitsuko Uchida
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3
Friday 25 June, 7.30pm
Philharmonia Orchestra & Bach Choir
Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius
Sunday 4 July, 3pm
Nicola Benedetti with Aurora Orchestra
Beethoven Violin Concerto
Tickets go on sale to Southbank Centre members on Tuesday 27 April, and to non-members on Wednesday 28 April. Seating is limited in accordance with COVID guidelines but is anticipated to return to normal capacity on 21 June. More information on the Southbank Centre website.
Last week the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra also announced a programme of concerts running from May to July 2021.
