BBC Symphony Orchestra
Associate Orchestra
The backbone of the BBC Proms and one of the UK's finest orchestras, the BBC SO performs a thrilling, distinctive range of music, from works at the heart of classical music to contemporary premieres.
Events
BBC SO/Oramo & Benedetti: Romantics in Exile
Sakari Oramo conducts a forgotten symphony overflowing with passion and Nicola Benedetti plays the violin concerto that stole the movies’ greatest tunes.
BBC SO/de Souza: Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
Much talked-about Canadian conductor Jordan de Souza makes his UK concert debut in music devilishly enjoyable, wickedly entertaining and frantically unpredictable.
BBC SO/Storgårds: Gubaidulina, Mussorgsky and Shostakovich
John Storgårds joins the BBC Symphony Orchestra to conduct Dmitri Shostakovich’s dramatic Fifth Symphony, a journey through life by Modest Mussorgsky and a fantastical work from Sofia Gubaidulina.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Zappa Goes Large
For Frank Zappa, the symphony orchestra was the consummate vehicle for musical storytelling. Brad Lubman leads this live streamed evening culminating in Zappa’s acknowledged orchestral masterpieces.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Frank Zappa – The Yellow Shark
Guildhall’s Ubu Ensemble pay homage to Frank Zappa’s iconic last album The Yellow Shark, harvested from his appearance at the 1992 Frankfurt Festival.
BBC SO/Brabbins: Scott of the Antarctic
A compelling synthesis of film and music as the BBC SO perform Vaughan Williams’s ground-breaking orchestral score live to accompany a screening of Charles Frend’s landmark movie.
BBC SO/Oramo: Elgar's Cello Concerto
Brutalism meets orchestral beauty as we mark 40 years of the Barbican Centre with music as idealistic, integral and provocative as the building itself.
BBC SO: Sir Andrew Davis's Half Century
Due to travel disruption caused by Storm Eunice affecting many of its musicians, the BBC SO has taken the difficult and disappointing decision to cancel tonight’s concert.
BBC SO/Bychkov: Pictures at an Exhibition
In a concert marking 100 years of the BBC, conductor Semyon Bychkov and the BBC Symphony Orchestra look back to the year of the Corporation’s founding – and present a new piece by Bryce Dessner.
BBC SO/Stasevska: Before the Iron Curtain
BBC Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevska presents music from two titans of Russian music – separated by continents, but not yet the iron curtain.
BBC SO/Lintu: Journey's End
Hear evocative musical journeys by composers past and present – a sleigh-ride through frozen Finland, a road-trip from LA to San Diego and a fateful Austrian carriage-ride.
BBC SO Total Immersion: Music for the End of Time
Extraordinary music written amid the hopelessness of prison and concentration camps that dared to seek the truth – and to hope for better times.
BBC Total Immersion: The Theresienstadt Orchestra
Musical testaments by Krása and Haas written inside Theresienstadt, and a compelling symphony by Schulhoff that warns of impending human catastrophe.
BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus: Christmas Tales
Celebration and contemplation as the BBC Symphony Chorus performs music inspired by frozen landscapes and Christmas heroes.
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo: A Masterpiece Rediscovered
Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra showcase an explosive, reflective and rapturous Croatian symphony once buried by history.
Up for Grabs
Relive one of the beautiful game’s greatest final day dramas. Projected highlights of Anfield 89 get the symphonic treatment as Lee Dixon reunites members of Arsenal’s title-winning team to reminisce.
Discover
Composer Focus – Episode 5: Jean Sibelius with Sakari Oramo
In the final episode, host Edward Seckerson is joined by BBC Symphony Orchestra conductor Sakari Oramo to discuss his fellow countryman Jean Sibelius, and the themes of nature and Finnish national identity woven throughout his music.
