The Music of Tomorrow – LSO Futures with François-Xavier Roth
Fresh. Volatile. Glittering.
Barbican
The Concert
Christian Drew AQUARIUM DRIFTER (world premiere, LSO Panufnik commission)
Unsuk Chin SPIRA
Donghoon Shin Nachtergebung (Cello Concerto) (UK premiere)
Interval – 20 minutes
Stef Conner Hateful Grace (world premiere, LSO Panufnik commission)
Béla Bartók Concerto for Orchestra
François-Xavier Roth conductor
Rebecca Gilliver cello
London Symphony Orchestra
The concert will finish at approximately 9.10pm (timings subject to change)
Tickets
£70 £55 £39 £25 £18
+ £4 booking fee per online/phone transaction
Wildcard Tickets
£12/£16 + booking fee as above
Guaranteed entry – your seat will be allocated on the day.
Limited releases throughout the season. Full details
Save on Your Booking
Multibuy Discounts – save up to 40%
Under-18s – £6 tickets
14–25s – discounts for Young Barbican Members
Groups of 10+ – save at least 20%
Access – free companion tickets for Barbican Access Members
Full details below
Vivid, moreish music by Unsuk Chin and Donghoon Shin, plus beguiling works by emerging talents, conducted by François-Xavier Roth.
The Programme
Unsuk Chin’s glimmering SPIRA grows out of the resonance of two vibraphones, its title referencing the ‘marvellous spiral’ that a 17th-century mathematician observed all over the natural world. Donghoon Shin’s eloquent Cello Concerto is inspired by the eerie visions of Austrian poet Georg Trakl.
And how do emerging composers begin to collaborate with major orchestras? The London Symphony Orchestra’s Panufnik Composers Scheme sets out to bring them together. This year, the scheme culminates in this concert, which presents world premieres by rising stars Christian Drew and Stef Conner.
LSO Futures is a collaboration between François-Xavier Roth and the LSO that goes back over a decade – ‘a festival championing new music, not just the music of our time, but also music from the last decades’, in the conductor’s own words. ‘I often say that I love contemporary music from all periods of music history,’ says Roth. ‘All music was modern music at the time. And I think that as a society, as an audience, as artists, the more we have close contact to the music written today, the better. There’s a risk in something you don’t know; something that shakes us or provokes us is healthy. And I think that music should keep going, inventing and showing the world of tomorrow.’
The Performers
François-Xavier Roth, Principal Guest Conductor of the LSO, leads the Panufnik Composers Scheme workshops each year, and the musicians of the LSO collaborate closely with the composers. Their relish for this creative challenge fuels every note of the performance.
‘It’s my contact with the composers of our time which makes me reconsider things and ask myself much more interesting questions’
– François-Xavier Roth
The LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme is generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust.
Read: François-Xavier Roth introduces his 2023/24 season
‘All music was modern music at the time. And I think that as a society, as an audience, as artists, the more we have close contact to the music written today, the better. There’s a risk in something you don’t know; something that shakes us or provokes us is healthy. And I think that music should keep going, inventing and showing the world of tomorrow.’
Booking and Discounts
Booking Your Tickets
Online at lso.co.uk or barbican.org.uk
By phone on +44 20 7870 2500 (Monday to Friday 12–5.30pm)
In person at the Barbican Centre
£4 booking fee per transaction when booking online or by phone
Refunds and Exchanges
If you can no longer user your tickets, you can exchange them for another LSO concert or Barbican credit voucher (valid for six months). Please inform the Box Office at least 24 hours before the performance (two weeks for group bookings). A per-ticket administration fee applies for all exchange services.
Questions About Your Booking?
Contact the Barbican Box Office at tickets@barbican.org.uk.
Visit the Barbican website for conditions of sale.
The LSO reserves the right to change artists or programmes if necessary. If the event is cancelled, all bookers will receive a refund. All discounts are subject to availability and may not be combined. Box office calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance or training purposes.
Multibuy Discounts
Book 2 to 3 concerts and save 10%
Book 4 to 7 concerts and save 20%
Book 8 to 11 concerts and save 30%
Book 12 or more concerts and save 40%
Plus retain your discount for any later bookings within the season.
Multibuy Discounts: Full Details
Wildcards
£12 or £16 (£10 or £15 for Half Six Fix concerts), plus booking fee. You are guaranteed entry to the concert but you won’t know your exact seat until the evening of the performance. Will you be lucky and bag a top-price seat in the stalls? Find out more about Wildcards.
Young People
£6 tickets for under-18s. Discounted tickets are available for selected LSO concerts for 14–25s through Young Barbican, and for full-time students through Student Pulse London.
Groups of 10+
Save 20%, or 30% when booking two or more concerts in the same season, plus additional benefits. Find out more about group booking.
Access Members
Members of the Barbican’s Access Scheme can book wheelchair places priced at the lowest price for that event and book a free companion seat. Join the Barbican Access Scheme.
Your Visit and Access
Getting to the Barbican
We are based at the Barbican Centre in the City of London. The main entrance to the Barbican is on Silk Street.
What to Expect
From the concert experience to venue facilities, find out what to expect from an LSO concert at the Barbican.
Accessibility
Find maps and guides, and join the Barbican Access Membership Scheme to let us know of your requirements and book access tickets.