News

On Sunday 24th October 2010, the LSC will be giving the world premiere of a new work by Eric Whitacre, with the composer himself conducting the LSO at the Barbican. The new work has been commissioned by the American Friends of the LSC.

Please click here to download the concert flyer, and here to book tickets.

In an interview with James McCarthy for Gramophone magazine, Mr Whitacre talked about the October concert with the LSO, saying: “It’s like somebody is letting me drive a Ferrari. They shouldn’t be, but they’re letting me. And so I’m just going to go out there and have a blast and pretend like I’m a Formula One racing driver and try not to crash. I think that what I’m writing is a little crunchier than what I might normally do and I’m hoping that the texts themselves give me an opportunity to push a little. Even as it’s coming out it sounds to me very…not conservative…it sounds like Prokofiev or Britten. Neo‑romantic.”

An accomplished composer, conductor and lecturer, Eric Whitacre has quickly become one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation. The Los Angeles Times has praised his compositions as "works of unearthly beauty and imagination, (with) electric, chilling harmonies"; while the BBC raves that "what hits you straight between the eyes is the honesty, optimism and sheer belief that passes any pretension. This is music that can actually make you smile.”

Eric Whitacre has recently signed to Decca; commenting on the signing, Whitacre said: “I appreciate the respect that the team at Decca holds for me as one of their 'core classical' artists. Importantly, we have a shared vision, drive and passion to develop the extraordinarily wonderful opportunities that technology offers to our world.”

Dickon Stainer, managing director of Decca, said “Eric Whitacre writes music of luminous beauty. Decca shares his vision to reinvent classical music for a new digital generation.”

The LSC's Choral Conducting Scholarhips for 2010 have been awarded to Cameron Burns and Chi Hoe Mak.

Please click here for more information.

At the 2010 Grammy Awards, which took place on 31st January, the Award for Best Opera Recording went to Billy Budd.  The award is in three separate parts:

Conductor: Daniel Harding

Producer: John Fraser

Principal Soloists: Iain Bostridge, Neal Davies, Nathan, Gunn, Jonathan Lemalu, Matthew Rose and Gidon Saks.

The London Symphony Orchestra and the gentlemen of the London Symphony Chorus took part in the original performances at the Barbican and in the subsequent award-winning recording.

It has been announced that Sir Colin Davis, President of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus has been awarded Her Majesty's Medal for Music.  This award is made annually and Sir Colin is the 5th recipient since its introduction in 2005.

Sir Colin has been quoted as saying, "I am very grateful and as I receive this Medal every musician with whom I have ever worked takes part in this Award."

The presentation of the Medal by Her Majesty the Queen on Tuesday, 8th December was preceded by a public announcement at the Barbican performance of Verdi's "Otello", in which Sir Colin conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

In his 5-star review in The Mail on Sunday, David Mellor pays tribute to Richard Hickox and writes of the concert "Music Maker: A Celebration of Richard Hickox", which took place at the Barbican in October 2009:

"Before the interval the anglophile American Andrew Litton led a passionate, urgent account of Britten's "Sea Interludes", beautifully articulated by the orchestra.  And there was a heartfelt reading, with the LSC on top form, of Elgar's much underrated "The Music Makers".  This was his "Heldenleben, in which the normally reticent Elgar reveals more of himself than anywhere else.

After the interval, Joseph Cullen, the LSC's music director, conducted dedicated performances of two worthwhile rarities much loved by Richard: Holst's "Hymn of Jesus" and Vaughan Williams's "Toward the Unknown Region".

It was an evening to treasure, celebrating a man I knew for 40 years, and whose warmth, Tigger-like enthusiasm and God-given talent I shall never forget."

The LSC is delighted to announce that its innovative Choral Conducting Scholarships scheme for 2009-2010 is now open for applications.

The London Symphony Chorus Choral Conducting Scholarships are designed to offer young musicians a unique opportunity to learn about choral conducting through experience with one of the world’s leading symphonic choruses.

The scheme aims to help facilitate and encourage the development of the next generation of conductors by offering practical experience of the processes and techniques necessary to direct, work with and manage a symphony chorus. The Scholarships also offer some financial assistance, and offer the recipients the support of the Chorus Director of the LSC, an experienced practitioner, as the scholar develops their choral conducting skills.

The scheme provides a rare opportunity to work closely with a leading symphonic chorus. It is managed by the London Symphony Chorus, a registered charity. The scheme is co-financed by the London Symphony Chorus Endowment Fund.

Click here to download Application information.

Click here to download Application and Reference Forms.

The LSO Live Label has now released the recording of the Verdi Requiem under Sir Colin Davis.  The critically acclaimed performances took place at the Barbican in January 2009 with soloists Christine Brewer, Karen Cargill, Stuart Neill and John Relyea.

On issue the recording has immediately entered the Gramophone specialist classical chart at No. 10 and the review said: "The work of the LSO Chorus is first-rate".

The critic from The Times of the original concert went even further "Joseph Cullen's massed troops were on exemplary form; I've not yet recovered from their full-throated onslaughts in the Dies Irae, delivered with cutting consonants and the heat of hellfire."