The War Requiem, Gerontius, a complete Sleeping Beauty, Tippett's fourth: the London Philharmonic Orchestra's 2026/27 season at Southbank Centre

Edward Gardner (Photo: Jason Bell)

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has announced its 2026/27 season at the Southbank Centre. Under the title In Search of Purpose, the season explores the human spirit’s resilience and the quest for meaning. The season also includes a celebration of the London Philharmonic Choir’s 80th anniversary year with some major choral masterpieces.

The season opens with Edward Gardner conducting Britten's War Requiem with soloists Natalya Romaniw, Allan Clayton and Benjamin Appl, and Gardner brings the season to a close with Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with soloists American mezzo-soprano Natalie Lewis, American tenor Michael Spyres and Norwegian baritone Yngve Søberg bringing a somewhat different perspective to the work. 

Other major choral works include Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem with Gardner conducting and soloists Louise Alder and Gerald Finley in a programme that also includes the premiere of Judith Weir's Respire, Inspire; and a relative rarity in Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri with Samantha Clarke, Christiane Karg, Beth Taylor, Robert Murray, Lunga Eric Hallam and Thomas Oliemans.

Major symphonic utterances include Tippett’s Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony and Zemlinsky’s The Mermaid. There is a cycle of Beethoven's piano concertos along with Symphony No. 5.

New music includes the premiere of Mark Simpson's Piano Concerto with soloist Víkingur Ólafsson, conducted by Gardner, Karina Canellakis conducting a Dai Fujikura new work, Anja Bihlmaier conducting Jacob Mühlrad's Kavanah, for clarinet and orchestra with Martin Fröst. Tianyi Lu conducts the European premiere of Kevin Puts' The Brightness of Light with soprano Renee Fleming.

Other contemporary music includes a semi-staging, directed by Dan Ayling, of George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence, conducted by Gardner with soloists Nathaniel Sullivan, Gyula Orendt, Georgia Jarman, Toby Spence and James Way, and later in the season Gardner also conducts Benjamin's Concerto for Orchestra. Unsuk Chin's subito con forza is conducted by Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski returns for two concerts. Wagner’s Prelude to Parsifal, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Mitsuko Uchida. Then a complete concert performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty. The LPO is also welcoming Paavo Järvi in his new role as Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor Designate with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, plus music by Veljo Tormis and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (‘Emperor’), performed by Benjamin Grosvenor.

New cohorts are welcomed to the LPO's talent development programmes with 16 early-career musicians in the Future Firsts programme, two Fellow Conductors, five Young Composers, and a fresh intake of LPO Junior Artists, the LPO's trailblazing mentorship programme for talented teenage musicians from under-represented backgrounds, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. AN the LPO's social impact programmes reach 30,000 people annually through diverse education and community initiatives. Key projects this season include the FUNharmonics family concert series, the Crisis Creates programme for adults experiencing homelessness, and the award-winning OrchLab programme, as well as many other projects with schools and communities in London and beyond. The LPO is now working with 15 partners across East and West Sussex to champion inclusion, nurture local talent, and support wellbeing through music. This season marks a significant geographic expansion of the Orchestra’s South Coast activity, extending its award-winning community work into Bognor Regis, Dover and Folkestone.

Full details from the LPO's website.