London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Antonio Pappano and pianist Bruce Liu, with Vaughan Williams' 'A Pastoral Symphony' and Symphony No 8 plus Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3.
The London Symphony Orchestra are back at The Barbican Hall on Thursday 26 November, with Sir Antonio Pappano conducting and pianist Bruce Liu joining them. The programme is built around two contrasting sides of Ralph Vaughan Williams: A Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No 3) and the tauter, more rhythmic Symphony No 8, with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 sitting between them.
A Pastoral Symphony is the one most people recognise as a portrait of England's rolling hills, but the slow movements were actually an anguished, ultimately hopeful response to the First World War. Symphony No 8 comes from a different place entirely, premiered at the dawn of the new Elizabethan age. Hearing them in the same evening lets you see the two sides of the composer side by side. Bruce Liu takes the middle slot with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3, a classic that breaks up the two Vaughan Williams works.
The concert is part of Pappano's Vaughan Williams cycle, and it fits into a wider 2026/27 season that he says broadens the canvas beyond the British music that's defined his tenure so far. He's moving on to more Shostakovich, Mahler and Tchaikovsky, and the season also brings five new works, including a cello concerto by Edmund Finnis and a piece by Hannah Kendall. It all culminates in Verdi's La traviata, which Pappano calls the first modern opera.
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It starts at 19:00 and finishes around 9.10pm, with a 20-minute interval. Standard tickets are from £22 plus transaction fee, and there are multibuy discounts available that can take up to 40% off.
Date
Thursday, 26 November 2026
19:00
Price
Paid
Recommended Age
+14 years
