BBC NOW - Beethoven 9

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales are returning to Brangwyn Hall on Friday 11 June 2027, as part of the BBC NOW 2026-27 season. The whole season is built around the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death, and this particular night pairs a bold contemporary voice with one of the greatest symphonic landmarks of all time.

The first half is Sir James MacMillan's Concerto for Orchestra 'Ghosts', a continuous, through-composed work that MacMillan describes as being alive with shifting memories, folk echoes and spectral allusions. It's a single movement that runs from start to finish without a break, so you'll hear it as one long piece rather than a series of separate movements. After the interval, the orchestra moves on to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the monumental Ninth. The revolutionary choral finale brings together orchestra, chorus and soloists in music of immense power and uplifting joy, and it's the part most people recognise.

It's a big night for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who are bringing the same programme and the same performers to two cities: the Swansea concert is on Friday 11 June, and the same show is given at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff on Thursday 10 June. The BBC NOW season is built around world-renowned musicians and pieces designed to move audiences of all ages, and this pairing of MacMillan and Beethoven fits that right in the middle.

So, if you're in Swansea on the 11th, you'll find the orchestra at Brangwyn Hall, starting at 19:30. The night opens with MacMillan's Ghosts and closes with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, with the chorus and soloists joining in for the finale.