© Morley von Sternberg
The Royal Festival Hall is the Southbank Centre's major venue, and it reopened in 2007 after a £90 million renovation. Access has been improved, but the real meat of the project is the acoustic refurbishment of the 3,000-capacity main hall. Showcase events include the summer's Meltdown festival which is curated by a different iconic artist, band or figure every year (including John Peel, Laurie Anderson and Jarvis Cocker), and the Shell Classic International Season. As well as a full programme of classical and contemporary music concerts, the Royal Festival Hall usually puts on one or two blockbuster theatre shows a year, recently 'The Wizard Of Oz' and 'Carmen Jones', plus literature events. Additionally, the Royal Festival Hall's foyer and outdoor terrace areas often host free exhibitions, children's events, lunchtime jazz and after-hours cabaret. Sister venues the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room are next door.
The first national art show to be curated by serving prisoners encompasses film, music and writing alongside the visual arts. The work, drawn from more than 5,000 submissions from secure establis...
The London Philharmonic Orchestra presents a family concert on the theme of 'The Sea', with ship-shape music from Walton, Rimsky-Korsakov and the film soundtrack from 'Pirates of the Caribbean', pl...
David Angus conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as Chris Jarvis presents a nautically-themed concert especially for children and their families. Featuring Walton's musical homage to Lord Ne...
Mikhail Pletnev conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra, with pianist Nikolai Lugansky. Tchaikovsky's Overture: 'Voyevoda'; Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 3; and Sibelius's Symphony No 2.
The Brazilian pianist Cristina Ortiz plays Claude Debussy's 'Suite Bergamasque'; Deux Arabesques; 'Estampes'; 'L'Isle Joyeuse'. Then, Heitor Villa-Lobos's 'A Prole do bebe', Book 1; 'Alma brasileir...
The big-screen funnyman and Grammy-winning musician brings his bluegrass band to the UK for the first time, to debut material from his new album, 'The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo'. Su...
The soprano Angela Gheorghiu joins the Philharmonia Orchestra under Ion Marin, with Marius Manea (tenor). Leonard Bernstein's 'Candide Overture'; Verdi's 'Parigi, o cara' ('La traviata'); Massenet'...
The bass-baritone Bryn Terfel joins Sinfonia Cymru and London Welsh Chorale under Gareth Jones to perform a devilish selection of arias celebrating the greatest villains from the worlds of opera an...
Vasily Petrenko conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra, with pianist Boris Giltburg. Mussorgsky arr Rimsky-Korsakov 'A Night on the Bare Mountain'; Grieg's Piano Concerto; and Shostakovich's Symphony ...
Algerian-born, French-raised rocker Taha returns with new album 'Bonjour', stuffed to the brim with his usual feisty, politically-engaged mix of rai, techno and rock. Ali Farka's desert blues-touti...
This free set following the Rachid Taha show is from Ethio-jazz legend Astatke, here with Afro-psych-jazz collective The Heliocemtrics. Plus Afrobeat pioneers Holmes and Vamanos (Secousse Sound Sys...
The rightful heir to the Buena Vista Social Club legacy, pianist Fonseca had the daunting job of filling his hero the late, great Ruben Gonzalez's shoes. He ended up becoming the star of the show. ...
Sultry Universal-singed chanteuse Gardot performs her dusky, folksy, blues-soaked songs from alluring recent album 'My One And Only Thrill'. Surviving a serious car crash, Gardot gained a feisty, i...
Haydn's Symphony No 22 ('The Philosopher'); Wagner's Prelude and 'Good Friday music', ('Parsifal'); Alfred Schnittke's Excerpts from 'The History of Dr Johann Faustus' (sung in German with English ...
The first couple of British jazz - altoist, , clarinetist, composer, arranger, film composer Sir Dankworth and extraordinary singer Dame Laine - here celebrate an unmatched and highly distinguished...
This annual exhibition showcases the best photojournalism of the past year. This year's competition attracted a record 96,268 entries from around the world, 196 of which are on display.
Actor, writer, musician and general icon for the counter culture masses Rollins brings his spoken word show back to London. Always thought-provoking, regularly funny it's always good to check in wi...
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