things to go to: the independent guide to the best classical events in London.
these events are mostly not run by through the noise. this is our guide to the best of what’s on: shows featuring musicians and music we love in extraordinary venues around town.
at the moment our events guide only covers London - we’re looking to expand across the UK when we’re able to, but for now it’s just noisenights which are nationwide.
Classical guitarist headlines The Jazz Cafe Camden
Alexandra Whittingham returns to London for a one-off performance in Camden’s Jazz Cafe, with a new programme featuring special guests
Solo piano in Soho cocktail bar
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason plays solo piano music by William Grant Still, Claude Debussy, and Sergei Prokofiev in Soho cocktail bar The Lower Third
Baroque music re-imagined by Nordic folk musicians
Scandinavian folk musicians Erik Rydvall and Olav Mjelva join British violin virtuoso Max Baillie for a unique take on Baroque music
The Bantu Ensemble at KOKO Camden
Fronted by virtuoso cellist Abel Selaocoe, The Bantu Ensemble bring their African, jazz and classical-inspired music to KOKO Camden
Royal Albert Hall's intimate gig space hosts violin recital
Violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason is joined by Junyan Chen on piano to perform a selection of his favourite music live in the Royal Albert Hall's Elgar Room
Free lunchtime performance at the Royal Opera House
Artists from The Royal Opera, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, and The Royal Ballet perform in the foyers and bar spaces of the Royal Opera House
Chamber music in South London bookshop
The Listening Project celebrate contemporary classical music at an intimate performance in Balham bookshop Backstory
Dance, poetry and projections accompany string ensemble
Viktoria Mullova and her ensemble journey through music, poetry and dance in an immersive show at the Barbican
East London pub hosts early music ensemble
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment return to Shadwell’s George Tavern with a programme of virtuoso music for the viol
Folk, jazz and classical music inspired by nature
Songs for the Earth perform nature-inspired music from Celtic, Nordic, North & South American, Eastern European and Middle-Eastern folk traditions
Violin recital on the Southbank
Music by three great Black composers and their contemporaries feature in a recital with Randall Goosby (violin) and Zhu Wang (piano) at the Southbank Centre
Concert in a tunnel under the Thames
DEBUT return to Rotherhithe’s Brunel Museum for another intimate classical concert in the Thames tunnel shaft
Chamber music with Chineke! in a clerkenwell cafe
Chi-chi Nwanoku and the soloists of Chineke! present double bass chamber works, including rarely heard arrangements of Florence Price and Franz Schubert
Song recital in an intimate arts club
British pianist Claire Habbershaw curates a multimedia recital with Rachel Roper of Ivor Gurney's music, his poetry, and his influences and inspirations
Film screening, Q&A, and live performance
Violinist Ronald Long chats with Up Close and Musical’s Shiry Rashkovsky about the making of Chevalier, a film about the rise of Joseph Bologne
Classical guitar live album launch in Hackney
Guitarist Thibaut Garcia launches his latest album El Bohemio, a tribute to the Paraguayan guitar virtuoso and composer Agustín Barrios
Solo piano recital in Waterloo arts club
Cyrill Ibrahim returns to Waterloo’s intimate 1901 Arts Club for a solo piano recital, performing music by Chopin, Debussy, and Mozart
Baroque music at Ye Olde Rose & Crown
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Night Shift series returns to Walthamstow’s Ye Olde Rose & Crown to present lesser-known Baroque-era composers
Mendelssohn Octet in Waterloo
EnSEmble26 are joined by London Symphony Orchestra leader Roman Simovic and other special guests for Mendelssohn, Ravel, and Bridge
Intimate classical concert in Shoreditch
DEBUT return to Shoreditch Treehouse for an intimate concert with Natasha Agarwal, Thomas Chenhall, Hannah Shilvock, and Sam Peña
Minimalism with Manchester Collective on the Southbank
Manchester Collective presents Steve Reich’s Different Trains plus a new work by Jasmin Kent Rodgman, followed by an immersive minimalist club night
String quartet perform in Kew Gardens greenhouse
The opening concert of the Nash Sessions - Kew Gardens’ new live music series - opens with the Morassi Quartet in the Nash Conservatory
French and Arabic classical songs with opera star
Multi-award-winning soprano Fatma Said performs French and Arabic classical songs in London's eclectic new live music venue, Lafayette
Philharmonia perform Mahler in Peckham
The Bold Tendencies 2023 live season closes with the Philharmonia Orchestra returning to perform Gustav Mahler's monumental First Symphony
Hoxton bar hosts instrumental and electronic performance
Counter Chamber’s instrumental and electronic series returns to Folklore Hoxton to showcase music by David Julyan, Anna Phoebe, and Soundbox Ensemble
New opera about the Bronte sisters debuts in Dalston
A brand new opera about the Brontë sisters, based on a play by Polly Teale and adapted by Lisa Logan, premieres at Grimeborn Festival
West African traditional and new music
Djembe and kora virtuoso Sidiki Dembélé is joined by Aboubakar Konate and Momo Sangaré for a set in a hidden Dalston beer garden
Solo piano in Peckham
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason returns to Bold Tendencies, Peckham for a solo piano recital, featuring music by Shostakovich, Beethoven, Liszt, and Price
Baroque meets minimalism at the BBC Proms
Violinist Thomas Gould and the Britten Sinfonia present Max Richter’s reimagining of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, blending baroque with contemporary minimalism
Art over adversity: the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra returns to London with a programme of music by Ukrainian composers, as well as Verdi and Beethoven