First Performances

1905 World premiere, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, conducted by the composer

1908 London premiere, Elgar’s Symphony No 1, conducted by Hans Richter

1908 World premiere, Delius’ A Dance of Life, conducted by Enrique Fernández Arbós

1909 World premiere, Delius’ Dance Rhapsody No 1, conducted by the composer

1910 UK premiere, Scriabin’s Le poeme de l’extase, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

1910 World premiere, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, conducted by the composer

1912 UK premiere, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture, conducted by Wassily Safonoff

1913 World premiere, Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad, conducted by Arthur Nikisch

1913 World premiere, Elgar’s Falstaff, conducted by the composer

1915 World premiere, Delius’ North Country Sketches, conducted by Thomas Beecham

1918 World premiere, the first revised version of Vaughan Williams’ ‘London’ Symphony, conducted by Adrian Boult

1919 World premiere, Elgar’s Cello Concerto with soloist Felix Salmond, conducted by the composer

1920 The first complete performance of Holst’s The Planets, conducted by Albert Coates at the Queen’s Hall

1920 World premiere, the second revised version of Vaughan Williams’ ‘London’ Symphony

1922 UK premiere, Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist, conducted by Albert Coates

1922 World premiere, Bax’s Symphony No 1, conducted by Albert Coates

1922 World premiere, Bliss’ A Colour Symphony, conducted by the composer

1923 UK premiere, Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (this arrangement originally called The Paintings from the Picture Show), conducted by Serge Koussevitzky

1925 London premiere, Respighi’s Pines of Rome, conducted by Albert Coates

1929 London premiere, Rachmaninoff’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the composer as soloists, conducted by Albert Coates

1930 World premiere, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 5, conducted by the composer

1931 World premiere, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, conducted by Malcolm Sargent in Leeds

1931 UK premiere of Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird, conducted by the composer

1934 World premiere, Walton’s Symphony No 1 (first three movements), conducted by Sir Hamilton Harty

1938 World premiere, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, combined London Orchestras conducted by Sir Henry Wood

1943 World premiere, Britten’s Matinées Musicales (Suite No 2), conducted by Anatole Fistoulari

1946 World premiere, Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra featured in a film called Instruments of the Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Sargent

1946 World premiere, Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra with Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick, conducted by Adrian Boult

1953 UK premiere, Strauss’ Symphonic Fragment, The Legend of Joseph, conducted by Eugene Goossens

1953 UK premiere, Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie with soloists Yvonne Loriod and Ginette Martenot, conducted by Walter Goehr

1956 UK premiere, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied, conducted by Walter Goehr

1962 World premiere, Alexander Goehr’s Violin Concerto with Manoug Parikian, conducted by Antal Dorati

1963 World premiere, Khachaturian’s Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by George Hurst

1963 UK premiere, Hans Werner Henze’s Symphony No 5, conducted by the composer

1963 World premiere, Tippett’s Concerto for Orchestra, conducted by Colin Davis at the Edinburgh Festival

1964 World premiere, Henze’s Ariosi, conducted by Colin Davis

1964 World premiere, Copland’s Music for a Great City, conducted by the composer

1965 World premiere, Britten’s Voices for Today, conducted by István Kertész, relayed from United Nations HQ in New York

1966 World premiere, Richard Rodney Bennett’s Symphony, conducted by István Kertész

1966 UK premiere, Bernstein’s ‘Jeremiah’ Symphony, conducted by Seiji Ozawa

1967 First Western performance, Shostakovich’s Second Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh, conducted by Eugene Ormandy

1968 World premiere, Oliver Knussen’s Symphony No 1, conducted by the 15-year-old composer

1968 UK premiere, Aaron Copland’s Inscape, conducted by the composer

1969 UK premiere, Webern’s Three Pieces for Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez

1969 World premiere, the concert suite of Luigi Nono’s Intolleranza, conducted by Claudio Abbado

1970 World premiere, Benjamin Frankel’s Symphony No 7, conducted by André Previn

1970 World premiere, Previn’s Cello Concerto with Douglas Cummings, conducted by the composer

1971 London premiere, John McCabe’s Notturni ed Alba with Sheila Armstrong, conducted by André Previn

1971 World premiere, Ravi Shankar’s Sitar Concerto with the composer as soloists, conducted by André Previn

1971 London premiere, Shostakovich’s Symphony No 13 ‘Babi Yar’, conducted by André Previn

1972 World premiere, Michael Tippett’s Symphony No 3 with Heather Harper, conducted by Colin Davis

1973 World premiere, Krzyzstof Penderecki’s Symphony No 1, conducted by the composer

1973 World premiere, Bliss’s Metamorphic Variations, conducted by Leopold Stoko wski

1976 World premiere, Walton’s Varii Capricci, conducted by André Previn

1976 World premiere, Andrzej Panufnik’s Sinfonia di sfere, conducted by David Atherton

1977 World premiere, André Previn’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, conducted by the composer

1980 World premiere, Tippett’s Triple Concerto with György Pauk, Nobuko Imai and Ralph Kirshbaum, conducted by Colin Davis

1989 World premiere, Colin Matthews’ Quatrain, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

1989 UK premiere, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mlada, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

1991 World premiere, John Taverner’s The Repentant Thief with LSO Principal Clarinet Andrew Marriner, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

1992 World premiere, Panufnik’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by Hugh Wolff

1993 World premiere, Robert Saxton’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by Oliver Knussen

1994 World premiere, James MacMillan’s Britannia, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

1994 World premiere, Rodion Shchedrin’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by Seiji Ozawa

1994 European premiere, John Adams’ Violin Concerto with Gidon Kremer, conducted by Kent Nagano

1995 World premiere, Tippett’s The Rose Lake, conducted by Colin Davis

1995 World premiere, Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Three Kings, conducted by Richard Hickox

1996 World premiere, James MacMillan’s Cello Concerto with Mstislav Rostropovich, conducted by Colin Davis

1996 World premiere, James Macmillan’s The World’s Ransoming with LSO Principal Cor Anglais Christine Pendrill, conducted by Kent Nagano

1997 World premiere, Bernstein’s A White House Cantata, conducted by Kent Nagano

1997 World premiere, James MacMillan’s‘Vigil’ Symphony, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich

1997 World premiere, Paul McCartney’s Standing Stone, conducted by Lawrence Foster

2000 World premiere, George Benjamin’s Palimpsest, conducted by Pierre Boulez

2002 European premiere, Previn’s Violin Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter, conducted by the composer

2003 World premiere, George Benjamin’s Shadowlines, conducted by the composer

2003 World premiere, James MacMillan’s A Deep But Dazzling Darkness at LSO St Luke’s, conducted by the composer

2003 UK premiere, Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, conducted by the composer

2004 LSO Centenary Year commissions include: Dmitri Smirnov’s Triple Concerto No 2 for double bass, harp and violin; Richard Bissill’s Sinfonia concertante for trumpet, horn and clarinet; Karl Jenkins’s LSO Centenary Concertante for percussion, flute and piano; Huw Watkins’ LSO Centenary Concertante for bassoon, violin and harp

2005 The LSO and UBS Sound Adventures scheme launches, giving 18 composers over three years the opportunity to compose for the LSO. Premieres include Tansy Davies’ Tilting and Luke Stoneham’s Proem

2006 World premieres through Sound Adventures scheme, Tim Garland’s Overture to the Life of a Real Boy, Joe Culter’s Ulf, James Olsen’s Composition (30 January 2006), Daniel Basford’s Shift, Bryn Harrison’s Shifting Light and Anna Meredith’s noisy

2007 World premiere, Jonathan Dove’s Stargazer, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

2007 British premiere, Sofia Gubaidulina’s Violin Concerto In tempus praesens with Anne-Sophie Mutter, conduted by André Previn

2008 World premiere, James MacMillian’s St John Passion, commissioned by the LSO for the 80th birthday of Colin Davis, who conducted

2008 European premiere, Matthias Pintscher’s Osiris, conducted by Pierre Boulez

2008 World premiere, Augusta Reid Thomas’ Helios Choros II, conducted by Daniel Harding

2009 Concert premiere, Tan Dan’s Internet Symphony ‘Eroica’, written for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project. The same concert also includes the European premiere of Tan Dun’s Piano Concerto with Lang Lang, both conducted by Tan Dun

2010 European premiere, John Adams’s City Noir, conducted by the composer.

2010 World premire, James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto with Vadim Repin

2010 World premiere, Eric Whitacre’s Songs of Immortality commissioned by the London Symphony Chorus, conducted by the composer

2011  World premiere, Tim Garland’s Concerto for Percussion, Saxophone and Orchestra, conducted by François-Xavier Roth

2012 UK premiere, Dutilleux’s Le temps l’horloge at the City of London Festival

2012 UK premiere, Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony (Symphony No 3) during the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad

2012 World premiere, Peter Maxwell Davies’ Fanfare: Her Majesty’s Welcome written for joint forces of LSO On Track and the LSO wind and brass players to perform at the Queen’s Medal for Music Gala Concert in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II

2013 World premiere, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Speranza commissioned by the LSO with support from Susie Thomson, conducted by Daniel Harding

2013 The first LSO Futures concert features two world premieres, Jason Yarde’s Modo Hit Blow and Colin Matthews’ Panufnik Variations, a work which contained ten variations based on a work by Andrzej Panufnik by ten Panufnik Composers Scheme alumni

2014 World premiere, Peter Maxwell Davies’ Symphony No 10, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano

2014 World premiere, Huw Watkins’ Flute Concerto performed by LSO Principal Flute Adam Walker

2014 World premiere, Sally Beamish’s Equal Voices marking 100 years since the start of World War I, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda

2015 World premiere, Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti, conducted by James Gaffigan

2015 UK premiere, Jonathan Dove’s The Monster in the Maze, a joint commission between LSO, Berlin Philharmonic and Aix-en-Provence Festival, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2016 World premiere (posthumous), Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Hogboon, an opera for children, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2017 World premiere, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Remembering: in memoriam Evan Scofield, a co-commission between the LSO, Berlin Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra supported by Susie Thomson, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2017 UK premiere, Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Håkan performed by its dedicatee Håkan Hardenberger, conducted by John Wilson

2017 World premiere, Helen Grime’s Fanfare, which opens Sir Simon Rattle’s first season as Music Director

2018 World premiere, Helen Grime’s Woven Space, expanded from her Fanfare, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2018 World premiere, Harrison Birtwistle’s Fanfare, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2018 World premiere, the orchestral version of James MacMillan’s All the Hills and Vales Along, written to mark the centenary of the end of World War I and commissioned by the LSO and 14-18 Now

2018 UK premieres, Philip Glass’ Third Piano Concerto and Steve Reich’s Music for Ensemble and Orchestra, conducted by Kristjan Järvi

2019 UK premiere, David Lang’s the public domain, performed by over 500 singers from the local community, the LSC and LSO Community Choir in the Barbican foyers, conducted by Simon Halsey and a team of ten choral conductors

2019 World premiere, Emily Howard’s Antisphere, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2021 World premiere, Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda

2021 World premiere, Soweto Kinch’s White Juju, conducted by Lee Reynolds

2022 World premiere, Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto No 2 ‘Scherben der Stille’ with Leonidas Kavakos, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2022 UK premiere, Wynton Marsalis’s Tuba Concerto with Ben Thomson, conducted by André J Thomas

2023 UK premiere, Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No 3 with Yuja Wang, conducted by François-Xavier Roth

2023 World premiere, Betsy Jolas’s Ces belles années …, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2024 World premiere, John Adams’ Frenzy, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle

2024 UK premiere, Thomas Adès Air – Homage to Sibelius (Violin Concerto) with Anne-Sophie Mutter, conducted by Thomas Adès

2024 UK premiere, Sally Beamish Distans: Concerto for Violin and Clarinet with Janine Jansen and Martin Fröst, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda