Stories

Dreams, Myths and Histories: John Adams' Harmonielehre

A deep dive into John Adams’ symphonic epic.

Five things you might not know about Prokofiev's Symphony No 3

Sergei Prokofiev’s creativity was evident from his early years as a child prodigy, when he was said to have composed his first opera at the age of nine. The composer believed his Symphony No 3 to be one of his greatest creative achievements (and he was right!), but how well do you know the piece? Read on to find out more about the story behind this fascinating work.

LSO St Luke’s: 20th Anniversary

March 2023 marks 20 years since LSO St Luke’s first opened to the public. In that time, we have been thrilled to welcome thousands of performers, creatives and audience members, from London and further afield.

Five Questions with Lisa Batiashvili: Beethoven Edition

The History of LSO St Luke's: Frequently Asked Questions

Delve into the history of LSO St Luke’s, our venue on Old Street housed in a deconsecrated Hawksmoor Church.

Six Questions with Eric Lu: Beethoven Edition

We caught up with Eric Lu about what initially attracted him to the piano in his early years and the significance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music, ahead of his concert debut with the Orchestra next week.

Five things you should know about Kurt Weill's Lady in the Dark (and the Symphonic Nocturne)

Have you heard of it before? Read on to find out more about the piece and the story behind it.

Seven things you didn’t know about Sibelius’ Violin Concerto 

Jean Sibelius’ only concerto is considered a staple piece of violin repertoire and amongst the Finnish composer’s greatest works. But how well do you really know it? This list reveals some interesting facts about the music that you might not be familiar with.  

Basically Beethoven: Four questions for Ilker Arcayürek

Five Reasons to Love Janáček's Jenůfa

There’s lots to love about Jenůfa, the opera that propelled Czech composer Leoš Janáček to fame, from its dramatic plot and multi-dimensional characters, to the colourful, folk-inspired music.

Theories of Forgetting: Hollie Harding

On Saturday 14 January at LSO St Luke’s, composer, curator and LSO Jerwood Composer+ participant Hollie Harding presents an evening of music inspired by time and memory including the world premiere of her brand new piece Theories of Forgetting. Here Hollie explains her approach to curating the evening, and how each piece connects itself back to the impermanent yet enduring nature of memory over time.

Joel Thompson on To Awaken the Sleeper: 'Baldwin asks us to build a new world'

Joel Thompson is an Atlanta-based composer, artist and educator best-known in the US for his 2015 choral work Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, that sets the final words of seven Black men who were killed by police or authority figures. On 6 November at the Barbican, London, we perform another of his pieces in the UK for the first time, To Awaken the Sleeper, written for orchestra and narrator. Joel introduced this new piece, and the inspiration behind it, to us.