The viola: an often-overlooked instrument within the Orchestra. This October, as the focus of the LSO Artist Portrait, French viola player Antoine Tamestit is on a mission to change that and make people fall in love with the instrument. The repertoire over three concerts at the Barbican, and four BBC Radio 3 recitals for viola and ensemble at LSO St Luke's, couldn't do more to show audiences the wide range of sound, emotions and personalities of the viola.

On Sunday 31 October Tamestit performs Jörg Widmann's Viola Concerto. In this interview by Ariane Todes, Tamestit tells us how this theatrical, colourful and emotional, concerto written especially for him came about, and what we can expect from a piece where the violist quite literally travels through the Orchestra.

On 28 October Antoine Tamestit returns to the Barbican stage as part of his LSO Artist Portrait. The star viola player performs William Walton’s Viola Concerto and Robin Ticciati conducts Brahms Symphony No 4. During his lifetime William Walton had a long and close relationship with the LSO. Read on to discover more about the composer, his history with the LSO and his majestic Viola Concerto.

This Saturday, composer, filmmaker and LSO Jerwood Composer+ participant Des Oliver unveils two movements of a brand new piece, The Diasporic Quartets, musical portraits of four British-based composers from the African diaspora. Plus we’ll hear music by the four composers themselves, in a carefully curated evening exploring influence and heritage.

Ahead of the concert, we talked to Des Oliver about his musical influences, curating his concert at LSO St Luke’s and what else is keeping him busy.

This October the LSO showcases the wistful Romanticism of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. Daniel Harding and the LSO bring Dvořák’s sounds of nature to life across two concerts at the Barbican on Sunday 10 October and Sunday 31 October. 

Harding conducts a selection of the composer's Symphonic Poems, music inspired by Karel Jaromir’s 'Kytice' ballads. On Sunday 10 October the LSO performed The Wild Dove, and on on Sunday 31 October Harding is joined by Antoine Tamestit for the finale of his Artist Portrait  in a programme featuring Jörg Widmann’s Viola Concerto and two more Symphonic Poems In der Natur and The Golden Spinning Wheel.