Back in March 2020 at the start of lockdown, we wanted to bring great music to everyone, everywhere while were unable to perform live. Even though concert halls were closed we brought the LSO to your living rooms, with a digital programme of archive streams of full concerts twice a week, live weekly lunchtime recitals, interviews, articles, playlists, and activities for young people and families.
Although the start of Autumn brought an easing of that situation and we were able to perform again to small socially distanced audiences, from 5 November to 2 December the UK was again in lockdown, with many places including London subject to tighter restrictions afterwards. We are fortunate to be able to continue to record our concerts at LSO St Luke's and stream them with our broadcast partners as planned: please visit the Autumn 2020 Season page for full details of these broadcasts. We are also able to expand our planned series of excerpts made available for free on YouTube each Sunday to include more full length concerts: please visit this page for details of these events, and do join in with the live chats!
In addition to these streamed concerts we will be bringing you more interesting articles, video snippets, quizzes and activities to enjoy from home. Please stay home, stay safe, and stay in touch.
Weekly content
Monday: Coffee Sessions
Tuesday: InstaQuiz
Wednesday: Archive Dive
Thursday: The Long Read
Friday: Friday Lunchtime Concerts
Saturday: Family Time
Sunday: YouTube Sundays
Live streams and YouTube Sundays
Full length concerts, brought to you by our streaming partners (via subscription or single ticket sales), plus weekly excerpts and concerts on our YouTube channel (free).
> Full details of all full length concerts
> YouTube Sundays
Coffee Sessions
Short performances, with music chosen by LSO musicians, Coffee Sessions are the perfect length for you to grab a cup of coffee and take a short break.
> Watch all of our Coffee Sessions
LSO Discovery: Activities for Schools, Families and Young People
Fun, creative music-based tasks for young people, to continue learning whether you’re at home or at school - including our new concert for Key Stage 2 pupils, their teachers and their families, streaming on YouTube from Wednesday 18 November at 11am.
> Explore our Resources
Read
Blog posts, interviews, composer timelines and articles by music writers.
> Read them all on our blog
Listen
Get some listening inspiration from our themed playlists, recommendations, and our Discographer Philip Stuart’s picks from the archive.
> Get some listening inspiration
Watch
Delve deeper into the music with interviews, performances and behind-the-scenes clips from lockdown and from our archives.
> Explore our videos
Movie & Book Recommendations
Each week during Lockdown 1, we recommended one great film from the hundreds for which the LSO has recorded music – time to revisit these for your stay in Saturday nights! Plus our Stage Manager Nathan brought together a selection of his favourite audiobooks.
> Explore our Movie Night Recommendations
> Truck Drivers’ Book Club
Support the LSO's Future
The importance of music and the arts has never been more apparent than in recent months, as we’ve been inspired, comforted and entertained throughout this unprecedented period.
As we emerge from the most challenging period of a generation, please consider supporting the LSO's Always Playing Appeal to sustain the Orchestra, allow us to perform together again on stage and to continue sharing our music with the broadest range of people possible.
Every donation will help to support the LSO’s future.
