Short performances, with music chosen by LSO musicians, performed and recorded at home. Coffee Sessions are released every Monday morning and are the perfect length for you to grab a cup of coffee and take a short break.
Monday 21 September
Time to jazz up your morning (sorry!) and enjoy a coffee break with the LSO Percussion Ensemble. Our final Coffee Session – the 22nd since we started these back during lockdown! – is the third movement of Gwilym Simcock's Suite for Percussion Ensemble, recorded a month ago during our Summer Shorts series at LSO St Luke's.
The Summer Shorts broadcasts were made possible by the generous support of our Technical Partner, Yamaha Professional Audio, and this concert featured an all-Yamaha instrument line-up, including Yamaha's flagship CFX Concert Grand Piano.
Monday 14 September
Two works for you to chill out with in your afternoon coffee break today, performed by husband and wife duo Rhys Watkins and Rowena Calvert: Wieniawski's Etude Caprice and the beautiful Deep River arranged by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Monday 7 September
Summer is on the wane now and we're into our Autumn season, but here's a last wistful look back at those balmy evenings. Belinda McFarlane (violin), Jennie Brown (cello) and Elizabeth Burley (piano) perform Judith Lang Zaimont's Nocturne from her Russian Summer Piano Trio. Grab a coffee and close your eyes for a minute... ahhhhhh
Monday 31 August
It's a holiday Monday (here in England, at least), so the whole day is one big break. Here are 10 minutes of calm to help you through if it's all getting a bit crazy... Our Principal Oboes Juliana and Olivier, accompanied by Principal Bassoon Daniel and harpsichordist Peter, performed Jan Dismas Zelenka's Trio Sonata No 1 at their Summer Shorts concert in July, and here are two movements of it. Enjoy!
Monday 24 August
Co-Leader Carmine Lauri and his daughter Francesca perform three works for you in today's Coffee Session, De Falla's Danse Espagnol, Lili Boulanger's Cortège and CC White' Levee Dance. Their performance was recorded at LSO St Luke's at the end of July at their Summer Shorts concert. Enjoy with a brew this Monday morning.
Monday 17 August
Daniel Kidane's Dappled Light, written during lockdown, represents light coming through after a dark period of time. It's performed here by Maxine Kwok and Julián Gil Rodríguez, and recorded during July at our Summer Shorts series – with socially distanced audience – at LSO St Luke's. Enjoy a morning break and today's LSO Coffee Session.
Monday 10 August
This week's Coffee Session has come not a moment too soon for Principal Flute Gareth Davies, who seems to be having great difficulty waking up...
Monday 3 August
Up on their roof, Principal Oboe Juliana Koch and Principal E-flat Clarinet Chi-Yu Mo perform Richard Rodney Bennett's Crosstalk, originally written for two clarinets. They also discover that there are never quite enough clothes pegs...
Monday 27 July
Something a little different for this week's Coffee Session, featuring violinists Clare Duckworth and Tom Norris, violist Malcolm Johnston and cellist Eve-Marie Caravassilis. Perfect for your morning cuppa.
Monday 20 July
This short performance features LSO Principal Oboe Juliana Koch and pianist Simon Lepper performing works by Schumann and Silvestrini. Take a break and enjoy. This piece was performed as part of Juliana and Simon's online recital for the LSO Patrons, filmed at LSO St Luke's.
Monday 13 July
Second Horn Angela Barnes and pianist Caroline Jaya-Ratnam perform Hunter's Moon by Gilbert Vinter for our twelfth Coffee Session this week. The piece was performed as part of Angela and Caroline's online recital for the LSO Friends at LSO St Luke's.
Monday 6 July
For this week's Coffee Session, we welcome LSO violin Rhys Watkins with his wife Rowie on cello (and their little baby cooing in the background! ), performing an arrangement by composer Simon Parkin of Paganini's Caprice No 24. Grab your flat white and enjoy!
Monday 29 June
We have reached our 10th LSO Coffee Session. This week we have a specially recorded performance from LSO Principal Harp Bryn Lewis. He is performing the first movement of Street Through A Window a piece written in lockdown by Joe Bates following workshops as part of our Panufnik Composers Scheme. We hope that you enjoy the great intros and demos from Joe and Bryn, and can take a quiet moment to enjoy this piece on a busy day.
The LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme was devised by the Orchestra in association with Lady Panufnik, in memory of her late husband, the composer Sir Andrzej Panufnik, and generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust.
Monday 22 June
In our ninth LSO Coffee Session we have a cross-continental collaboration between LSO double bass player Jani Pensola, LSO violinist Julián Gil Rodríguez and Jarmo Julkunen. They perform an arrangement of a Finnish tango by Toivo Kärki. It's a tango... but not as you know it!
Monday 15 June
Today it is a family affair in the Coffee Sessions. LSO Co-Leader Carmine Lauri invites you to his debut performance of Henryk Wieniawski's Souvenir de Posen Op 3, accompanied by his daughter, Francesca Lauri.
Monday 8 June
We have reached week 7 in our Coffee Sessions. This week our Principal Percussion Neil Percy performs Locke Down a piece that he composed for percussionist Joe Locke. So, grab a cup of something and enjoy!
Monday 1 June
In this week’s coffee session LSO Principal Flute Gareth Davies will have you seeing double as he is joined by a familiar face to play a movement from W F Bach's Duo for two flutes in F major.
Monday 25 May
For our fifth Coffee Session LSO Co-Leader Carmine Lauri invites us into his home this week for a feast of Spanish food and music, with Zapateado by Pablo de Sarasate featuring Simon Hester on piano.
Monday 18 May
This week's edition of the LSO Coffee Sessions features LSO violinists Julián Gil Rodríguez and Alix Lagasse who perform Diaz's El Caleruno. Grab a coffee, sit back and take a journey to Bogotá, Colombia this Monday. We hope you enjoy.
Monday 11 May
LSO Co-Leader Carmine Lauri invites you into his home for this week's Coffee Session. Performing Henryk Wieniawski's Polonaise de Concert Op 4, accompanied by pianist Simon Hester. Pop the kettle on, and sit back and enjoy.
Monday 4 May
In this week's session, LSO Violin Rhys Watkins and cellist Rowena Calvert perform Csárdás by Italian composer Vittorio Monti. We hope you enjoy!
Monday 27 April
Our very first Coffee Session features LSO violinists Alix Lagasse and Julian Gil Rodriguez who perform an arrangement of the last movement of Vivaldi's Concerto grosso in D minor.
