Events Calendar
Symphony of Shadows: Shostakovich 7
Sibelius Finlandia
Weill Four Walt Whitman Songs
Shostakovich Symphony No.7, ‘Leningrad’
Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Roderick Williams OBE Baritone
As Hitler’s armies surrounded the city of Leningrad, and bombs rained down on a starving population, Dmitri Shostakovich sat down and – somehow – composed his Seventh Symphony. Written for massed battalions of musicians, this is music from the front line: a roar of defiance from an unbreakable city. You can hear it this afternoon conducted by Vasily Petrenko, whose recording of the piece was described by one critic as ‘devastating’. It’s a stupendous climax to a concert that’s all about struggle and resistance: whether it’s Sibelius defying Russian imperialism with a mighty hymn to his native Finland or the poet Walt Whitman’s pleas for tolerance, set to music by the exiled Kurt Weill. Singing them today is the fabulous British baritone Roderick Williams: a born communicator at the heart of a truly epic programme.
This performance is funded in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, Inc., New York, NY
This performance is part of Southbank Centre's Multitudes festival, where world-class orchestras join forces with some of the most ambitious and exciting artists, performers and creatives practising today. To visually interpret this powerful symphony, a three-channel video installation by filmmaker Ilya Shagalov and art director Kirill Serebrennikov accompanies the orchestral performance, bringing Shostakovich’s music into the modern era through cutting-edge technology.
Commissioned by the Southbank Centre and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Large print versions and digital formats of the programme for this concert are available on request for customers with accessibility requirements. Please email your request to Doran Crowhurst crowhurstd@rpo.co.uk at least one full week before the performance.
Ticket information
Doors: 2.15pm
Concert starts: 3pm
Tickets from £15*
Under 18 offers apply: £5 for children aged 7–17 in price bands B–E.
This event is not recommended for children under 5. All customers aged 14 years or below must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or over.
Student tickets available: book via Student Pulse.
*Booking fees apply online (£3.50) and over the phone (£4). There are no booking fees for Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles. For group bookings of 10+, a £1 fee per ticket applies (capped at £30 per booking).
*Prices are subject to change: book as early as you can to secure the best choice of seats at the best possible prices.
RPO Club
RPO Club members save 50% on two tickets per London Season concert and receive a host of other benefits – phone 020 7608 8840 or email rpoclub@rpo.co.uk to find out more.
Groups
Groups of just 6+ save up to 35% – phone 020 7608 8840 or email groups@rpo.co.uk to find out more.
Tickets for RPO Brent Members
A limited number of tickets for this performance will be available at a special price for RPO Brent members in price bands B–E.
To book tickets, members should:
- click on the 'Buy Tickets' link above to be transferred to Southbank Centre’s website, followed by 'Book Now'
- click in the top right-hand corner where it says ‘Have a Promo Code?’ and insert your promo code (which was included in your welcome email)
- select your preferred tickets from the available seats.
Tickets will only be available once the event is on sale.
Tickets are limited, so if the offer is not applied, that may be because there are no longer any tickets available for this offer.
Find out more about the RPO Brent membership and sign up here.
