LPO to perform outside the Royal Academy of Arts
Martin Cullingford
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The Annenberg Courtyard of Burlington House has, in recent years, become used to hosting art in a variety of forms. Previously these have taken the form of sculptures, by the likes of Barry Flanagan, Jake and Dinos Chapman and Damien Hirst. But on September 1 it will play host to a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Held with the Royal Academy of Arts, which occupies the main, northern wing of the Burlington House complex, the event - entitled Music in the Courtyard - will coincide with the RA’s ‘From Paris: A Taste for Impressionism’ exhibition. Works by Ravel, Chausson, Duparc and Dukas will feature on the programme, while the orchestra will also be joined by soprano Danielle de Niese. Explaining the links between the exhibition and concert, MaryAnne Stevens, co-curator of the exhibition, said ‘The period in which the masterpieces in the exhibition and the music presented in the concert were created was one of intense innovation and creative richness in France.’
Tickets, which cost £12, are available exclusively through a ballot on the Guardian website. The ballot closes on July 6, but those unlucky in applying for tickets can stream the concert at the newspaper’s website live and for 14 days afterwards.
The event follows a number of high-profile initiatives by London’s classical music organisations to reach audiences in the open air, including the London Symphony Orchestra’s recent concert in the Trafalgar Square.