Carnegie Hall

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere—from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world. The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for quality, ambition, and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone. The LSO performs some 70 concerts every year as resident orchestra at the Barbican, with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J. Thomas. The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo, and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and a growing presence across Australasia. Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community program, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music. The orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique program, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, and visiting schools, hospitals, and community spaces. The home of much of this work is LSO St. Luke’s, the LSO’s venue on Old Street. In 2025, the LSO will open up the venue’s facilities to more people than ever before, with new state-of-the-art recording facilities and dedicated spaces for LSO Discovery.

The LSO’s record label, LSO Live, is a leader among orchestra-owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance in a catalogue of more than 200 acclaimed recordings, and reaching millions through streaming services and online broadcasts. The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, and has made more recordings than any other orchestra—over 2,500 projects to date—across film, video games, and bespoke audio collaborations.

Through inspiring music, learning programs, and digital innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall. And thanks to the generous support of The City of London Corporation, Arts Council England, corporate supporters, trusts and foundations, and individual donors, the LSO is able to continue sharing extraordinary music with as many people as possible, across London and around the world.

For more information about LSO Live, please visit lsolive.lso.co.uk.

One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspirational performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Sir Antonio Pappano is chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 2002 until 2024. He is music director emeritus of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, having served as music director from 2005–2023. Mr. Pappano was appointed music director of Oslo’s Den Norske Opera in 1990, and from 1992–2002 served as music director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. From 1997–1999, he was principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Pappano is in demand as an opera conductor at the highest international level, including with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna and Berlin state operas, Bayreuth and Salzburg festivals, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Teatro alla Scala, and he has appeared as a guest conductor with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras, and Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. He maintains a particularly strong relationship with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Highlights of the 2024–2025 season and beyond include return visits to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, as well as to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for a new production of Die Walküre. In his first season as chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Pappano takes the orchestra on a wide-ranging tour to the US, Japan, Korea, and China, as well as to major European capitals and festivals. This collaboration also includes flagship concerts at London’s Barbican featuring concert performances of Puccini’s La rondine and Strauss’s Salome, and symphonic repertoire that includes Mahler’s and Walton’s first symphonies, Holst’s The Planets, Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, and Vaughan Williams’s First and Ninth symphonies as part of a Vaughan Williams recording cycle for LSO Live.

Since becoming the youngest person ever to win gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of 18 in 2022, Yunchan Lim’s ascent to international stardom has been meteoric. Conductor Marin Alsop has stated, “Yunchan is that rare artist who brings profound musicality and prodigious technique organically together.”

In the years following his Cliburn win, Mr. Lim made successful orchestral debuts with the New York, Los Angeles, and Munich philharmonics; Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; and Chicago, Lucerne, Boston, Tokyo, and BBC symphony orchestras, among others. Recital appearances include performances at Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, and the Verbier Festival, among other major stages.

Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include orchestral debuts with the National and London symphony orchestras, Vienna and Berlin radio symphony orchestras, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and WDR Symphony Orchestra, as well as return engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre de Paris. This season also sees his recital debut at the Kennedy Center, and a return to Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Lim is an exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, and his acclaimed debut studio album, featuring Chopin’s Études, Op. 10 and Op. 25, has gone double platinum in South Korea and topped classical charts around the world. His previous releases include Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (Steinway & Sons); Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” (Universal Music Group); and his appearance on KBS’s 2020 Young Musicians of Korea album.

Born in Siheung, Korea, Mr. Lim began piano lessons at age seven. At 13, he was accepted into the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, where he met his teacher and mentor, Minsoo Sohn. In 2019, at age 15, he became the youngest person to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition. He currently studies with Minsoo Sohn at the New England Conservatory.