Ca. 12,000 people packed out Trafalgar Square for premiere of BMW LSO OPEN AIR CLASSICS. First concert in the new series on Saturday 12 May, 2012.

London. Ca. 12,000 Londoners and visitors of all ages enjoyed the first BMW LSO Open Air Classics free concert by the London Symphony Orchestra in Trafalgar Square on Saturday evening, 12 May. The Orchestra and Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev performed Stravinsky’s Fireworks, The Firebird, The Rite of Spring, and The Lite of Spring, an arrangement by Gareth Glyn in which 72 young musicians aged from 8 – 18 played alongside members of the LSO. All received an ovation from the capacity audience. As an encore, the Orchestra and Gergiev performed the Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.Two screens showed close-ups of the Orchestra, interviews with players and some of the young musicians who took part. The concert was presented by animateur Paul Rissmann, who guided the audience through the performance and invited them to clap along to the challenging rhythm of The Rite of Spring before the work was performed.

The concert was the first in a groundbreaking series of outdoor concerts by the London Symphony Orchestra in partnership with BMW. The next BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert will take place on 11 August 2013.

For questions please contact:

Dvora Lewis PR

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7435 9257

Email: dlpr@dvoralewis.com

Antonia Niederländer

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs / Spokesperson Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49 (0)89-382-10422, Fax: +49 (0)89-382-10881