The second BMW LSO Open Air Classics. The London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev give a free concert in Trafalgar Square.

Following the outstandingly successful first open-air, free concert in May 2012, the London Symphony Orchestra in partnership with BMW and the Mayor of London is returning to Trafalgar Square this year. The next annual BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert, which last year attracted an audience estimated in the press to be up to 10,000 people, will take place in the square on Monday 27 May 2013, Spring Bank Holiday Monday, at 6.30 pm. Principal Conductor of the LSO, Valery Gergiev will conduct an all-Berlioz programme. The aim of BMW LSO Open Air Classics is to bring outstanding music performed in the open air – free for everyone in an informal atmosphere.

Gergiev and the LSO will perform Berlioz’s Overture Le corsaire, and Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. In a performance of a specially arranged version of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique by Gareth Glyn 80 young musicians including conservatoire students and LSO On Track young musicians from LSO Discovery, the Orchestra’s award-winning music education and community programme, will play alongside the LSO players. LSO animateur and composer Rachel Leach will present the concert from the stage, guiding the audience through the music. Large screens will be mounted on either side of the stage to allow the audience to witness the concert up close.

Young Londoners who have benefited from the Mayor's Music Fund will be also attending the concert. The charity gives support to young people with musical potential whose families cannot always meet the cost of instrumental tuition, and provides opportunities for them to meet and even play with professionals.

Valery Gergiev has commented:

“I am delighted to return to Trafalgar Square with the London Symphony Orchestra after our outstanding success last year. Performing Berlioz’s brilliant Symphonie fantastique to a vast crowd of every age in one of London’s iconic locations is again a unique opportunity to reach a new audience beyond the concert hall. The inspired partnership of BMW and the LSO has created the experience of the music of a great orchestra free, for everyone – I am thrilled.”

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:
“It's fantastic to have Valery Gergiev and the LSO returning to Trafalgar Square. I have no doubt the chance to listen to stirring music in this incomparable location will again draw large crowds. It's a terrific opportunity for even more people to experience classical music. I'm especially pleased that some of the Mayor's Music Scholars will get to meet members of the orchestra and hope it will spur them in their ambitions to become great musicians themselves.”

Dr Ian Robertson (HonDSc) Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, has said:
“The tremendous success of the ‘BMW LSO Open Air Classics’ premiere at Trafalgar Square in May 2012 confirms once again our appreciation for this long-term cooperation. With the LSO we have not only a highly valuable partner, but also another first-class orchestra to offer open live concerts in London, alongside those already offered to audiences in Munich and Berlin. We are looking forward to working together over the coming years and to further musical open-air highlights!”

Kathryn McDowell Managing Director of the LSO, has said:

“Playing to over 10,000 people at the BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert in Trafalgar Square was a major highlight of 2012 for the LSO and we are delighted to be returning to the heart of London again this year with Valery Gergiev and the LSO performing Symphonie fantastique in an all Berlioz programme. In BMW we have found a partner who shares our enthusiasm and desire to build on last year’s success and bring the thrill of orchestral music to thousands more people. The LSO is grateful to the Mayor of London for supporting this event and together we look forward to establishing this free open air concert as an annual highlight in London’s cultural diary”.

Ends

Notes to Editors

London Symphony Orchestra

In addition to its season at the Barbican, the Orchestra’s London home, the LSO has annual residencies at New York’s Lincoln Center, Paris  Salle Pleyel and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The LSO also tours extensively throughout Europe and Japan and has recently visited India, China and the Middle East.  The LSO was the Orchestra which played at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Outside the concert hall, the LSO is set apart from other international orchestras by its depth of commitment to music education, reaching over 60,000 people each year. The award-winning programme, LSO Discovery, works locally, nationally and internationally, with thriving community projects both in London and the UK and on tour. LSO Live is the Orchestra’s record label and has released 80 recordings with many of the world’s leading conductors including Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons and the late Mstislav Rostropovich.

The LSO was the first symphony orchestra ever to record a film soundtrack, with Sir Arthur Bliss’s score for Things to Come in 1935. It has since built up a reputation as the world’s pre-eminent film orchestra and has recorded landmark soundtracks such as Henry V (William Walton, 1944), and Star Wars (John Williams, 1977). Recent film scores include Dreamworks’ Christmas hit Rise Of The Guardians and Kathryn Bigelow’s latest critically acclaimed Zero Dark Thirty, as well as four Harry Potter films, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Valery Gergiev LSO Principal Conductor
Valery Gergiev is one of the world’s most electrifying and charismatic musical personalities and his thrilling performances are much anticipated. Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra since January 2007, Valery Gergiev performs regularly with the LSO at the Barbican, at the Proms, the Edinburgh Festival as well as on regular tours of Europe, North America and Asia.

His inspired leadership of the Mariinsky Theatre since 1988 has taken the Mariinsky ensembles to 45 countries and has brought universal acclaim to this legendary institution, now in its 228th season.

Valery Gergiev’s many awards include Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, a Grammy, the Dmitri Shostakovich Award, the Golden Mask Award, People’s Artist of Russia Award, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award, Sweden’s Polar Music Prize, Netherlands’ Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion, Valencia’s Silver Medal, the Herbert von Krajan Prize and the French Order of the Legion of Honour.

BMW’s Cultural Commitment
For over 40 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in more than 100 cultural partnerships worldwide. The focus of this long-term commitment to culture is modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design. BMW has worked with artists such as Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Zubin Metha, Daniel Barenboim and Anna Netrebko and commissioned architects such as Karl Schwanzer, Zaha Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au. In London, BMW in partnership with Tate has installed BMW Tate Live that features innovative live performances and events including live web broadcast, in-gallery performance, seminars and workshops, and supports Frieze Art Fair. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all the cultural activities it is involved in for granted – as this is just as essential for groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/culture and www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview 

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years.

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