Sir Simon Rattle presents people’s concert in Trafalgar Square.

London. Trafalgar Square will be transformed into a giant music stage for Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra to present BMW CLASSICS on Sunday 1 July 2018. This free summer concert marks the renewal of a continuing, long-term partnership between BMW and the London Symphony Orchestra, bringing access to world-class music to everyone in one of the world’s most iconic public spaces.

With an audience in the square of up to 10,000 people, the concert will be live streamed for the first time exclusively on YouTube, making the concert accessible to music fans worldwide. The London Symphony Orchestra regularly live streams its concerts free from the Barbican Centre. This occasion marks the first live stream of the orchestra’s iconic free summer concert.

Simon Rattle will take to the stage to conduct 100 musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra, alongside 50 talents aged 11–18 from the LSO On Track programme in East London, and musicians from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. The programme will feature music on a theme of dance and ballet by Dvořák, Massenet, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky and includes a world premiere by 29 year-old composer and pianist Kate Whitley, founder of Peckham Car Park’s Multi-Story Orchestra.

Commenting today, Simon Rattle said: “This is a dream concert for me on a stage like no other. I hope that the excitement of the musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra playing alongside these brilliant young Londoners in such an extraordinary place will fire people’s imaginations. And prove that, inside or outside the walls of a concert hall, experiencing great music is for everyone. I am truly grateful to BMW and the Mayor for London for making this possible.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This summer Trafalgar Square will be transformed into the capital’s biggest concert hall so that visitors, Londoners and people viewing online can enjoy an incredible free performance by Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra. They’ll also be able to enjoy the world premiere of Kate Whitley’s Sky Dances – a new work by an emerging composer. ‘I’m delighted that 50 outstanding young London musicians will join the professional ranks of the LSO for this special performance which will showcase the next generation of musical talent in the capital and firmly reiterate London’s position as a global capital of music.”

Kate Whitley said: “I am inspired by the idea of working with young people as performers and integrating them with professional musicians. To create a work for these musicians on this stage right in the centre of London is a thrilling challenge for me.”

Candice Morrissey, Head of Music Partnerships in EMEA at YouTube, said: “We echo the sentiment of Sir Simon Rattle that great music is for everyone; giving people access to incredible and engaging content no matter where they are is core to our mission at YouTube. It’s wonderful to see a world class cultural institution like the LSO using the YouTube platform to broaden its audience, and we are thrilled to partner on live streaming their ‘people’s concert’ in Trafalgar Square to people all around the world.”

BMW Classics is part of a series of outdoor concerts that BMW Group is partner of in London, Munich and Berlin.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BMW CLASSICS

London Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 1 July 2018 5pm

Trafalgar Square, London

Free, no ticket required. Early arrival essential. No glass or furniture in the square.

Featuring music from Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dances”, Massenet’s “Le Cid”, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” and a world premiere by Kate Whitley – “Sky Dances”.

lso.co.uk

Join the audience online in a free exclusive YouTube livestream: youtube.com/lso

lso.co.uk/bmwclassics
@londonsymphony
#bmwclassics

For further questions please contact:
Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 247 53

Leonie Laskowski

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-89-382-45382

www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

About the London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and partnership. With an inimitable signature sound, the LSO’s mission is to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of people. The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982, giving 70 symphonic concerts there every year. The Orchestra works with a family of artists that includes some of the world’s greatest conductors – Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director, Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth as Principal Guest Conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor Laureate and André Previn as Conductor Emeritus. Through LSO Discovery, it is a pioneer of music education, offering musical experiences to 60,000 people every year and over 100 live events at its music education centre LSO St Luke’s on Old Street. With the formation of its own record label LSO Live in 1999 the LSO pioneered a revolution in recording live orchestral music. The LSO strives to embrace new digital technologies – having successfully moved into digital film, Blu-Ray Audio, downloads, streaming and virtual reality – and it continues to innovate with platforms such as LSO Play, a web-based video player that allows people to observe the Orchestra from different angles. The LSO is also a highly successful creative enterprise, with 80% of all funding self-generated.

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About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment
For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group's Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin, Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business.

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

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The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to € 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a workforce of 129,932 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based 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.

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