London Symphony Orchestra

Colleagues and great friends, Sir Colin Davis and Mitsuko Uchida partnered each other in Beethoven Piano Concertos and Nielsen Symphonies in the LSO's 2010/11 season. Here they talk about the composers, the music and their working friendship. Sir Colin Davis passed away on 14 April 2013.

Sir Colin Davis talks about Handel's Messiah, which he conducted with the LSO at the Barbican in 2006. Sir Colin Davis died on 14 April 2013.

Sir Colin Davis talks about Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ, which he conducted with the LSO at the Barbican in 2006. Sir Colin Davis died on 14 April 2013.

Sir Colin Davis discusses music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Walton, which he conducted with the LSO in the 2008/09 season. Rob Cowan also contributes. Sir Colin Davis passed away on 14 April 2013.

Sir Colin Davis talks about Sibelius and Nielsen symphonies, which he conducted with the LSO during the 2009/10 season. Sir Colin Davis passed away on 14 April 2013.

On 27 March 2013 we celebrated the 10th birthday of LSO St Luke's, the London Symphony Orchestra's music education centre and venue on Old Street in London. This is a 10 minute documentary about the building, its origins and the inspiring work that now takes place inside. Edited, produced and directed by Tommy Pearson, Red Ted Productions. Music: Quirk by Karl Jenkins Published by Boosey & Hawkes Available on EMI Classics 500 2352 Gareth Davies, flute Neil Percy, percussion John Alley, piano London Symphony Orchestra/Karl Jenkins

Animateur Rachel Leach leads an ensemble of LSO players through the first movement of Francis Poulenc's Sonata for Horn, Trumpet and Trombone - one of the set works on the Edexcel A & AS Level syllabus. Specially recorded by LSO Discovery, this seminar is especially relevant to those sitting their exam in May 2013. Trumpet: Chris Deacon French Horn: Angela Barnes Trombone: Dudley Bright

On 27 March 2013 LSO St Luke's on Old Street in London turns 10 years old. We're celebrating with a 12-day festival from 21 March to 1 April. There's so much to enjoy, including appearances from the blazingly original and award-winning Aurora Orchestra and middle-eastern jazzer Dhafer Youssef; a host of concerts and activities toasting the LSO's renowned education and outreach programme LSO Discovery; masterclasses, open days, exhibitions ... and more! Find our more on the LSO website http://lso.co.uk/lsostlukes10 Produced, directed and edited by Red Ted Productions: http://www.redtedproductions.com

Berlioz: Grande Messe des morts Recorded live in St. Paul's Cathedral, June 2012 SACD now available to purchase: http://bit.ly/12BsgvX Sir Colin Davis Barry Banks (tenor) London Symphony Chorus London Philharmonic Choir London Symphony Orchestra

LSO first violin Maxine Kwok-Adams gives some important advice for string players to take note of when preparing for auditions.

Extract from Fauré's Requiem, vi. Libera me during rehearsal in May 2012 at the Church of St Giles Cripplegate Nigel Short, Tenebrae, London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble Fauré Requiem, Bach Partita, Chorales & Ciaconna available here http://bit.ly/XdMozG or on iTunes http://bit.ly/PB2rpH

Extract from Mahler's Symphony No 9: Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zuruckhaltend Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra Hybrid SACD - compatible with all CD players Mahler Symphonies Nos 1-9 is available here http://bit.ly/OQe4tK or on iTunes http://bit.ly/Rgk5wY

Rehearsal for Soundhub Sharing, Saturday 16th June, LSO St Luke's David Worswick: violin Neil Georgeson: piano

Soundhub Showcase Concert, Friday 22 June, LSO St Luke's Paul Silverthorne viola Block by Adam de la Cour Block came about through a mix of diverse influences over a two week period. The initial starting point was Freud's quote concerning the death drive (Todestrieb): "the hypothesis of a death instinct, the task of which is to lead organic life back into the inanimate state" ...which was then mixed in with some experiments with the octatonic scale; general writing by ear; and many moments of writer's block. Hora Spoitorilor by Emma-Ruth Richards Hora Spoitorilor explores one variation on the Romanian folk song of the same name that much of the thematic material for my new chamber opera is built on; the opera is a rescue story of one of the thousands of young Romanian girls that are sex trafficked into Britain every year. This image is from Vanessa Beecroft's sculptural performance in Spasimo Palermo, which Nic, the librettist (http://www.nicchalmers.co.uk) was greatly inspired by. Rite by Richard Bullen 'The viola is seemingly just a big violin but tuned a fifth lower. In reality the two instruments are worlds apart. They both have three strings in common, the A, D and G string. The high E-string lends the violin a powerful luminosity and metallic penetrating tone which is missing in the viola. The violin leads; the viola remains in the shade. In return the low C-string gives the viola a unique acerbity, compact, somewhat hoarse, with the aftertaste of wood, earth and tannic acid.' Gyorgy Ligeti, preface to Viola Sonata (1994) Part reflection on Ligeti's comment, part exploration of the ceremonial aspects of musical performance, Rite was written at the request of the talented young violist Diana Mathews who gave the first performance at St John the Bapist Church, Wimbledon in February 2012. It is designed to be performed in a large, resonant space.

Soundhub Showcase Concert, Friday 22 June, LSO St Luke's Paul Silverthorne viola Solo by Mark Simpson, Darren Bloom, Aaron Holloway-Nahum This piece was written at the beginning of the pilot of the LSO's Soundhub Scheme for an LSO Discovery Lunchtime concert. Embedded in the 'Soundhub' scheme is the idea of a community of collaborating composers. With this in mind, we decided to each write a short movement of this work, and each based our compositions (in various ways) upon a piece violist Paul Silverthorne was already playing in the lunchtime concert: Britten's Lachrymae. Club by Neil Luck Club is a personal expression of my own frustration at having never learnt to play a stringed instrument. Capriccio by Toby Young Capriccio was written in 2011 as a virtuosic showpiece for solo viola. It is a highly playful work, switching between moods very quickly, and explores some of the many facets of this versatile and multi-faceted instrument (including flamboyant, delicate, lyrical, expressive, and even seductive!)

Soundhub Showcase Concert, Friday 22 June, LSO St Luke's Ayanna Witter-Johnson vocals & cello "In this performance of A Single Sun, you will hear both a work in progress and a culmination of my experience on the LSO Soundhub Pilot Scheme. I have been exploring the role that recording plays in my music and how I can use it to extend in particular the range of the cello to create a variety of sonic landscapes in my music. All the sounds in the piece, besides the voice have been generated by the cello." You had a chance and you gave it away, now you're searching for somebody new to blame. When will you learn that the choices you make, will determine the route that you want to take? I don't know how to get through to you when you're floating on a cloud of illusions that don't come true. There's a bond that's beyond what we think we control so I'll patiently wait for you. Come back to earth babe and maybe something can really happen, I know that we can find time to solve this, my heart is open and we're revolving around a single sun. I hear you calling but you're out of sight, I'm not blind but your fears are obscuring the light. It's a strange game to play when you know that I'm yours, you say that you want me then push me away. I don't know how to get close to you when you're drifting on a cloud of confusion that just ain't true. There's a bond that's beyond what we think we control but my patience is almost through. Come back to earth babe and maybe something can really happen, I know that we can find time to solve this, my heart is open and we're revolving around a single sun.