Top 5 London Classical Music Festivals

London is one of the summits of classical music. If your musical taste is more Brahms, Bach or Beethoven than Bieber, Beatles or Buzzcocks, this world capital will not disappoint.

With everything on offer from opera to jazz, folk and choral music, London has always taken pride in challenging conventions and demonstrating its cultural sophistication. With a huge number of annual festivals and internationally acclaimed orchestras, plus the best classical talent performing in venues such as the Royal Opera House, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Barbican, music lovers can be overwhelmed with choice. Throw in the BBC Proms summer series of concerts, where tickets cost as little as £5 to make classical music accessible to those with lower incomes, and you know you’re in a city where classical music is king – or queen.

Holland Park Opera

Opera Holland Park was established in 1996. This summer opera company stages world-class opera. Recognised as one of the UK’s top non-state opera companies, it stages dozens of operas every season.

While most of the operas are popular classics the company also produces rarities, including Czech and Russian works and obscure gems from the Verismo genre. The Sunday Times named Opera Holland Park the best opera company of 2010.

Address: Stable Yard, Holland Park W8 6LU  Tel: 0300 999 1000  Nearest tube station: Holland Park/High Street Kensington  Website: http://www.operahollandpark.com/

Spitalfields Festival

Home to exceptional music and world-class talent, the Spitalfields Festival is a music charity (relying on grants, sponsorships and donations) that aims to strengthen the local community with the help of two annual music festivals, usually in June and December.

The summer festival features talks, visual arts displays, workshops and musical events – jazz, classical, pop, folk, opera – over two weeks, bringing together talented artists in some of the most unusual and interesting corners of London. If you’ve ever fancied hearing Tudor classical music in the Tower of London, or hearing an intimate recital in a haunted museum, this is for you!

Address: 61 Brushfield St, E1 6AA  Tel: 020 7377 0287
Nearest tube station: Liverpool Street  Website: https://www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk/

The Proms

If you’ve not witnessed London’s largest open-air classical music event, you’re missing out. The BBC Proms – aka “The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts” – is a spectacular annual outdoor concert with British eccentricity and patriotism in full swing. The BBC hosts two months of concerts every year, bringing some of the finest pieces of classical music to a huge audience in an informal atmosphere at affordable prices. The main evening performances at Royal Albert Hall are screened live in Hyde Park.

Address: Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College Rd, Kensington SW7 2AP  Tel: 020 7589 8212
Nearest tube Station: High Street Kensington  Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms

London Handel Festival

This renowned festival has been celebrating the music of Handel across London in different venues for more than 25 years. Founded by music director Denys Darlow, the six-week season of talks, walks, concerts and shows features the compositions of George Frideric Handel and others.  The regular venue is the composer’s favourite church – St George’s, Hanover Square – which is near his house in Brook Street and is the church he frequently attended.

One of the things that makes the London Handel Festival special is its use of venues with links to the composer’s public and personal life including his house, church and favourite charity, the Foundling Hospital, today a museum housing the Gerald Coke Handel Collection.

Address: 8 Ditton St, Ilminster TA19 0BQ Tel:  01460 54660  Nearest tube station: Oxford Circus  Website: http://www.london-handel-festival.com/

London Festival of Baroque Music

Founded as the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music in 1984, the concerts initially took place in St James’s Church, Piccadilly, but now are occasionally held in St John’s, Smith Square and in Westminster Abbey.

The London Festival of Baroque Music features UK and international performers, with previous soloists including Emma Kirby, Magdalena Kožená, Andreas Scholl, Andrew Manze, Paolo Pandolfo, Trevor Pinnock and Caterina Antonacci. Period instruments are often used.

Address: St John’s Smith Square, Smith Square SW1P 3HA  Tel:  020 7222 1061
Nearest tube station: Westminster/ St.James Park  Website: http://www.lfbm.org.uk/

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