BMW Classics
A free open-air concert in the heart of London
On Saturday 10 June 2023, a giant temporary stage in Trafalgar Square once again hosted Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra for a free concert for an audience of thousands in the heart of London, and to thousands more watching the live stream on YouTube.
BMW Classics 2023
Sat 10 Jun 2023 5pm
Trafalgar Square & Online
Igor Stravinsky Fireworks
John Adams First movement from ‘Harmonielehre’
Eloise Gynn Light Dancing (world premiere) *
Claude Debussy La mer
Maurice Ravel Boléro
John Williams Raiders March (encore)
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
LSO On Track & Guildhall School Musicians *
London Symphony Orchestra
The Programme
The 2023 BMW Classics concert opened with Igor Stravinsky’s four minute ‘orchestral fantasy’ Fireworks, followed by the first movement of John Adams’ energetic and explosive masterpiece, Harmonielehre.
At the heart of the programme is the world premiere of Eloise Gynn’s new work, Light Dancing, specially commissioned for the concert. This dance inspired piece written for a mixed-ability orchestra brings together LSO musicians with 55 young musicians from east London as part of the LSO On Track partnership, and 18 students from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
For the final half of the concert, Sir Simon and the LSO performed two popular French Impressionist masterpieces brimming with orchestral colour, Claude Debussy’s La mer and Maurice Ravel’s Boléro.
For our audiences around the world, the concert was also be live-streamed on our YouTube channel and was available for 90 days afterwards.
This free annual summer concert highlights the continued partnership between BMW Group and the London Symphony Orchestra, which for the last twelve years has brought superlative live orchestral music to audiences in one of the world’s most iconic public spaces, and to thousands more around the globe watching on YouTube.
Pictures from BMW Classics 2022
Images © Doug Peters
