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What happens when we really listen? This season we’re exploring the extraordinary ways that listening can inspire creativity, connection and new perspectives.

To begin our journey, we asked eight Royal College of Art students to listen to a piece of music featured in our London season, from Stravinsky’s The Firebird to Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony. From there, the artists unleashed their imagination, each creating an original artwork based on their personal response to the music.

You can see how varied their visual interpretations of the music were from the artworks on this page and on the programme cover.

If you haven’t had the chance to see the artworks on billboards around London, you can view them all in detail on our website. You can also find out more about each of the artists and the processes they used, as well as listen to the music that inspired them.

Check out the artworks and the pieces that inspired them: lpo.org.uk/listening Artworks designed by (clockwise from top left) Megan Peng, Zengyue Zhao, CTZ, Yunqi Peng, Anna Korbel, Yejin Seo, Ishita Sharma, Ruwani Rajapakse

Principal Conductor Edward Gardner supported by Aud Jebsen Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis supported by Richard Buxton Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski KBE Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG Artistic Director Jesús Herrera Chief Executive David Burke Leader Pieter Schoeman supported by Neil Westreich

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Saturday 26 September 2026 | 7.00pm

Edward Gardner conducts Britten’s War Requiem Britten War Requiem (85 min) Edward Gardner conductor

Generously supported by Aud Jebsen

Natalya Romaniw soprano Allan Clayton tenor Benjamin Appl baritone London Philharmonic Choir Chorus Director: Madeleine Venner

London Symphony Chorus Chorus Director: Mariana Rosas

Tiffin Boys’ Choir and Girls’ Choir Director: James Day

Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Welcome Tonight in 2 minutes About us Leader: Pieter Schoeman On stage tonight Edward Gardner Natalya Romaniw Allan Clayton 9 Benjamin Appl 10 London Philharmonic Choir 11 London Symphony Chorus 12 Tiffin Boys’ Choir and Girls’ Choir 13 In Search of Purpose: Our 2026/27 season theme 14 Programme notes 18 Farewell: Thomas Eisner 19 Future concert highlights 20 Britten on the LPO Label 21 Sound Futures donors 22 Thank you 24 LPO administration Tonight’s concert is being filmed for possible future broadcast. We would be grateful if audience noise during the performance could be kept to a minimum, and if audience members could kindly hold applause until the end of the work. Thank you.

Sung in English and Latin, with projected English surtitles. There is no interval in tonight’s performance. Approximate finish time: 8.30pm.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is grateful for the generous support of Fiona Espenhahn and Malcolm Herring, and the donations from this concert’s syndicate of supporters.

Please note the timings shown are given only as a guide.

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15/09/2026 12:55:45

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Welcome Welcome to the opening concert of our new 2026/27 season. Tonight, Edward Gardner conducts Britten’s War Requiem – a moving, deeply human work that reminds us all of what is at stake in times of war. We’re delighted to be joined by the London Philharmonic Choir, the London Symphony Chorus and Tiffin Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs, alongside our three outstanding soloists: soprano Natalya Romaniw, tenor Allan Clayton and baritone Benjamin Appl.

Welcome to the Southbank Centre We’re the UK’s largest centre for the arts and one of the nation’s top five visitor attractions, showcasing the world’s most exciting artists at our venues in the heart of London. As a charity, we bring millions of people together by opening up the unique art spaces that we care for.

Tonight’s concert opens a season titled In Search of Purpose, exploring the human spirit’s resilience and quest for meaning. It’s a theme inspired by Beethoven’s triumph over despair and the ways later composers have used music as a vessel to confront life’s big questions – turn to page 13 to read more.

The Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery, National Poetry Library and Arts Council Collection. We’re one of London’s favourite meeting spots, with lots of free events and places to relax, eat and shop next to the Thames.

We hope you enjoy tonight’s performance and that it will be the first of many occasions we share with you this season. Do pick up a 2026/27 brochure in the foyer, or explore the full season at lpo.org.uk

We hope you enjoy your visit. If you need any information or help, please ask a member of staff. You can also email hello@southbankcentre.co.uk or write to us at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX.

With best wishes,

Subscribers to our email updates are the first to hear about new events, offers and competitions. Just head to our website to sign up.

David Burke Chief Executive

Printed with the planet in mind

Jesús Herrera Artistic Director

The paper used for LPO concert programmes has been sourced from well-managed FSC®-certified forests, recycled materials, and other controlled sources. It is also Carbon Balanced, meaning the carbon impact of its production is offset by the World Land Trust.

Tonight’s programme cover Artwork by Royal College of Art student Yunqi Peng (MPhil/PhD Communication): ‘Heavy brass, lighter mind’. Designed while listening to Stravinsky’s The Firebird (Finale), performed by the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski.

Prefer a paper-free option? Scan here for PDF versions of all our programmes to read or download on your phone or tablet.

Hear it live on 23 October 2026 at the Royal Festival Hall, with Edward Gardner and the LPO: book now at lpo.org.uk Part of The Power of Listening project: lpo.org.uk/listening

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Tonight in 2 minutes

New to classical? Short on time? Your quick guide to tonight’s concert.

What to expect

Who’s on stage?

Take your seats... The Orchestra tune up their instruments, then the conductor, Ed, and the solo singers enter the stage. Once the applause dies down, sit back and enjoy the music ...

The conductor

Edward Gardner is our Principal Conductor and works closely with the Orchestra all year round, so our musicians know him well and enjoy a special connection and rapport with him. One of the leading British conductors of his generation, Ed is highly regarded for his work in opera as well as with orchestras.

movements

85 min

The solo singers

Natalya Romaniw, Allan Clayton & Benjamin Appl

Three guest singers join us tonight: The soprano, Natalya, sings in the Latin Requiem Mass sections, while the tenor and baritone, Allan and Benjamin, give voice to the soldiers in Wilfred Owen’s moving poetry.

Benjamin Britten War Requiem Longer classical Tonight's concert features pieces are often just one work, written for made up of orchestra, choirs and movements, or shorter three solo singers. At sections. Applause is nearly an hour and a half usually saved for after long and with no interval the final movement. to break the spell, it's an chance to settle in and experience an extraordinary musical journey.

The composer of tonight’s work, Benjamin Britten (1913–76), was one of Britain's greatest composers, and a lifelong pacifist. He wrote his War Requiem for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962, built beside the ruins of the medieval cathedral, which had been destroyed during the Second World War. Rather than celebrating victory, the work mourns the devastating human cost of conflict and looks towards reconciliation.

The choirs

London Philharmonic Choir London Symphony Chorus Tiffin Boys’ Choir and Girls’ Choir

The London Philharmonic Choir performs regularly with the Orchestra, and tonight they’re joined by two guest choirs for extra power and impact. Both adult choirs are made up of amateurs who sing alongside their day jobs, but share a commitment to the highest professional standards. The young voices of the Tiffin Choirs – singing from high up in the balcony at the back of the Hall – add a powerful sense of innocence and hope to Britten’s music.

The choirs sing the words of the traditional Requiem Mass – prayers for the dead that have been sung for centuries. Interwoven with them are settings of poems by First World War soldier Wilfred Owen, sung by the soloists, bringing an intensely human perspective. A separate children's choir, accompanied by organ, seems to float above it all.

Turn to pages 10–12 for tonight’s chorus lists.

At the end of the performance, we applaud the performers. The conductor will acknowledge the Leader (chief First Violin), Pieter, and the soloists and choirs, and might highlight other players for particular appreciation and applause. Several rounds of bows will bring the evening to a celebratory close.

The orchestra

Tonight there are over 100 London Philharmonic Orchestra musicians on stage. Many of our talented members enjoy busy solo, chamber and teaching careers alongside their orchestral roles.

Want to read more? Turn to page 14 for a deeper dive into Britten's War Requiem.

Turn to page 6 for tonight’s player list.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

About us: London Philharmonic Orchestra

Connecting worldwide

Uniquely groundbreaking and exhilarating to watch and hear, since 1932 we’ve has been recognised as one of the world’s leading orchestras, celebrated for our excellence, versatility, invention and inclusivity. Our mission is to create unrivalled orchestral experiences on stage and cultivate human connections beyond it. We achieve this through our exceptional live performances, pioneering education and community projects, acclaimed recordings, online activity and trailblazing international tours.

We’re one of the world’s most-streamed orchestras, with over 15 million plays of our content each month. We’re the most followed UK orchestra on Instagram, the most followed orchestra globally on TikTok, and the third most followed globally across all social platforms. Our 2024 Sky Arts documentary series, ‘Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra’, was nominated for a 2025 BAFTA, and a second series, ‘Inside the Music’, will be broadcast this autumn.

Our home is here at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, where we’re at the beating heart of London’s cultural life. You can also hear us at our resident venues in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and on tour worldwide. For over 60 years we’ve been Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, combining the magic of opera with Glyndebourne’s glorious setting in the Sussex countryside.

Our conductors Our Principal Conductors have included great historic names like Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2021 Edward Gardner became our 13th Principal Conductor, and Vladimir Jurowski became Conductor Emeritus in recognition of his impact as Principal Conductor from 2007–21. Karina Canellakis is our current Principal Guest Conductor, and Sir George Benjamin is our Composer-in-Residence.

Life’s big moments Everyone will have heard the Grammy-nominated London Philharmonic Orchestra, whether it’s playing the world’s National Anthems for every medal ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, our iconic recording with Pavarotti that made Nessun Dorma a global football anthem, or closing the flotilla at The Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. And you’ll almost certainly have heard us on the soundtracks for major films including The Lord of the Rings.

Next generations We’re committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and music-lovers: we love seeing the joy of children and families experiencing their first musical moments, and we’re passionate about inspiring schools and teachers through dedicated concerts, workshops, resources and training. Reflecting our values of collaboration and inclusivity, our OrchLab and

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Pieter Schoeman Leader

Today’s young instrumentalists are the orchestra members of the future, and we offer a range of opportunities to support their progression. Our LPO Junior Artists programme creates pathways into the profession for young players from under-represented backgrounds, and our LPO Young Composers and Future Firsts schemes support the next generation of professional musicians, bridging the transition from education to professional careers. The LPO Conducting Fellowship supports the development of outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds underrepresented in the profession.

Open Sound Ensemble projects offer music-making opportunities for adults and young people with disabilities and special educational needs.

2026/27 season Our season theme, In Search of Purpose, explores the human spirit’s resilience and quest for meaning, inspired by Beethoven’s triumph over despair and the ways subsequent composers have used music as a vessel to confront life's big questions. Principal Conductor Edward Gardner conducts programmes including Britten’s War Requiem, Stravinsky’s The Firebird, and Composer-in-Residence George Benjamin’s opera Lessons in Love and Violence. We’ll also welcome back titled conductors Karina Canellakis and Vladimir Jurowski, as well as Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor Designate Paavo Järvi.

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. He is also a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. As well as at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist at famous venues including the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Moscow’s Rachmaninoff Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He has also appeared as Guest Leader with many leading orchestras across the world. As a chamber musician, he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. His chamber music partners have included Anne-Sophie Mutter, Veronika Eberle, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Boris Garlitsky, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Martin Helmchen and Julia Fischer. Pieter has performed numerous times as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights have included Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the Brahms Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and the Britten Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was released on the LPO Label to great critical acclaim.

Our lineup of soloists this season includes Alice Sara Ott, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Hilary Hahn, Pekka Kuusisto, Renée Fleming and Mitsuko Uchida, and we join the London Philharmonic Choir in celebrating its 80th anniversary year with Fauré’s Requiem alongside a choral world premiere by Dame Judith Weir. The season concludes on 24 April with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, again with the LPC. New music remains a core pillar this season, with further premieres by Mark Simpson, Jacob Mühlrad, Dai Fujikura and Kevin Puts.

Pieter’s chair in the LPO is generously supported by Neil Westreich.

Video series: ‘Humans of the Orchestra’ Scan the QR code to watch our interview with Pieter

The season also sees tours to China, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Canary Islands, as well as performances and community events in our Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden residencies.

lpo.org.uk

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

On stage tonight Chamber Orchestra

Second Violins

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Chair supported by anonymous donors

Pieter Schoeman* first violin Leader Tania Mazzetti second violin Principal Chair supported by The Candide Trust

Benjamin Roskams viola Guest Principal Kristina Blaumane cello Principal

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

David Stark double bass Guest Principal Juliette Bausor flute Principal

Chair supported by Malcolm & Alison Thwaites

Ian Hardwick oboe Principal Benjamin Mellefont clarinet Principal Chair supported by Sir Nigel Boardman & Prof. Lynda Gratton

Paul Boyes bassoon Guest Principal John Ryan horn Principal William Lockhart percussion Guest Principal Céline Saout harp Guest Principal

First Violins

Alice Ivy-Pemberton Co-Leader

Chair supported by the Hodson family

Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Kate Oswin Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Lasma Taimina

Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave

Minn Majoe

Chair supported by Dr Alex & Maria Chan

Thomas Eisner Megan Yang Cassandra Hamilton Martin Höhmann

Chair supported by Hans-Wilhelm & Evelyn Jenckel

Katalin Varnagy Yang Zhang George Lawson Nilufar Alimaksumova Grace Lee Ricky Gore

Flutes

Emma Oldfield Principal Claudia Tarrant-Matthews

Fiona Kelly Guest Principal Hannah Grayson Stewart McIlwham*

Coco Inman Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Nynke Hijlkema Marie-Anne Mairesse Joseph Maher Sophie Phillips Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Alison Strange Paula Clifton-Everest

Piccolo

Stewart McIlwham* Principal Chair supported by The Thompson Family Charitable Trust

Oboes

Daniel Finney Guest Principal Jack Tostevin-Hall

Cor Anglais Helen Vigurs

Violas

Samuel Burstin Guest Principal James Heron Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Katharine Leek Martin Wray

Tuba

Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Timpani

Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey CBE

Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins

Emily Crook Paul Richards*

Karen Hutt Co-Principal

Will Kidner Guest Principal Helen Storey*

Chair supported by Louise Worthington

Contrabassoon

Simon Estell* Principal

David Lale Francis Bucknall Heeyeon Cho Auriol Evans Leo Melvin Sue Sutherley Helen Thomas

Lyndon Meredith Principal

Andrew Barclay* Principal

Bassoons

Chair supported by an anonymous donor

Bass Trombone

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Paul Richards* Principal

Henry Shapard Principal Waynne Kwon

David Whitehouse

Percussion

Bass Clarinet

Cellos

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Thomas Watmough Principal

Emily Crook

Jisu Song Shiry Rashkovsky Jenny Poyser Charles Cross Chris Beckett

Mark Templeton* Principal

Clarinets

E-flat Clarinet

Chair supported by David & Bettina Harden

Trombones

Horns

Chair supported by Joe Topley & Tracey Countryman

Oliver Yates Feargus Brennan Francesca Lombardelli Oliver Butterworth

Piano

Catherine Edwards

Organ

Richard Gowers

Chamber Organ Alex Hamilton

*Professor at a London conservatoire

Annemarie Federle Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey CBE

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Double Basses

Jonathan Quaintrell-Evans Duncan Fuller Will Scotland

Philip Nelson Guest Principal George Peniston Tom Walley Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Trumpets

Chair supported by Ian Ferguson & Susan Tranter

Chair supported by the Williams family in memory of Grenville Williams

Laura Murphy

Paul Beniston* Principal

Lowri Estell Yijia Cui Sam Rice

Tom Nielsen* Principal Anne McAneney*

Chair supported by anonymous donors

David Hilton

Assistant Conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg

Surtitles

Damien Kennedy The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present: David & Yi Buckley Dr Barry Grimaldi Sir Simon Robey

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Edward Gardner Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which he has conducted at the First and Last Nights of the BBC Proms. A major figure in the opera world, Edward previously served as Music Director of English National Opera, and has led productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival, Opéra National de Paris, Bavarian State Opera, and La Scala. © Jason Bell

Edward's extensive and wide-ranging discography features multiple Grammy nominees, International Classical Music Award nominees and Gramophone Award winners, including Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra – winner of a 2023 Gramophone Award – and Britten’s Peter Grimes with the Bergen Philharmonic, named Gramophone’s 2021 Recording of the Year.

'A conducting force to be reckoned with' (The New York Times), leading British conductor Edward Gardner is now in his sixth season as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and his third as Music Director of the Norwegian Opera & Ballet. He also serves as Honorary Conductor of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, after an outstanding nine years as its Chief Conductor.

Other recordings on the LPO Label include Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, as well as the composer’s Piano Concerto and Symphony No. 2; Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius; Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust; Strauss's An Alpine Symphony and Metamorphosen; and works by Bartók, Rachmaninov, Dvořák, Schumann, Britten, Brett Dean and Tania León. In 2024, he and the Orchestra featured in a BAFTA-nominated Sky Arts TV series: ‘Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra’, and a second series, ‘Inside the Music’, will be broadcast this autumn.

As well as tonight’s performance of Britten’s War Requiem, Edward’s highlights with the London Philharmonic Orchestra this season include Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, a semi-staged concert presentation of Lessons in Love and Violence by Composer-in-Residence Sir George Benjamin, and world premieres by Mark Simpson and Judith Weir. He also leads the Orchestra on tours to China, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.

The founder of Manchester’s Hallé Youth Orchestra, Edward maintains close relationships with The Juilliard School and London's Royal Academy of Music, where he is the inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair. His accolades include the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Conductor of the Year Award, an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, the Sibelius Prize, and an OBE for Services to Music.

Elsewhere this season, he launches his first complete Wagner Ring Cycle with a new production of Das Rheingold at the Norwegian Opera; makes his San Diego Symphony and Detroit Symphony debuts; and conducts a new production of Britten’s Death in Venice at the Bavarian State Opera.

Edward Gardner’s position with the LPO is generously supported by Aud Jebsen.

Edward has previously led distinguished orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony and Staatskapelle Berlin. He enjoys longstanding relationships with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was formerly Principal Guest

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Allan Clayton

soprano

tenor

Natalya Romaniw

This season, Welsh-Ukrainian soprano Natalya Romaniw returns to London’s Royal Ballet and Opera as Gutrune in Götterdämmerung and Giorgetta in Il tabarro. She also makes debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, the Semperoper Dresden and Oper Leipzig as Tosca, and returns as Sieglinde in Die Walküre in concert with the Kansas City Symphony.

The flexibility and consistency of Allan Clayton’s vocal range, combined with a magnetic stage presence, have led to international acclaim in music from Baroque to contemporary. His impact was most recently recognised with an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for the 2025 world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen at the Royal Opera House, under the baton of Edward Gardner.

Natalya is a frequent presence at the Royal Ballet and Opera, where she has sung Tosca and Sieglinde, and created the role of Helena in Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen. She has also sung Tosca at Dutch National Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera and Scottish Opera, as well as the title role of Jenůfa (Opéra de Rouen); Giorgetta in Il tabarro and Angelica in Suor Angelica (Welsh National Opera); Helena in Festen (Finnish National Opera); Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Houston Grand Opera); and the title roles of Ariadne auf Naxos, The Bartered Bride and Rusalka, and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin (Garsington Opera).

Allan garnered huge praise as the lead role in Brett Dean’s opera Hamlet, which received its world premiere at the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, and won a 2019 Gramophone Award. In 2018 he sang Froh in a concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with the Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski at Royal Festival Hall, and in 2019 he made his role debut as Faust in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust at Glyndebourne under Robin Ticciati, again with the LPO. Last year the LPO Label released Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius under Edward Gardner with Allan in the title role, recorded at the 2022 BBC Proms.

Her concert performances include Britten’s War Requiem (Theatro Municipal de São Paulo); Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony (London Symphony Orchestra); Verdi’s Requiem (Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra); Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 (National Polish Radio Orchestra); Verdi’s Requiem, Strauss’s Four Last Songs, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Hallé Orchestra); Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Strauss’s Four Last Songs (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra); and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra). She made her LPO debut in 2015, when she sang the role of Woglinde in a concert of excerpts from Das Rheingold at the Royal Festival Hall under Vladimir Jurowski.

In demand for leading roles at prominent opera houses around the world, this season Allan makes his titlerole debut in Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Paris Opera, returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Janáček’s Jenůfa, and sings in Britten’s Death in Venice at the Bavarian State Opera. Last season he made role debuts as King Charles VII in Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans with the Netherlands Opera, and Captain Vere in Billy Budd at Glyndebourne. He is widely regarded as the definitive interpreter of the title role of Peter Grimes, following performances at the Teatro Real Madrid, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera and Paris Opera.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Benjamin Appl

baritone

Benjamin Appl is praised for a voice that ‘belongs to the last of the old great masters of song’, with ‘an almost infinite range of colours’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung). A former BBC New Generation Artist, Wigmore Hall Emerging Artist and ECHO Rising Star, he was named Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year in 2016. Having studied in both Munich and London, he was mentored by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, whom he describes as ‘an invaluable and hugely formative influence.’

Our next concert with the London Philharmonic Choir

Benjamin appears regularly at major festivals and venues worldwide including Ravinia, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie and Carnegie Hall. Recent orchestral partners include the Royal Concertgebouw, Oslo Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and Philadelphia orchestras, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, with whom he was Artist-inResidence for the 2024/25 season.

Saturday 27 February 2027 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall

Fauré’s Requiem

Celebrating the Choir’s 80th anniversary with a brand new work commissioned especially for the occasion, performed alongside Fauré’s much-loved choral masterpiece.

Highlights on the opera stage include Papageno (The Magic Flute) at Hamburg State Opera and Opéra Rouen; his role and house debut as Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona; and his house and role debut at the Teatro Real Madrid as Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette).

Judith Weir Respire, Inspire (world premiere) Fauré Requiem Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem Edward Gardner conductor Louise Alder soprano Gerald Finley bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir

Benjamin’s recordings span from Bach and Schubert to Hans Sommer and Sibelius. Recent solo releases for Alpha Classics include Lines of Life and For Dieter (2025) and The Christmas Album (2024), as well as the award-winning Heimat (2017) for Sony Classics.

Book now: lpo.org.uk

Benjamin made his LPO concert debut in 2019, when he sang the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas under Sir Roger Norrington at the Royal Festival Hall.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

London Philharmonic Choir Patron HRH Princess Alexandra President Sir Mark Elder Chorus Director Emeritus Neville Creed Chorus Director Madeleine Venner Associate Chorus Director Victoria Longdon Accompanist Jonathan Beatty Chair Alex Marshall Choir Manager Natasha Sofla

Sopranos

Founded in 1947 as the chorus for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Choir is widely regarded as one of Britain’s finest choirs. For the last seven decades the Choir has performed under leading conductors, consistently meeting with critical acclaim and recording regularly for television and radio.

Ade Amusa Annette Argent Chris Banks Tessa Bartley Hilary Bates Holly Beckmyer Sarah Bindon Amy Brewster Valerie Britton Charlotte Cantrell Paula Chessell Jenni Cresswell Lucy Day Shehara de Soysa Sarah DeaneCutler Rachel Gibbon Monica Griesemer Olivia Haslam Sasha Holland Penny Huang Ashley Jordan Joy Lee Sarah Leffler Ilona Lynch Janey Maxwell Amanda May Hannah McNaboe Sally Morgan Mariana Nina Elizabeth Ortiz Linda Park Marie Power Courtney Reed Elizabeth Reynard Nicole Rochman Lucia Ruiz Vila Francesca Simon Susan Thomas Rachel Topham Isabella von Holstein Sarah Walker Rebecca White Susannah Witriol

Enjoying a close relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Choir frequently joins it for concerts in the UK and abroad. Recent concerts with LPO Principal Conductor Edward Gardner have included Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, John Adams’s Harmonium, Rachmaninov’s The Bells and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Other highlights have included Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony and the UK premiere of James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio with the Choir’s President, Sir Mark Elder; Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli with Vladimir Jurowski; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 with Andrey Boreyko; and the UK premiere of Tan Dun’s Choral Concerto: Nine under the composer, alongside Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The Choir appears annually at the BBC Proms, where performances have included works by John Luther Adams, Beethoven, Busoni, Elgar, Ligeti, Orff, Vaughan Williams and Verdi, not forgetting the greatly enjoyable Doctor Who Proms. In 2024 for the first time, the Choir took part in the ‘Films in Concert’ series at the Royal Albert Hall, performing the score for Amadeus. A well-travelled choir, it has visited several European countries as well as further afield. The Choir was delighted to travel to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, in December 2017 to perform Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Choir prides itself on its inclusive culture, achieving first-class performances from its members, who are volunteers from all walks of life.

lpc.org.uk

Supported by

Altos

Sally Brien Jenny Burdett Andrei Caracoti Lara Carim Cannis Chan Noel Chow Liz Cole Jill Creighton Pat Dixon Olga Duke Andrea Easey Pauline Finney Bethea HansonJones Mia Hobson Kitty Howse Judy Jones Julia King Andrea Lane Lisa MacDonald Laetitia Malan Ian Maxwell Lottie Mitchell Kristen Mooy-Lee Rachel Murray Beth O’Brien Liudmila Pagis Nicola Prior Carolyn Saunders Angela Schmitz Rima Sereikiene Natasha Sofla Annette Strzedulla Erica Tomlinson Catherine Travers Susi Underwood Jenny Watson Rachelle Wood

Tenors

Tim Appleby Alexander Best Christopher Beynon James Clarke Ollie Clarke Gary Cupido Robert Geary Alan Glover

Philippe Gosset Peter Goves Iain Handyside Stephen Hodges James Hopper Alex Marshall Daisy Rushton Chris Stuart Don Tallon Daniel Tighe Claudio Tonini Tony Valsamidis Mikolaj Walczak Emre Yavuz

Basses

John Bandy Jonathon Bird Peter Blamire Marcus Daniels Myrddin Edwards Aloysius Fekete Paul Fincham Ian Fletcher Gary Freer Ian Frost Luke Hagerty Alan Hardwick Christopher Harvey David Hodgson Rylan Holey Michael Jenkins John Luff Maurice MacSweeney Anthony McDonald Max Mitchell John D Morris Tu Nguyen Johannes Pieters Matthew Prudham John Salmon Joshua Schrijnen Alex Thomas Geoff Walker Oliver Walsh Alex Walton-Keeffe Sam Watson

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

London Symphony Chorus President Sir Simon Rattle OM CBE Patrons Sir Simon Russell Beale CBE | Howard Goodall CBE Chair Chris Straw Chorus Director Mariana Rosas Chorus Director Emeritus Simon Halsey CBE Associate Chorus Director Jack Apperley Assistant Chorus Directors Hilary Campbell | Daniel Mahoney Chorus Accompanist Benjamin Frost Vocal Coaches Norbert Meyn | Anita Morrison | Rebecca Outram

Sopranos

The London Symphony Chorus was founded in 1966 to complement the work of the London Symphony Orchestra. The LSC has performed with many leading orchestras: frequently with the LSO, and also with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and, more recently, with Les Siècles, the SWR Symphony Orchestra and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

Shona Barnes-McCallum Georgie Bateman Franziska Bräumer Laura Catala-Ubassy Alana Clark Alice Dee Lucy Feldman Dandy Freeman Isobel Hammond Cora Hardy Sophie Hill Sally Ho Kuan Hon Debbie Jones Lotte Jones Alice Jones Luca Kocsmarszky Jane Morley Maggie Owen Alison Ryan Deborah Staunton Lizzie Webb Eleri Williams Rachel Wilson

Last season’s concerts included Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish), Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Flos campi, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde under Sir Antonio Pappano; Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem under Manfred Honeck; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 under Michael Tilson Thomas; ‘Symphonic Gospel’ under Dr André J Thomas; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 under Gustavo Dudamel; and a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Chorus under Music Director Mariana Rosas. In April 2025 the LSC joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall.

Altos

The LSC tours extensively in Europe. Recent tours have included Paris, Baden-Baden and Luxembourg under Sir Simon Rattle with the LSO; Monte Carlo and Aix-enProvence under Kazuki Yamada with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo; and Stuttgart, Berlin, Freiburg, Dortmund and Hamburg under Teodor Currentzis with the SWR Symphony Orchestra. With the LSO, the LSC performed music by Mahler and Bernstein in Maestro, the 2023 Oscar-nominated biopic of Leonard Bernstein, starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin as music advisor.

Kate Aitchison June Brawner Jo Buchan Gina Broderick Sheila Cobourne Linda Evans Amanda Freshwater Julia Gervais Edda Henry Carolyn Jarvis Cristina Jerney Jill Jones Anna Korbel Liz McCaw Jane Muir Helen Palmer Susannah Priede Ellie Saipe Ali St-Denis Karen Taylor-Paul Linda Thomas

The LSC is an independent charity run by its members and it engages actively in the musical life of London and further afield. In addition to seeking new members and audiences, it also commissions and performs new works. The LSC is an international ensemble, with members from over 25 countries.

Tenors

Erik Azzopardi Philipp Boeing Thomas Bracewell Oliver Burrows James David Ethem Demir Colin Dunn Tim Lloyd Perseus O’Brien Diego Richardson Nishikuni Chris Riley Chris Straw Robert Ward Leonard Wong

Basses

Gavin Buchan Greg Callus Andy Chan Steve Chevis Harry Clarke Damian Day Robert Garbolinski John Graham Owen Hanmer Robert Hare J-C Higgins Anthony Howick Hector Macandrew Rob Sanders Hewett Matthew Smith Richard Tannenbaum Dan Tarbuck Philip Townley Pawel Wysocki

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Tiffin Boys’ Choir and Girls’ Choir Director James Day

Since their foundation in 1957, the Tiffin Choirs have worked extensively with the world’s greatest conductors, performed for the world’s finest musical institutions and recorded with the world’s leading musical ensembles. They are renowned for the breadth of their work, which spans symphonic, opera, choral and film music. This has recently included singing at the BBC Proms, with the Royal Ballet and Opera, English National Opera, Opera Holland Park, and the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. The Choirs regularly record at Abbey Road Studios and perform at the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican.

Oliver Baev Lucy Barton Toshiro Bertoli Lucas Chan George Chilton Oliver Davies Kavish Dureja Newton Hayhurst Orla Hood Matilda Law Oscar Law Joe Leverett Henry Livingstone Warren Liu Gabriel Ma Ayan Majumdar Oliver Matson Tobias Moutou

Recent collaborations with the LPO include Berg’s Wozzeck and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under Edward Gardner, and John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls under Vladimir Jurowski. Other symphonic and opera highlights include televised performances of Britten’s War Requiem and Puccini’s Suor Angelica at the BBC Proms with the LSO under Sir Antonio Pappano; several performances of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8 with the RPO under Vasily Petrenko, the LSO under Michael Tilson Thomas and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel; Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) with the LSO under Sir Antonio Pappano; Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades at the Royal Ballet and Opera; La bohème with English National Opera; and Music With Changing Parts with the Philip Glass Ensemble.

Benjamin Partridge Sofia Pilkington Hugo Pilot Joshua Rozario Chip Spence Hattie Stewart Grace Sullivan Hiram Sung Lucas Thrower Shreyank Tonpe Kayra Ultanir Hugo Walkom Charlotte Warner Kate Whitefield Jonathan Windt Kent Wong Victor Wu Eric Voss

James Day conductor James Day is a highly regarded conductor and artistic director, widely recognised for creating exciting and extremely successful artistic and educational projects. Driven by a passion for bringing classical music to all, James ensures that future generations from all backgrounds have access to life-changing musical opportunities and experiences. In addition to his work with the Tiffin Choirs, he serves as the Chief Executive of the Pimlico Musical Foundation, a local charity providing quality musical education to its underserved community, and as the Artistic Director of the Barnes Music Festival. In 2023, he was awarded an LRAM from the Royal Academy of Music.

The Choirs have recorded most of the orchestral repertoire that includes children’s choirs, with notable releases including Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under Klaus Tennstedt (EMI), which was nominated for a Grammy Award; an album with the Gabrieli Consort and Paul McCreesh; Handel’s Samson with the Dunedin Consort and John Butt; and an appearance on Madonna’s 2019 album, Madame X. The Choirs’ 60th anniversary concert in 2017 was broadcast on Classic FM, and in 2023 Tiffin became the first state school choir to broadcast Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3. They recorded for the soundtrack for The Hobbit and music for the BBC comedy drama Fleabag, appeared on set in the films Philomena and Batman, and performed in Titanic Live! with James Horner. They recently recorded the James Newton Howard soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

In Search of Purpose Throughout the season we’ll trace Beethoven’s path from despair to hope in his Fifth Symphony and a cycle of his piano concertos, and explore his ongoing legacy. And we hear from composers finding their purpose in the face of conflict, grief, oppression, and life’s biggest questions.

Tonight’s work and our 2026/27 season theme

Tonight we open our season-long exploration of purpose with one of the 20th century’s most powerful musical pleas for reconciliation. Composed as a bold statement of pacifism following the Second World War, Britten’s War Requiem searches for purpose in compassion, confronting the devastation of conflict while imagining the possibility of peace. In a season exploring different paths towards purpose, this opening concert asks perhaps the most fundamental question of all – how can music help us respond to suffering with empathy, understanding and hope? It’s a heartfelt invitation to begin our search together.

At a moment of deep personal crisis in 1802, Ludwig van Beethoven confronted his hearing loss and questioned whether he could go on. In music, he found a way forward – and in doing so, transformed it into a powerful vehicle for human expression and resilience. From this journey, our 2026/27 season takes its title: ‘In Search of Purpose’.

Check out the full season:

lpo.org.uk/purpose

Jesús Herrera on Purpose Our Artistic Director on why he chose this season’s theme, and why context matters ‘While it’s true that many of the iconic works we are so fortunate to perform were written decades or often centuries ago, they all emerged from artists who were driven to express something fundamentally human. This means the inspiration within these compositions can reflect experiences just as close to anyone in today’s audience, regardless of their previous exposure to an orchestra.

because it is fantastic, but to be as generous as we can in how we provide that context. Exploring themes that amplify the depth of the music and connect listeners to its essence is a challenge, in my opinion, undoubtedly worth taking on.’ Jesús’s full interview appeared in the latest issue of the LPO magazine, Tune In. Read it online here:

As custodians of this incredible legacy, I believe it is a beautiful duty not just to present this repertoire

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Programme notes Benjamin Britten 1913–76

War Requiem 1962

Edward Gardner conductor Natalya Romaniw soprano Allan Clayton tenor Benjamin Appl baritone London Philharmonic Choir London Symphony Chorus Tiffin Boys’ Choir and Girls’ Choir (conductor: James Day)

1. Requiem aeternam including text from Owen’s ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’

2. Dies irae including texts from Owen’s ‘But I was Looking at the Permanent Stars’, ‘The Next War’, ‘Sonnet On Seeing a Piece of our Heavy Artillery Brought into Action’ & ‘Futility’

3. Offertorium including text from Owen’s ‘The Parable of the Old Man and the Young’

4. Sanctus including text from Owen’s ‘The End’

5. Agnus Dei including text from Owen’s ‘At a Calvary near the Ancre’

6. Libera me including text from Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Programme notes

Introduction No work embodies Benjamin Britten’s passionate pacifist convictions more movingly than his War Requiem, composed to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962 – the old cathedral had been destroyed by German bombs in 1940. The text of the Latin Mass for the Dead, sung by the chorus, is brilliantly interspersed with poems by the greatest of the First World War poets, Wilfred Owen, sung by tenor and baritone soloists. The result is a kind of dialogue between ancient expressions of faith and Owen’s often despairing awareness of the horror of war. Sometimes the poems present an ironic, bitter critique of the seeming certainties expressed in the prayers and hymns of the Requiem. But at other times – and especially in the last two movements – Owen’s words and those of the liturgy seem to edge closer, offering at least a glimmer of redemptive hope. This extraordinarily telling composite text is set to some of Britten’s most memorable, directly expressive music: from the terrifying brass fanfares and desolate soprano solo of the Dies irae to the dazzling trumpets and ecstatically chanting chorus of the Sanctus; from the frozen despair of the Owen setting ‘Strange Meeting’ to the massed expression of yearning for redemption and peace in the final In paradisum.

Great music is rarely written to great texts. But Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem is a towering exception. Not only does it offer some of his most moving, directly accessible music: the fusion of the words of the Latin Mass for the Dead with the poetry of the First World War poet Wilfred Owen is in itself an achievement of genius. The idea came to Britten when he was asked to provide a work for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962 – the old cathedral had been almost entirely destroyed during the Luftwaffe air raids of 1940. Britten saw this as an opportunity to express his passionately held pacifist convictions with new force. He had often dwelt on religious themes in his works; indeed, one of his earliest major orchestral works was the Sinfonia da Requiem (coincidentally written in the year of the Coventry bombing), whose three movements take their titles from sections of the Requiem Mass. But in the War Requiem Wilfred Owen’s poems act as an emotional counterweight to the Requiem text: sometimes offering an ironic, bitter commentary on it, at other times seeming to draw closer to the notion of religious consolation.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill visits the ruined Coventry Cathedral after its bombing by the German air force in November 1940

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Programme notes Britten also found a simple but highly effective way of stressing the difference between the worlds of the liturgy and Owen’s poems. Chorus and soprano soloist, supported by a large orchestra, sing only the words of the Mass – as in the great, intensely dramatic Requiem by Verdi (echoed more than once in the course of Britten’s setting). Owen’s poetry, however, is sung by two male soloists, tenor and baritone, accompanied almost exclusively by a chamber orchestra of 12 players. Apart from these – as though in yet another world – is a children’s choir, accompanied by organ or harmonium. Children’s voices usually stand for innocence and purity in Britten’s music, and in the War Requiem they mostly sing the words of the ancient hymns that punctuate the text of the Mass – in other words their music tends to have a more objective, even detached quality. The personal, anguished pleas for deliverance from death and judgement are left to the soprano and the chorus. However this contrast only serves to emphasise the urgency of the expression in the choral-orchestral and solo-chamber sections of the work. Ultimately, the interplay of these three kinds of music forms a ringing endorsement of the lines from Owen that Britten placed on the title page of the score:

But the quiet solo brass figures that open Britten’s Dies irae are unmistakably distant martial bugles. As chorus and orchestra begin the long build-up, to a strangely jerky seven-beats-in-a-bar rhythm, the brass fanfares get louder and closer, eventually reaching an apocalyptic climax. As this quietens down, the chamber orchestra enters again, and the baritone offers a very different take on the fanfares: ‘Bugles sang, saddening the evening air’. An icy soprano solo then tells how every last human crime is recorded in the Book of Judgement. Tenor and baritone burst in with a piece of music-hall-like bravado: ‘Out there, we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death’. A beautiful fugue for women’s voices begs Christ (God as a suffering human being) for mercy, but the baritone’s response is Owen’s terrifying depiction of the blasphemy inherent in war: ‘Great gun towering toward Heaven, about to curse’. Soprano and chorus sing of the grief of humanity confronted with its own sinfulness (‘Lacrimosa dies illa’). Then comes Owen’s desperate lament for a slaughtered comrade: ‘Move him into the sun’. Once again, chorus and bells end the movement in a numbed pianissimo: ‘Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest’. There is agitation in the boys’ prayer at the beginning of the Offertorium, with its terrifying image of Hell as a ravening lion’s mouth. Then an almost jaunty choralorchestral fugue lays claim to God’s ancient promise to Abraham, father of the Jewish nation. Baritone, tenor and chamber orchestra continue with a retelling of the Biblical story of Abraham and his son Isaac; but Owen’s poem ends with a horrific reversal: Abraham ignores the Angel’s offer of a substitute sacrifice (soloists in parallel thirds against radiant C-major chords) and slays his son, ‘And half the seed of Europe, one by one’. Owen thus anticipates the central horror of the Second World War – a point not lost on Britten. The eeriness of the following children’s hymn, with its talk of ‘sacrifices and prayers of praise’, underlines this deeply uncomfortable irony, as does the final muted recapitulation of the choral-orchestral ‘promise’ fugue.

‘My subject is War, and the pity of War. The poetry is in the pity … All a poet can do today is warn.’ The first movement, Requiem aeternam (‘Eternal rest’) presents these three different worlds in telling sequence. To the accompaniment of a sombre, dragging figure from the orchestra, chorus chant the basic prayer of the Requiem Mass (‘Lord, grant them eternal rest’) against slowly tolling bells. This builds to a huge climax, in which the bells (playing the ‘uneasy’ interval of the tritone) begin to sound more like alarm bells – lament becomes warning. As the climax fades, the children’s voices enter to the words ‘Te decet hymnus’ (‘It is seemly to praise you, O Lord’). There is something chilling about the cool detachment of this hymn after the pained intensity of the previous music. Chorus and orchestra return, but then comes a dramatic reversal: in the midst of the tolling, warning bell chimes, tenor and chamber orchestra surge in with Owen’s coruscating ‘What passing bells for these who die as cattle?’ Finally it is left to chorus and bells to intone the words of the Kyrie – ‘Lord have mercy’ – in a pianissimo.

In the Roman rite, the Sanctus is the point at which the priest elevates the host and invokes God’s presence in the consecrated bread and wine. The soprano sings these pivotal words to a hail of bell-sounds; then a huge crescendo, the chorus chanting freely, leads to a splendid climax topped with blazing trumpet calls. But again comes dramatic reversal, as the baritone sings one of Owen’s most despairing poems: life will not renew the soldiers’ corpses, suffering will go unhealed, inhuman crimes unatoned.

Other composers have used brass fanfares in settings of the central Dies irae (‘Day of wrath’) – not surprisingly in a text that features prominently the ‘Last Trumpet’ heralding the Day of Judgement.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Programme notes There is a glimmer of redemptive hope in the Agnus Dei (‘Lamb of God’). Tenor and chamber orchestra, chorus and full orchestra unite musically for the first time in the War Requiem as Owen’s poetry and the words of the Mass mirror one another. By the roadside stands a mutilated crucifix. Patriotism and institutional religion may mock the crucified Christ, but the soldiers ‘who love the greater love / Lay down their life; they do not hate.’ At the end, for the only time in the work, the tenor sings a line from the Requiem liturgy: ‘grant us peace’.

The War Requiem and the LPO The world premiere of Britten’s War Requiem, at Coventry Cathedral in May 1962, was given by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The London Philharmonic Orchestra first performed the work in April 1964, when John Pritchard (then Principal Conductor) led performances at the Royal Festival Hall and Leeds Triennial Festival. The Orchestra performed the work once again at the Royal Festival Hall on 2 May 1976 under subsequent Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink, in a concert celebrating the Hall’s 25th anniversary.

But the most telling juxtaposition of rite and poetry occurs in the final Libera me (‘Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death’). The anguished chromatic choral writing builds to another huge climax, with the clearest echoes yet of Verdi’s famous Requiem. Then comes Owen’s greatest poem, left incomplete at his death only days before the end of the war. Here two dead ex-combatants meet in a bleak but unspecified underworld. Significantly, Britten removed the lines from Owen’s poem that make it clear that this ‘Strange Meeting’ is happening in Hell – there has to be at least a possibility of redemption. And as the tenor and bass repeat the words ‘Let us sleep now …’ children’s choir, chorus and orchestra join the soloists and chamber orchestra in the final In paradisum, ‘May Angels lead you to paradise’, now clearly a prayer for the souls of Owen’s two soldiers, and for millions like them. Then chorus and bells quietly intone the final prayer: ‘Rest in peace. Amen.’

On 8 May 2005, the Orchestra performed the War Requiem under then-Principal Conductor and renowned peace activist Kurt Masur, in a Royal Festival Hall concert marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. This performance, featuring the London Philharmonic Choir, was released on CD on the LPO Label (LPO-0010 – see page 20). Most recently, the Orchestra performed the work on 12 October 2013 under the baton of then-Principal Conductor (now Conductor Emeritus) Vladimir Jurowski, again at the Royal Festival Hall.

Video: Edward Gardner on Britten’s War Requiem Scan the QR code to watch the interview

We’d love to hear from you We hope you enjoy today’s concert. Could you spare a few moments afterwards to complete a short survey about your experience? Your feedback will help to shape our future plans. Just scan the QR code to begin the survey. Thank you!

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Farewell: Thomas Eisner At tonight’s concert, First Violinist Thomas Eisner will take his final bow as a member of the LPO, bringing to a close a remarkable 40-year career with the Orchestra. Fellow LPO violinist Martin Höhmann reflects on Tom’s contribution to the Orchestra, his passion for music and, above all, his generosity as a colleague and friend.

‘Having played in the First Violin section alongside Tom for the past 26 years and shared a desk with him on many occasions, I have been fortunate to experience first-hand the qualities that have made him such a valued colleague and friend.

he realised a long-held ambition in recent years by performing at the Bayreuth Festival, as well as the Bavarian State Opera. Yet his interests have never been confined to the music alone. Tom has always taken a keen interest in every aspect of the Orchestra’s life, nurturing relationships across our wider family – from fellow musicians and staff to friends, supporters and benefactors.

Prior to joining the Orchestra in 1986, Tom held positions with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The London Philharmonic Orchestra, however, with its distinct artistic focus under Principal Conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Sir George Solti, Klaus Tennstedt, and later Kurt Masur, and of course its long-standing relationship with Glyndebourne, was a natural fit for Tom. His dedication to the London Philharmonic Orchestra extended beyond the concert platform, including service as a Director on the Orchestra’s Board during the 1990s and, more recently, on its Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee.

Perhaps Tom’s most valued quality has been his generosity towards others. Countless musicians new to the Orchestra have benefited from his warmth, support and encouragement. I will always be grateful to Tom and his wife, Jessica, for letting me stay in their home when I travelled from Germany for my trial, and for helping me feel immediately at home in both the UK and the Orchestra. The Orchestra will not be quite the same without Tom’s unfailing enthusiasm, friendship and love of music. We all wish him the very best for his next chapter and have little doubt that we will continue to see him around for many years to come.’

Tom’s enthusiasm for music, and for the London Philharmonic Orchestra itself, has always been infectious. A passionate advocate for the great Germanic repertoire, and Wagner in particular,

Martin Höhmann, September 2026

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Coming up this season Lessons in Love and Violence

Górecki’s Third Symphony

Wednesday 25 November 2026 Queen Elizabeth Hall

Friday 19 February 2027 Royal Festival Hall

A one-off concert performance of George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s opera, conducted by Edward Gardner.

Andrey Boreyko conducts Górecki’s haunting ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’, alongside Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.

lpo.org.uk

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Renée Fleming & Dvořák’s New World Symphony Wednesday 10 March 2027 Royal Festival Hall Kevin Puts’s The Brightness of Light, based on the letters of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, paves the way for Dvorak’s great musical letter from America.

15/09/2026 13:03:12

Britten on the LPO Label

War Requiem Kurt Masur conductor Christine Brewer soprano Anthony Dean Griffey tenor Gerald Finley baritone London Philharmonic Choir Tiffin Boys’ Choir

Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Winter Words The Prince of the Pagodas (selections) Edward Gardner conductor Nicky Spence tenor LPO-0134

LPO-0010

Double Concerto Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Les Illuminations Vladimir Jurowski conductor Sally Matthews soprano Pieter Schoeman violin Alexander Zemtsov viola

Britten: Our Hunting Fathers Elgar: Introduction and Allegro; Enigma Variations Bernard Haitink conductor Heather Harper soprano LPO-0002

LPO-0037

Over 140 LPO Label recordings are available to stream via all major platforms. Download or order CDs via our online store: lpo.ochre.store

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Sound Futures donors We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures.

Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey CBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Underwood Trust

Welser-Möst Circle William & Alex de Winton John Ireland Charitable Trust The Tsukanov Family Foundation Neil Westreich

Tennstedt Circle Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Richard Buxton The Candide Trust Michael & Elena Kroupeev Kirby Laing Foundation Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Sir Simon Robey Bianca & Stuart Roden Simon & Vero Turner The late Mr K Twyman

Solti Patrons Ageas John & Manon Antoniazzi Gabor Beyer, through BTO Management Consulting AG Jon Claydon Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Suzanne Goodman Roddy & April Gow The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Mr James R.D. Korner OBE Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia Ladanyi-Czernin Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust

Mr Paris Natar The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Lady Jane Berrill Mr Frederick Brittenden David & Yi Yao Buckley Mr Clive Butler Gill & Garf Collins Mr John H Cook Mr Alistair Corbett Bruno De Kegel Georgy Djaparidze David Ellen Christopher Fraser OBE David & Victoria Graham Fuller Goldman Sachs International Mr Gavin Graham Moya Greene Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mrs Philip Kan Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Rose & Dudley Leigh Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Miss Jeanette Martin Duncan Matthews KC Diana & Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Dr Karen Morton Mr Roger Phillimore Ruth Rattenbury The Reed Foundation The Rind Foundation Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada)

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker

Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Querée The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker CBE AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Thank you As a registered charity, we are extremely grateful to all our supporters who have given generously to the LPO over the past year to help maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.

Artistic Director’s Circle The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra William & Alex de Winton Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Aud Jebsen Sir Simon & Lady Robey CBE

Orchestra Circle

Anonymous donors Richard Buxton Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave The Hodson Family Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich

Principal Associates Steven M. Berzin Shashank Bhagat Sir Nigel Boardman & Prof. Lynda Gratton George Ramishvili The Tsukanov Family

Associates

Anonymous donors Garf & Gill Collins Michelle Crowe Hernandez & Christian Hernandez Malcolm Herring Stuart & Bianca Roden The Thompson Family Charitable Trust Malcolm & Alison Thwaites Joe Topley & Tracey Countryman The Williams family in memory of Grenville Williams

Gold Patrons

David & Yi Buckley Dr Alex & Maria Chan John & Sam Dawson Nadya Eropkina Fiona Espenhahn in memory of Peter Mr Roger Greenwood David & Bettina Harden Hans-Wilhelm & Evelyn Jenckel John & Angela Kessler Vladimir Kuznetsov

Silver Patrons

Anonymous donors Yibo Bao Mrs Amna Boheim Basil Demeroutis & Natasha Trevitt Mr Luke Gardiner The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Tom & Phillis Sharpe

John Nickson & Simon Rew Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Mr Stephen Olton Andrew & Cindy Peck Mr Roger Phillimore Nigel Phipps & Amanda McDowall Mr Michael Posen Marie Power Neil & Karen Reynolds Sir Bernard Rix Mr Robert Ross Sir Charles Roxburgh KCB Baroness Shackleton John & Madeleine Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Laurence Watt Joanna Williams Hannah Young

Bronze Patrons

Principal Supporters

Peter & Lucy Noble Simon & Lucy OwenJohnstone Irene Rosner David Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Guy & Utti Whittaker Louise Worthington

Anonymous donors Nicholas Berwin Dame Colette Bowe Mr Bernard Bradbury Simon Burke & Rupert King Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Andrew Davenport Deborah Dolce Cameron & Kathryn Doley Harron Ellenson & Charles Miller Smith Charles Fulton Gini Gabbertas Igor & Lyuba Galkin Dr Emily Gardner Jenny & Duncan Goldie-Scot Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Eugene & Allison Hayes Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza Rose & Dudley Leigh Drs Frank & Gek Lim Graham Long Sofiya Machulskaya James Maxey-Branch Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Andrew T Mills Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Jamie Njoku-Goodwin

Anonymous donors David Aird Dr M. Arevuo Julian & Annette Armstrong Roger & Clare Barron Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Mateusz Bek Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Edgecombe Sir Timothy Fancourt Jonathan Franklin Professor Erol & Mrs Deniz Gelenbe Steve & Cristina Goldring Prof Emeritus John Gruzelier Iain & Alicia Hasnip Nick Hely-Hutchinson Mr Peter Imhof Bruce & Joanna Jenkyn-Jones Per Jonsson Alexandra Jupin & John Bean Mr Ian Kapur Gee Lee Sir Nicholas & Lady Lyons Mr Nikita Mishin Simon Moore Mrs Terry Neale Mr James Pickford Mr Andrea Santacroce & Olivia Veillet-Lavallée Erika & Edward Song

Mr & Mrs G Stein Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Mr Wolf-Christian Ulrich Ben Valentin KC Mr Rodney Whittaker Christopher Williams

Supporters

Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mr John D Barnard David Burke & Valerie Graham Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Miss Tessa Cowie Will Gold Ray Harsant Dr Joan Hester The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Dame Jane Newell DBE Michael Noyce Oliver & Josie Ogg Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Tony & Hilary Vines Dr June Wakefield Mr R Watts Mr John Weekes Mr C D Yates

Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd

Hon. Life Members

Alfonso Aijón Dame Carol Colburn Grigor DBE Robert Hill Keith Millar Victoria Robey CBE Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Cornelia Schmid Timothy Walker CBE AM Laurence Watt

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

Thank you

P 4 1 5

P 4 3 9

LPO Ensemble Members

We are grateful to individuals who chose to leave the Orchestra a gift in their Will: In memory of Paul Morgan In memory of Donald Pelmear In memory of Rita Reay In memory of Peter J Watson In memory of Nicola Goodman In memory of Kenneth Shaw In memory of Allner Mavis Channing In memory of Peter Coe In memory of Doris Tylee

LPO Corporate Members Bloomberg Carter-Ruck Solicitors French Chamber of Commerce German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce Lazard Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking Walpole

Preferred Partners Amazon Web Services Google Lay & Wheeler Lindt & Sprüngli Mayer Brown Steinway & Sons Welbeck

Trusts and Foundations

ABO Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts David Solomons Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Foyle Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund The Golsoncott Foundation Jerwood Foundation John Thaw Foundation John Horniman's Children's Trusts The Ian Askew Charitable Trust Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust

Trusts and Foundations

Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Marchus Trust Margaret Killbury Foundation Maria Björnson Memorial Fund The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust PRS Foundation The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Rothschild Foundation Scops Arts Trust Sir William Boreman's Foundation The John S Cohen Foundation TIOC Foundation UK Friends of the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation Vaughan Williams Foundation The Risman Foundation The Viney Family The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and others who wish to remain anonymous.

Principal Partners

Principal Supporter b

Board of the American Friends of the LPO

Major Supporters

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We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America:

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Corporate Sponsors

Hannah Young Chair Lora Aroyo Jon Carter Alexandra Jupin Natalie Pray MBE Dr Irene Rosner David Marc Wassermann Dr Catherine C. Høgel Hon. Director

Principal Partner

OrchLab Project Partner

LPO International Board of Governors

Principal Supporter

Natasha Tsukanova Chair Steven M. Berzin Shashank Bhagat Irina Gofman Olivia Ma George Ramishvili Florian Wunderlich

Major Supporter

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 26 September 2026 • Britten’s War Requiem

London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration Board of Directors

New Generation Board

Finance

Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair Sir Nigel Boardman Vice-Chair Mark Vines* President Kate Birchall* Vice-President Emily Benn David Buckley David Burke Simon Burke Simon Carrington* Michelle Crowe Hernandez Deborah Dolce Simon Estell* Fiona Gordon Jesús Herrera Minn Majoe* Jamie Njoku-Goodwin OBE Julian Simmonds Claudia Tarrant-Matthews* Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* *Player-Director

Ellie Ajao Peter De Souza Vivek Haria Rianna Henriques Zerlina Vulliamy

Frances Slack Finance Director

Advisory Council Roger Barron Chairman Christopher Aldren Kate Birchall Amna Boheim Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank YolanDa Brown OBE Sao Bui-Van David Burke Simon Callow CBE Desmond Cecil CMG Jane Coulson Andrew Davenport Guillaume Descottes Cameron Doley Lena Fankhauser Christopher Fraser OBE Jenny Goldie-Scot Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Nick Hely-Hutchinson DL Jesús Herrera Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann Tanya Joseph Jamie Korner OBE Julianne Lee Andrew Neill Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey CBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe KC Daisuke Tsuchiya Mark Vines Chris Viney Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager Jean-Paul Ramotar IT Manager & Finance Officer

General Administration Jesús Herrera Artistic Director

Education & Community

David Burke Chief Executive Monica Rutherford PA to the Executive & Office Manager

Talia Lash Education & Community Director Lowri Thomas Alex Tighe Education & Community Project Managers

Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts & Planning Director Graham Wood Concerts & Recordings Manager Aimee Walton Tours Manager Madeleine Ridout Glyndebourne & Projects Manager Alice Drury Tours & Projects Co-ordinator Alison Jones Concerts & Artists Co-ordinator Nicola Stevenson Concerts & Recordings Coordinator Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Helen Phipps Orchestra & Auditions Manager Martin Sargeson Sarah Thomas Librarians

Gabrielle Slack-Smith Deputy Stage Manager

Sophie Lonergan Senior Marketing Manager (maternity leave) Katie Vickers Senior Marketing Manager (maternity cover) Georgie Blyth Press & PR Manager Josh Clark Data, Insights & CRM Manager Greg Felton Digital Creative Isobel Jones Marketing Manager

Claudia Clarkson Regional Partnerships Manager

Rachel Williams Publications Manager

Maria Ribalaygua Sales & Ticketing Manager

Development

Lia Kingdon Digital & Social Media Co-ordinator

Laura Willis Development Director

Cara Liddiard Marketing Assistant

Rosie Morden Senior Development Manager