Mozart's World: A Little Night Music

MOZART’S WORLD A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

WELCOME TO OUR 2025/26 SEASON AT THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE.

Celebrating 40 fantastic years of making music.

1986. It was the year of the Westland Affair, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the World Cup in Mexico, the premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s opera The Mask of Orpheus… and in late June Wham! was at number 1 in the UK charts with The Edge of Heaven.

On 26 June, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment first stepped onto a stage.

The first of our two seasons marking this milestone features a kaleidoscope of old favourites and new combinations. It features some of our best-loved partnerships and celebrates our shared history. Handel and Bach, Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms and Dvořák are all composers who have been at the heart of our journey.

The challenges faced by the OAE and all our colleagues are varied, but we remain absolutely focused on the mission of sharing the highest quality music with the widest audience possible. What continues to shine after 40 years is the golden thread of a story of friends united by a profound love of the art of music.

MOZART’S WORLD

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

7.00pm Sunday 1 February

Queen Elizabeth Hall

Programme

JUAN CRISÓSTOMO ARRIAGA

(1806 – 1826)

Overture in F minor

WOLFGANG AMADEUS

MOZART (1756 – 1791)

Clarinet Concerto

I. Allegro

II. Adagio

III. Rondo

– Interval (20 minutes) –

MICHAEL HAYDN (1737 – 1806)

Divertimento in G (P. 94)

Marcia. Andantino

Allegro spiritoso

Menuetto – Trio – Menuetto

Andante

Menuetto allegretto – Trio – Menuetto

Polonese

Allegretto

Finale. Presto

MOZART

Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade in G)

I. Allegro

II. Romance. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio – Menuetto

IV. Rondo. Allegro

ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Kati Debretzeni violin / director

Katherine Spencer basset clarinet

John Crockatt viola

Andrew Skidmore cello

Lisa Beznosiuk flute

Peter Moutoussis horn

The OAE’s 40th anniversary seasons in 2025 / 26 and 2026 / 27 are made possible with the support of The Forty Circle.

Free pre-concert talk with Katherine Spencer and Kati Debretzeni at 6.00pm in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer.

Violins I

Kati Debretzeni*

Daniel Edgar

Alice Evans

Iona Davies

Violins II

Huw Daniel*

Henry Tong

Andrew Roberts

Rodolfo Richter

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Violas

John Crockatt*

Martin Kelly

Cellos

Andrew Skidmore

Catherine Rimer

Double bass

Cecelia Bruggemeyer

Thursday 26 February, 7.00pm

Royal Festival Hall

Flutes

Lisa Beznosiuk*

Neil McLaren

Bassoons

Fergus Butt

Christopher Rawley

Horns

Peter Moutoussis

David Bentley

*OAE Principal Players

MOZART’S WORLD: THE LAST SYMPHONIES

MOZART Symphony No. 39 | Symphony No. 40 | Symphony No. 41 ‘Jupiter’

Through the summer of 1788 Mozart was consumed in a burst of inspiration. It produced the three remarkable symphonies that turned out to be his last. Rarely heard together, Robin Ticciati takes us inside Mozart’s bold, stormy and divine creations. Robin Ticciati conductor

Introducing Grace the basset clarinet

Katherine Spencer

PARTNER IN CRIME

I’m in love with Grace, my new instrument. To bring her to life, first I had to choose which maker I wanted to work with. Mozart’s close friend, the clarinettist Anton Stadler, had a working relationship with Theodor Lotz, the Viennese woodwind instrument maker. Without this partnership Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto would never have been born.

I met Daniel Bangham as a student and he made my first adored classical clarinets. He is passing the baton to Guy Cowley, and they worked together on creating this beautiful instrument for me.

FROM FOREST TO FORM

The wood used is European boxwood, and I’ve been very involved over the years in promoting the replanting of box tree forests in England. Box trees are very slow growing, so, in my lifetime, I will never play on one of the little saplings I helped plant in the Chilterns. Mind you, my job was to perform on my boxwood clarinets around the tree planters outdoors on the hillside, as a kind of morale booster.

DESIGN

The next thing I had to do was to meet with the makers and decide what we wanted the instrument to do. What were my priorities and needs? I wanted to create an instrument that explored the lighter, vocal side of the Clarinet Concerto. I wanted it to really speak and be flexible. I was also aware that the concert halls I would play in would be quite a lot larger than the beautiful resonant halls of the past. I chose to have a straight bell and a straight barrel to have a simple, streamlined beauty, and above all so she can sing.

KEY DECISIONS

We next agreed on how many keys we would have. Having a key means you don’t have to use complicated cross fingering, and it has a more focused sound, whereas cross fingering produces a more covered, velvety tone.

Bassets from Mozart’s era likely had five keys, plus thumb keys for the low notes. I added a few more as the OAE also like to commission new composers to write for our instruments, and I’m hoping that Grace might inspire a new generation of composers to add to the rather small basset clarinet repertoire. Just because the key is there you do not have to use it, but if the music wants it, you can enjoy its colour. The colour mixing of fingerings is one of the joys of Grace.

COMING TOGETHER

Guy knows rather better than me what it takes to bring Grace physically to life, so here’s his perspective on the process:

‘The important aspects were that the key touches for the fingers were rounded. The basset keys should be ergonomic and in the authentic style. It should project well in modern concert halls, so we decided on a traditional bell shape.

How the clarinet sits under the fingers was an important consideration, along with how the basset keys would work to play the relevant musical passages in the concerto.

In brief, the making process is as follows: the bore is drilled and reamed, then the outer surface turned by hand. Tone holes are drilled and

keywork hand forged or pressed in a traditional manner, and then mounted between wooden saddles. The next stage is to adjust the bore and tone holes to make the instrument sing. It takes time and patience and it is most important to understand the playing technique of the performer whom the new instrument is for.’

BLENDING HISTORY WITH MODERNITY

Stadler’s basset clarinet had a long box that pointed backwards at the bottom, somewhat resembling a caterpillar attached to it. The aesthetics of my instrument were important to me, as well as the player-maker relationship, so I didn’t just want to do a historical copy, although no instruments of this period survive so we are mainly going on an etching from one of Stadler’s programmes which shows a basset clarinet. I wanted to create something new that had the beauty of the wood and simplicity of the keys, but with my and Guy’s stamp on it. Grace has all of this, and I couldn’t be happier.

With support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC – UKRI) as part of a programme of commissioned research with the Academy of Ancient Music.

This article was originally published in Enlightenment, our annual magazine available to our Friends and Patrons. For more information see oae.co.uk/support-us

Friends, connections and curiosity

Deborah Heckert

In 2026 we often come across new music through an algorithm… we allow apps and websites to lead us from one piece to another, and now AI-controlled feeds make that even more prevalent.

But what if we find new music ourselves by tracing our own twisting and turning paths of connection and curiosity and see where they take us?

In brainstorming tonight’s concert, we followed two main ideas down all kinds of rabbit holes – the first, composers and instrumentalists whose lives were entwined in time and environment, and the second the idea of orchestrating with wind instruments, often paired. Principal clarinettist Katherine Spencer’s new basset clarinet “Grace” suggested Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as our starting point to explore some new music and some well-known favourites.

We know that Mozart wrote his A major clarinet concerto for his friend Anton Stadler, the virtuoso clarinet player, and it was his last completed instrumental work before his death in 1791. The clarinet was a relatively new instrument in the late 1700s, and composers were experimenting with the sound potential of the instrument – darker, smoother and rounder than the older doublereed wind instruments. Mozart obviously enjoyed the clarinet – he wrote many other lovely works which feature it. Stadler also experimented with its potential on a more technical level, working to develop a basset clarinet, possibly with the instrument maker Theodor Lotz, which had an extended lower range. While the original instrument has been lost, OAE clarinettist Katherine Spencer herself has worked with the instrument maker Guy Cowley to come up with her new instrument with the goal of reconnecting to an eighteenth-century sound world by trying to recapture the sound of Stadler and Mozart’s original instrument.

While the friendship between Mozart and Stadler must have been a complex one – less-than-flattering nicknames and accusations of stealing are scattered through letters and diaries – Mozart’s musical gift to his friend has become one of his most enduring works. The work features the “paired” woodwind orchestration (flutes, bassoons, and horns along with strings) that is featured in several of our pieces tonight and has the typical three movements of a Classical Period concerto. The first movement begins in a light, innocent mood, but soon the clarinet introduces new melodies that move the tone more and more towards the melancholic, exploiting the clarinet’s large colour range. The second movement is an uncomplicated song in ABA form, sublime, simple, and peaceful. The rondo – Mozart mentions it in a letter saying he had finished “Stadler’s rondo” –is far less bumptious and frantic than many rondo finales, helping to give the piece an overall serene and ethereal character.

If the Clarinet Concerto was designed to wow audiences with the potential of the new basset clarinet and his friend Stadler’s artistry with a serious, sublime work, the Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525, or Eine kleine Nachtmusik as Mozart called it in a list of his works, most certainly had no pretensions to seriousness or sublimity. Written in 1787 while Mozart was composing Don Giovanni, it shares the Clarinet Concerto’s links to friendship and sociability – while we don’t know for what occasion

Mozart composed the piece, it must also have been for something celebratory and convivial, possibly for a commission, but maybe also written for a friend or colleague. Related to divertissements (informal, social, occasionally party music), serenatas by this point in the century often were designed to complement or as a gift. They carried with them associations of outside evening entertainments, often played by winds (though oddly, this is the one work this evening without winds, written instead for a small string ensemble!).

In recording it in his catalogue, Mozart lists the work as having five movements – at some point, the first minuet was lost, leaving four movements that almost form a light-hearted, short symphony. The first movement is an Allegro with its iconic, fanfare-like tune. The second is a slow, sweet Romance, followed by a third movement Minuetto. The finale is an exuberant rondo.

More a “work colleague” than a friend, Michael Haydn (1737 –1806), younger brother of THE ubiquitous Haydn, Joseph, was someone Mozart knew from his days in Salzburg, where Michael was concertmaster during Mozart’s youth. Despite recorded nasty aspersions by Wolfgang’s father Leopold about Haydn’s character (Leopold wanted Wolfgang to have Michael’s job!), the

two kept the connection in Vienna later in Mozart’s life. While Michael wrote predominantly religious vocal music, fitting for a composer attached to the archbishop’s music establishment in Salzburg, like most composers of the period he did also write informal, social musical entertainments – they could pay well and were great for creating connections. Divertissements were probably the most popular kind of chamber music in Vienna during the second half of the 1700s. Encouraged by avid amateur instrumentalists, they circulated both as manuscripts and published copies.

Exploring these connections, we offer one of Haydn’s divertissements, similar in spirit to Mozart’s Serenade. It adds a set of winds to the usual strings, which with its tinge of the Harmoniemusik wind band might imply the piece was written for professional friends rather than the amateur market. It consists of a set of six short dance or dance-like movements (including an opening march, two minuets and a polonaise) with a slow, expressive Andante movement at its centre. A fast finale ends the charming, light-hearted work which would have easily fit in a party atmosphere.

1786 (hand-coloured

Beyond the connections of friendships, other musical links can take us down richly rewarding rabbit holes! In a fun spin, following leads to other kinds of Mozart connections takes us to Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806 – 1826), the “Spanish Mozart,” or more precisely, the “Basque Mozart,” since he spent his early life in Bilbao, where his father and brother nurtured his musical talents. The nickname came about because he shared Mozart’s 27 January birthday, was also given the name Chrysostom like Mozart, and was also clearly a child prodigy. It is perhaps daunting branding for a composer who died very young at 20 from a lung disease. A star student at the Conservatoire after he moved to Paris in the early 1820s, it is hard to imagine what this

hugely talented Mozart twin might have achieved if he had lived a longer time. As it is, we have one extant opera, a symphony, three string quartets, and a few other chamber works as a legacy. Tonight we will listen to the Overture in F minor, sometimes called a nonette because of its scoring of strings and winds. While the piece begins with a brooding, minor key introduction, whose darkness returns midway in the development section, it quickly turns bright and upbeat. Appropriately for a young composer in 1820s Paris trying to form both a personal and popular style, the piece evokes Mozart throughout with a little Rossini thrown in, connecting to an 18th Century Classical Period kind of lightheartedness, despite its later date.

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Breaking Bach pairs hip hop dancers with Bach’s complex rhythms in a bold collaboration with Kim Brandstrup and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Stream it now.

We are going to start our own orchestra

Jan Schlapp, a founding player, recalls the OAE’s beginning

I find it difficult to untangle the many strands of myth and memory that surround the beginning of the OAE. My personal memory is of my late husband, cellist Timothy Mason, coming home after a day of rehearsals in 1985, fired up with enthusiasm, saying “We are going to start our own orchestra and it is going to be player-led”. Busy as I was with two very young children I was initially less than enthusiastic because it seemed an almost impossible idea – where would the money come from? How would we organise it? Who would be involved?

The seed of the idea had been planted by regular conversations between the bassoonist, Felix Warnock, the violinist Marshall Marcus, and Tim, about how to break free from the status quo of London period orchestras. We had little say in any of these orchestras and we felt a bit underappreciated. But more important was the fact that we couldn’t tap into what was going on the continent. The BBC were broadcasting several of the continental giants of period performance such as Harnoncourt, Kuijken, Brüggen, Leonhardt, Christie and Koopman, but we couldn’t access their knowledge and experience. Their way of exploring baroque music was different from our English directors and fascinating to us, because of their intellectual seriousness and their depth of knowledge about

instruments, phrasing, repertoire and style. They had been involved in period instrument performance much longer than us and we wanted to be free to absorb it all. At that time we had no way of inviting them to come to work with us in the UK.

Gradually, in discussion with all interested parties, the idea of a player-led orchestra took shape. Sponsorship was found. Everyone would be paid the same, there would be at least three leaders, and there would be an artistic committee elected by the players who would lead on concerts and repertoire. And out of this “organised chaos” as Marshall put it, came our first London concert in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in June 1986 with Sigiswald Kuijken directing a programme moving from Rameau to Haydn. This marked the beginning of OAE’s journey. Forty years on that journey continues today, still with the same ethos and the shared excitement of discovery.

Read Jan’s full article about how the OAE was founded on our blog at oae.co.uk/start

A seat with a view

Lisa Beznosiuk (Flute)

Playing the baroque flute was instinctive for me. When I was a student at the Guildhall, I’d only ever played the modern silver flute, and I always had a problem with the sort of sound that I was supposed to make: lots of vibrato. Anyway, I heard Stephen Preston play at college, and I thought “ahh!”. I hadn’t heard a wooden flute before then - there weren’t recordings like there are nowadays – but it had a purer sound and I was totally drawn in by it. I was a bit like Fotherington-Thomas back then – “hello clouds, hello sky!”. I had no idea about the profession and I wasn’t thinking in terms of a career. I was just doing what I loved at the time.

I was there at the start of the OAE – not the very first meeting, perhaps, but I was on the panel when we put the first programmes together. It seems so quaint now, but at the time, it was shock! Horror! The very idea that we would play baroque and classical music in the same programme! What a huge step to take, playing Haydn and Telemann in the same concert! That’s how it felt at the time, anyway.

The thing for all players, but especially for wind players, is that if the orchestra is going to leap forward in time from the baroque era to (say) Beethoven symphonies, we have to find the right instruments for each period. In the 1980s there weren’t that many makers of classical flutes, so I ended up doing recordings on flutes which no student of mine would play now, because it wasn’t that easy to find alternatives. And every time the OAE breaks through a new boundary – like doing Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky with Vladimir Jurowski – we’ve had to address that.

But we’ve always been keen to use our expertise and knowledge. It was like an adventure at first: yeah, we can do this! This is our thing! I was extremely passionate about finding the correct style. Taking responsibility and exploring repertoire amongst ourselves felt like a very healthy thing to do. I hope it’s not too arrogant to say that we also brought a lot to our guest conductors – engaging with them, involving them in our artistic conversations and arguments. Maybe they thought we were quite stroppy at times - which I’m sure we were!

Lisa was talking to Richard Bratby.

Biographies

KATI DEBRETZENI Violin / Leader

A fourth-generation musician, Kati Debretzeni began playing the violin with Sofia Szabó in her native Romania, finishing her studies with Ora Shiran in Israel. Her passion for historical performance took her to London, where she studied the Baroque violin with Catherine Mackintosh and Walter Reiter.

From 2000 to 2004 Kati led the English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner, with whom she has performed the world over. Her playing can be heard in the group’s recordings of JS Bach’s cantatas, the Brandenburg concertos and the more recent recordings of the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion and Monteverdi’s operas. In 2018 she recorded violin concertos by JS Bach with the orchestra to critical acclaim. Since December 2024, she has been leader of Gardiner’s Constellation Ensemble.

Since 2008 she has been one of the leaders of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has collaborated with Simon Rattle, Adam and Ivan Fischer, András Schiff, William Christie, Ottavio Dantone, Vladimir Jurowski, Maxim Emelyanychev and Ricardo Minasi. She has directed the group from the violinist’s chair in works ranging from Baroque repertoire to Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Berlioz, and has recorded Vivaldi’s Four Seasons following performances in collaboration with the Henri Oguike Dance Company.

Kati is in demand internationally as leader, soloist and director with groups such as the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Netherlands), Zefiro (Italy), Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Germany), Barokkanerne (Norway), Sevilla Baroque Orchestra (Spain), Les Siècles (France), Victoria Baroque (Canada) and the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra (Israel).

A keen chamber musician, Kati has recorded awardwinning CDs with Ricordo and Florilegium. In the last decade and a half she has been a member of Trio Goya.

As a teacher, Kati has given masterclasses in the UK, Germany, Italy, Norway, Canada, Israel and Hungary. She is on the faculty of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and her former students make music the world over.

KATHERINE SPENCER Basset clarinet

Katherine ‘Waffy’ Spencer is the principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the City of London Sinfonia, the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, USA, as well as guesting with Europe’s leading period and modern orchestras.

Katherine has played for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and at a private performance for the Emperor of Japan.

The Independent has acclaimed her “brilliant clarinet solos”, the New York Times says Katherine delivers “a knockout performance”, and Opera Wire said she “was so exquisite that her solo should have been repeated as an encore”.

Katherine made her concerto debut at London’s Royal Festival Hall aged 14. She has played as a soloist in all of the UK’s major concert venues with orchestras including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She has made numerous BBC Radio 3 solo broadcasts, performs at the BBC Proms, and has presented BBC radio programmes. She also performs regularly on Classic FM and on many European radio stations, on both modern and period instruments. A believer that music is for everyone, Katherine is a leader in education and outreach in all of her orchestras.

Katherine studied at Chetham’s School of Music (Manchester), The Royal Academy of Music (London), Hannover Hochschule für Musik, and is completing a doctorate at Stony Brook University, New York.

Katherine is touring the Mozart Clarinet Concerto as part of OAE’s 40th birthday celebrations on a newly commissioned authentic basset clarinet. When on tour, she misses her Persian cat, instagram.com/ dailymidge who is, sadly, not a woodwind fan.

“Grace”, my basset clarinet was created by Guy Cowley with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC –UKRI) as part of a programme of commissioned research with the Academy of Ancient Music.

KIRKER MUSIC FESTIVALS

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Each of our carefully-curated Exclusive Kirker Music Festivals includes a series of private concerts with international musicians of the highest calibre. Guests and performers alike particularly enjoy the rapport between audience and artists which is generated during the course of Kirker drinks parties, concerts and workshops.

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Mrs Joy Whitby

Trusts & Foundations

Arts Council England

The Britford Bridge Trust

John Lyon’s Charity

The Linbury Trust

Paul Hamlyn Foundation

The Apax Foundation

Cockayne – Grants for the Arts

Dreamchasing

The Foyle Foundation

Garfield Weston Foundation

Henocq Law Trust – The Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience Scheme

John Armitage Charitable Trust

The Neville Abraham Foundation

The Roger and Ingrid Pilkington

Charitable Trust

The Sir Victor Blank Charitable Settlement

Skyrme Hart Charitable Trust

The Vernon Ellis Foundation

The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust

The Albert and Eugenie Frost Music Trust

The Aspinwall Educational Trust

The Charles Peel Charitable Trust

The de Laszlo Foundation

The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

The Garrick Charitable Trust

The Golsoncott Foundation

The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation

The Idlewild Trust

The John Thaw Foundation

Mark Allen Foundation

The Michael Marks Charitable Trust

The Patricia Routledge Foundation

The Patrick Rowland Foundation

The Peter Cundill Foundation

Scops Arts Trust

The Stanley Picker Trust

The Thistle Trust

Thriplow Charitable Trust

Vaughan Williams Foundation

Corporate Supporters

Ambriel

Kirker Holidays

Mark Allen Group

Honorary Council

Sir Martin Smith (Chair)

Sir Victor Blank

Edward Bonham Carter

Cecelia Bruggemeyer

Denys Firth

Nigel Jones

Max Mandel

David Marks

Julian Mash

Greg Melgaard

Roger Montgomery

Susan Palmer OBE

David Pickard OBE

Jan Schlapp

Diane Segalen

Lady Elise Smith OBE

Emily Stubbs

Rosalyn Wilkinson

Mark Williams

Thank you to OAE Friends, Supporting Friends and supporters who wish to remain anonymous.

Arts Council England Review highlights OAE residency

We were grateful for the opportunity to participate in Baroness Margaret Hodge’s wide-ranging independent review of Arts Council England that was published in December 2025. The review should be an important contribution to the conversation to shape a sustainable future for the UK’s cultural sector and its relationship with government. Many of Baroness Hodge’s practical recommendations around funding, touring and developing the nation’s cultural offer would represent positive steps forward. Those in positions of authority and influence should be urged to make purposeful decisions for change and progress.

The role of education featured prominently (see Section F of the report), highlighting the importance of linking access to music and culture

as part of daily life from a young age to enjoying the lifelong benefits of live performance and a thriving talent pipeline. We were particularly heartened that the report highlighted our residency at Acland Burghley School as a model for partnership working that can redefine the dynamic between cultural organisations and communities. Recommendation 11 “to create a joint fund that would support improvements to the cultural offer in schools” in particular is to be wholeheartedly welcomed. It is incumbent on us all to nourish the cultural roots of our young people. Being based in a school, we see on a daily basis how meaningful creative enterprise is empowering young people to realise their full potential whilst enabling the Orchestra to deliver world-class performances of Mozart and Beethoven.

“There are many excellent initiatives to bring culture into schools that could be replicated. For example, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has moved its offices into a Camden secondary school enabling the orchestra to enjoy an economical home with rehearsal facilities and enabling the school to brilliantly enrich not just its music education, but also to use music to enhance its physics and maths teaching.”

ACE INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY BARONESS MARGARET HODGE

Scan the QR code and read the full report

Full of Surprises!

“Fantastic! Brimming with positivity. Brill musicians. Orchestras in schools

–

is this the future of classical music?

Hope so!”

AUDIENCE MEMBER

Special

Read our Education Review 2024 / 25

Over the past 25 years, the OAE’s Education department has grown in stature and reach to involve thousands of people nationwide in creative music projects. Our work, inspired by each season’s programming, brings our repertoire, instruments and players to people of all ages across England. This makes for a vibrant, challenging and engaging programme where everyone, from players and animateurs to composers, participants, teachers, partners and stakeholders, all have a valued voice.

From our base in Acland Burghley School in north London, we travel the length of England to deliver our work. In 2024 – 25 we visited Darlington, Consett (County Durham), Leeds, York, King’s Lynn, Brighton, Guildford, Cambridge and Ipswich, as well as the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Camden, Greenwich, Harrow, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Newham, Merton and Wandsworth. 

Read the review on our website at oae.co.uk/discover or scan the QR code

BECOME A FRIEND

Love our Southbank Centre concerts?

Join us as a Friend of the OAE today and help bring exceptional music to life. As a Friend, you’ll experience concerts like never before, gaining both front-row access and behind-the-scenes insights. Enjoy priority booking for our entire season, attend open rehearsals, and connect with our musicians at exclusive membership events. For just £50 a year, you can enjoy these benefits and be a part of our 40th anniversary celebrations, supporting an ambitious and inspiring 2025 / 26 Season.

To become a Friend, scan the QR code, visit oae.co.uk/support-us or contact us at development@oae.co.uk or 020 8159 9317

HELP THE OAE GET TO 2066

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has spent four decades redefining classical performance. From pioneering new approaches to historically informed music-making to collaborating with the world’s leading conductors and soloists, the OAE has consistently remained at the forefront of musical innovation. As we mark this milestone, your support will help shape the next forty years of music-making to 2066.

Donate to our OAE at 40 Campaign

The funds raised through the OAE at 40 Campaign will support our 40th Anniversary Seasons, enabling extraordinary programming and collaborations with world-class artists and conductors. Your generosity will also sustain our pioneering partnership with Acland Burghley School, our national education programme and community operas, and our commitment to nurturing the next generation of emerging artists through our Rising Stars programme and Ann and Peter Law Experience Scheme.

Every gift, no matter the size, helps us achieve this ambitious vision and directly supports our Anniversary Seasons across 2025 / 26 and 2026 / 27 carrying the Orchestra confidently through the years to come. oae.co.uk/support-us/oae-at-40

Mozart left his legacy to us, and you can do the same.

By including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in your will, you can help secure our future for years to come. Legacy gifts enable us to perform at the highest level, both on the concert platform and in schools across the country, ensuring that exceptional music continues to inspire audiences of all ages.

Everyone who chooses to leave a gift to the OAE in their will is invited to join the 1986 Society, named in tribute to the year the Orchestra was founded. Members enjoy exclusive benefits, including an invitation to an annual behind-the-scenes event offering insight into how your support brings our work to life.

If you would like to discuss leaving a legacy with the OAE, please contact Hattie at hattie.rayfield-williams@oae.co.uk or call 020 8159 9318.

“I have remembered the OAE in my will, confident that the future will be a bright one.”

MARGARET FAULTLESS, OAE VIOLINIST AND LEADER

Southbank Centre Season 2025/26

Celebrating 40 years of the OAE

Sunday 8 February, 7.00pm

Queen Elizabeth Hall

IT SHALL CERTAINLY NOT BEND AND CRUSH ME COMPLETELY BEETHOVEN

Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Adam Fischer conductor

Thursday 26 February, 7.00pm

Royal Festival Hall

MOZART’S WORLD:

THE LAST SYMPHONIES

Robin Ticciati conductor

Sunday 29 March, 7.00pm

Queen Elizabeth Hall

ST JOHN PASSION

Hilary Cronin soprano

Helen Charlston mezzo-soprano

Jonathan Hanley tenor

James Way Evangelist (tenor)

Peter Edge Christus (baritone)

Choir of the Age of Enlightenment

Johanna Soller conductor

Wednesday 27 May, 7.00pm

Royal Festival Hall

THE CREATION

Samantha Clarke soprano

Nick Pritchard tenor

Krešimir Stražanac bass-baritone

Choir of the Age of Enlightenment

Václav Luks conductor

Wednesday 3 June, 7.00pm

Queen Elizabeth Hall LIFE OF THE SEA

Join our latest community musical adventure.

Wednesday 10 June, 7.00pm

Royal Festival Hall

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

Timothy Ridout viola

Sir Simon Rattle conductor

Wednesday 24 June, 7.00pm

Queen Elizabeth Hall

VIENNA 1897: BRAHMS’ LAST CONCERT

Steven Isserlis cello

Maxim Emelyanychev conductor

OAE TOTS

at the Southbank Centre for 2 to 5 year olds and their grown-ups

31 March

SAILING AWAY

THE NIGHT SHIFT

Chamber music down a local pub

Next gigs:

10 February at Brixton Blues Kitchen

16 March at The George Tavern

BACH, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING at Kings Place

Mission: to explore our place in the cosmos guided by the intergalactic genius of JS Bach. Each monthly event features one of Bach’s cantatas, and other choral and instrumental works, alongside a talk by an eminent astronomer.

Next event: 22 February at 11.30am

WHAT’S ON