- Gala Concert for the Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields - Programme includes: Bach – Fantasia in G, Bach – Motet Singet den Herm, Haydn - Symphony No. 44 'Trauer' and Mozart – Mass in C Minor. 17 May. www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org
- Spring Loaded - Spring Loaded, the annual season of new contemporary dance from emerging British-based choreographers, returns to The Place this year for the first time since 2000. Teeming with work that is fresh and creative, Spring Loaded is a showcase for the best choreography from the UK's most promising talent, with 16 companies performing over six weeks until 19 May. www.theplace.org.uk
- The English Concert; Fabio Biondi - Celebrated violinist Fabio Biondi joins The English Concert in a glorious programme showing why Vivaldi and his Italian contemporaries enjoyed such celebrity in the 18th century and why Italian violinists continue to enjoy it today. Biondi takes us to Milan, where the Duke’s court orchestra worked with Scaccia, Brioschi and Sammartini, as well as with the Red Priest himself. 25 May. www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
- Pintscher, Schumann and Brahms - Brahms famously struggled to write his Symphony No 1 for over twenty years, overwhelmed by the pressure lauded him by mentor Robert Schumann as ‘Beethoven’s heir’. It is no surprise then that the delightful melody of the fourth movement resonates with the ‘Ode to Joy’ in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Deeply appreciative of the classical traditions of Mozart and Haydn, Brahms echoes their style in an explosion of vibrant colour. In the first half of the concert, Hélène Grimaud performs Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Written with a delicate awareness of the piano’s subtleties, this work was championed by Schumann’s wife Clara for its lyricism and grace. Hélene Grimaud is a seasoned soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and will no doubt bring a fresh approach to this well loved work. The concert begins with a brief new work by Matthias Pintscher. 25 May. www.lpo.co.uk
- Roberto Fonseca with special guest Omara Portuondo + Esperanza Spalding -Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca returns to London with his mesmerising quintet following his sold-out show at this year’s London Jazz Festival which was met with two standing ovations. Drawing on his work with Buena Vista Social Club and a deep love of jazz, funk and soul, Roberto Fonseca recharges the Cuban tradition with his stunning stage show. 27 May. www.barbican.org.uk
- Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 + Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats - The perfect opening to Barbican Groove Nations festival comes from Fela Kuti’s prodigiously talented youngest son – Seun Kuti fronting his father’s band Egypt 80. The late Fela Anikulapo Kuti is Nigeria’s most world-renowned popular musician and most acerbic critic of the authorities until his death in 1997. Afrobeat has been one of the most influential sounds to emerge from the continent, combining jazz, James Brown and Highlife in an explosive brew which went on to influence many US musicians. 28 May. www.barbican.org.uk
- Brahms and Sibelius - A lungful of pure air, a breathtaking view from a mountain top, the warmth of a roaring fire, the style of a Scandinavian metropolis: they, and more, all seem omnipresent in Sibelius’s Second Symphony. How did Sibelius capture them so effortlessly? How did he arrive at that ‘big-tune’ with such apparent ease? This is a work that seems almost alive with spontaneity and passion whilst making perfect musical and geographical sense: a snow-capped panorama of an achievement. 30 May. www.lpo.co.uk
- Gergiev's Mahler - Gergiev's complete cycle of Mahler symphonies with the LSO recognises that we have to some extent lived Mahler's century and today they are one of the major presences on the orchestral concert scene. It is partly the appeal of the massive, for these are vast creations in every sense, and evoke the natural world with a vivid sense of awe and wonder but more than that they ask the big questions about life, death, joy, sorrow, love and belief. Until 5 June. www.barbican.org.uk
- Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig - Riccardo Chailly - Arvo Pärt’s Cantus (1977) is a respectful homage to a much admired colleague. Pärt wrote his mournful dedication in the immediate aftermath of Benjamin Britten’s death. The partnership between the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and their Chief conductor Riccardo Chailly who visit London ahead of their much anticipated residency at the Barbican next season, must be considered one of the happiest musical marriages of recent times. 6 June. www.barbican.org.uk
- The Peony Pavilion - Spectacular and breathtaking, The Peony Pavilion is an extraordinary Chinese love story merging literature, music, theatre, dance, acrobatics and art. Performed as Kunqu Opera, a 500 year old artform which is known as the mother of Chinese Opera, the story is dubbed the ‘Chinese Romeo and Juliet’ – a timeless tale of love which has been enjoyed by generations. The production has been specially created to appeal to modern audiences. It is faithful to the traditional Kunqu styles of singing, music and acting, but features a young cast plus modern lighting techniques and stage design. The 200 exquisitely hand-made costumes, which are densely embroidered and extravagantly plumed, along with the painterly backdrops of mountain lakes and misty forests, create a narrative spectacle in their own right. From 3 June until 8 June. www.sadlerswells.com
- John Rutter - This concert features not only John Rutter’s infectious works but also some warm-hearted evocative music that includes The Lark Ascending, a wonderfully soaring and poignant piece that features a free-flying violin solo. Folksong and nature play a vital role in this concert, one of pastoral hue and gentle melody, with Elgar’s masterly Introduction and Allegro, not without its own wistful qualities, adding ballast to a programme that reminds just how ‘green and pleasant’ England is and how wondrously beautiful and vital is this country’s core of indigenous song and dance. 13 June. www.cadoganhall.com
- My Favorite Year - It was the year he made the jump to freshman writer on TV’s hottest show: ‘The King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade’. Benjy takes us on a nostalgic journey of one week in the life of the show. Along the way we meet King Kaiser himself and all the other comedy writers; veteran Hollywood swashbuckler Alan Swann while he’s doing a live guest appearance on the show; KC, the pretty assistant who is herself struggling with being the only unfunny person in the studio and Benjy’s mother, Belle May Steinberg Carroca, a substantial beacon of Brooklyn society. Written by Flaherty and Ahrens (Ragtime, Lucky Stiff and Disney’s Anastasia), My Favorite Year is a true musical comedy with a strong book that is simultaneously funny, nostalgic and moving. It has a bright, tuneful contemporary score and is sure to put a smile on your lips and a tear in your eye. From 4 June until 14 June. www.bridewelltheatre.org
- Strictly Gershwin - Strictly Gershwin is a dazzling celebration of George Gershwin and the sparkling age of Hollywood music and dance. Gershwin’s sassy tunes, most famously Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, combine with Derek Deane’s sensational choreography to conjure up the Silver Screen genius of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly. With over 100 dancers and musicians filling the stage, glitzy cinematic images set the scene for English National Ballet's fabulous dance spectacular. From 13 June until 22 June. www.royalalberthall.com
- Havana Rakatan - From the sexy, spontaneous rumba to the slick footwork of the cha-cha-cha, this dance spectacular is guaranteed to get heads nodding and feet tapping! Featuring one of Cuba’s most popular Son bands live on stage, Havana Rakatan is a captivating and colourful journey through the dance and music of a truly unique country. From 21 May until 22 June. www.sadlerswells.com
- The Lord of the Rings - An international creative team
has combined all three books into one unmissable theatrical event that will transform
the Theatre Royal Drury Lane into Middle-earth. With a thrilling score, a spectacular
design, and an ensemble of over 70 actors, singers and musicians, Lord of the
Rings is the most ambitious theatrical production ever staged. The production
has book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna & Matthew Warchus and music by A.R. Rahman
& Värttinä with Christopher Nightingale. The show will be directed
by Matthew Warchus, with choreography by Peter Darling and set and costume design
by Rob Howell. Buy theatre tickets
- Hairspray - It's time to let your hair down and dance the night away. Hairspray, Broadway's hit musical comedy, is coming to London! Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, sets out to dance her way onto TV's most popular dance show. She finds herself transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity, but will she be able to change the world and win the boy she loves? Buy tickets
- Running the Silk Road - A cast of UK and Chinese performers weave together two theatrical traditions in this enthralling collaboration. In 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics, a group of friends from London set off on an epic journey along the ancient Silk Road trading route to China. Armed only with good humour, they cross the isolated terrain of central Asia, carrying with them an alternative Olympic flame to represent the dangers of global warming. The story of their journey is interwoven with tales from Chinese mythology. Classical actors from Beijing Opera draw on the zaju theatre of the Jin Dynasty, using dance, acrobatics, comic patter and music. From 24 June until 28 June. www.barbican.org.uk
- RPO presents Green & Pleasant Land - Nobody has yet solved the mystery of Elgar's magnificent Enigma Variations. Although we know the identities of the friends portrayed in each variation, no-one has yet positively identified the other 'theme' that Elgar declared 'goes' with the opening melody. The work has lost none of its power or passion over the years, and includes the glorious Nimrod, Elgar’s heartfelt tribute to his great friend Jaeger. Englishness of a more metropolitan kind underlies the second of Vaughan Williams’ nine symphonies, although there is actually very little that is obviously ‘London’ in the work, aside from the unmistakable sound of the Westminster chimes. 29 June. www.royalalberthall.com
- Solomon Burke + Breakestra - Solomon Burke (born 1936) is truly one of popular music’s larger-than-life figures. An ordained minister, his 1960s recordings helped define what came to be known as soul; his songs have been covered by artists from the Rolling Stones to Tom Petty, from the Blues Brothers to Bruce Springsteen. 3 July. www.barbican.org.uk
- Le nozze di Figaro - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Revolution is in the air in this Season’s revival of David McVicar’s wonderfully illuminating production of Le nozze di Figaro, new to The Royal Opera in 2006 to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Life on an estate in the late 1820s reveals with truth and no little wit all the tensions between master and servants, with the symptoms of Europe’s social upheaval never far away. Count Almaviva’s attempts to bed his manservant Figaro’s fiancé Susanna are repeatedly thwarted by those around him, including his own wife, the Countess. In such enlightened times if the Count wishes to dance, then Figaro will make sure it is to his tune and not the other way round. From June 24 to July 19. http://info.royaloperahouse.org
- Glorious Gershwin - Rhapsody In Blue and The Gershwin Songbook - Premiered in 1924 with paul Whiteman amd his Palais Royal Orchestra, Rhapsody In Blue was an instant hit both with audiences and critics alike and remains immensely popular with today's concert-goers. Gershwin's music spanned both worlds; classical and musical comedy and he is recognized today as the foremost 20th centry American composer, merging jazz and gospel influences with the orchestral world of the classical European mainstream. 14 August. www.cadoganhall.com
- Matthew Bourne`s Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde’s gothic fable becomes a darkly seductive dance theatre event from master storyteller Matthew Bourne. Set in the image obsessed world of contemporary art and politics, this “black fairy tale” tells the story of an exceptionally alluring young man who makes a pact with the devil. From 2 September until 14 September. www.sadlerswells.com
- Lara St John - A programme of three ever-popular pieces, beginning with Mussorgsky’s chilling depiction of a pagan ceremony. On arriving in New York to teach, a homesick Dvorák was inspired to compose his invigorating and soulful New World Symphony, its slow movement now world-famous in many guises. In between these celebrated works is Max Bruch\'s evergreen Violin Concerto No.1 which remains one of the most-loved of violin works imbued as it is with heart, vitality, deep expression and a fund of glorious romantic melody. 14 October. www.cadoganhall.com