In first U.S. tour with Antonio Pappano, London Symphony Orchestra performs in California (Feb 18–23), Florida (Feb 26–March 2), & NYC, marking its first Carnegie Hall concerts in 20 years (March 5 & 6)

“Pappano’s first season as chief conductor [is] already looking like a match made in heaven.” – Musical America

(January 2025) — Next month, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) embarks on its first U.S. tour with Sir Antonio Pappano, the two-time Grammy winner who inaugurated his tenure as the ensemble’s Chief Conductor to a resounding chorus of approval this past fall. Joined by soloists Janine Jansen and Yunchan Lim, Pappano and the orchestra perform in ten cities across California (Feb 18–23) and Florida (Feb 26–March 2), before completing their tour with back-to-back programs at New York’s Carnegie Hall (March 5 & 6), with the second airing live in WQXR’s Carnegie Hall Live series. The two New York concerts mark not only Pappano’s first Carnegie Hall appearances with the orchestra, but also the LSO’s first return to the venue in 20 years.

The first months of Pappano’s LSO tenure have already drawn widespread and heartfelt praise. “Pappano kicks off his first season with the London Symphony Orchestra with energy and thrilling drama,” declared The Guardian. “Boy, did Pappano make the most of his new orchestra, unleashing its colours and deep sonorities with an unbuttoned freedom,” marveled The Telegraph. “Pappano galvanised a superbly evocative performance” with “a dust of climactic magic,” affirmed The Times of London. As Musical America put it: “This was edge-of-the-seat stuff. … Welcome to Antonio Pappano’s brave new world.”

The conductor, who came to the LSO after an illustrious 22-year tenure as Music Director of London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, enjoys strong ties to the United States; he lived in Connecticut in his teens, began his career at New York City Opera, and is now married to an American. The LSO’s first U.S. tour under his leadership comprises 13 concerts in eleven different cities: Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, Costa Mesa, San Diego, Davis, and Stanford in California, and Orlando, Naples, West Palm Beach, and Miami in Florida – all representing debuts for Pappano – and New York City. In Santa Barbara, the tour kicks off with a pair of auxiliary events at Music Academy of the West: a chamber concert by LSO musicians and Academy alumni, performing side by side, and a public masterclass for Academy alumni, with LSO Principal Second Violin Julián Gil Rodríguez.

Figuring prominently in the orchestra’s tour programming are the first symphonies of Gustav Mahler, whose Symphony No. 1, “Titan,” has been called “one of the most game-changing (and mind-blowing) first symphonies by any composer” (NPR), and William Walton, whose First Symphony was written for the LSO, which made the work’s premiere recording. Another English composer with close LSO ties is Edward Elgar, its one-time conductor-in-chief, who is represented by his “Enigma” Variations. The tour also showcases two major American works. Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions,” is the final composition by Pulitzer Prize laureate George Walker, who wrote the work at the age of 96, in outraged response to the 2015 Charleston church massacre. Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium, one of the most lyrical works by former LSO president Leonard Bernstein, will feature Dutch violinist Janine Jansen. Long recognized as one of “the world’s star soloists” (The New York Times), Jansen rejoins the orchestra for Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, while Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn Competition, performs Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto at venues including Carnegie Hall, where he recently made his sold-out recital debut. (See full tour details below.)

Release of Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé on Feb 14

For Pappano and the LSO, the U.S. tour coincides with the physical and digital release of Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé on February 14. Marking their second recording together for LSO Live – the orchestra’s dedicated label, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year – the album captures their performance of Ravel’s ballet last April, for which they were joined by the Grammy-nominated Tenebrae choir. Their interpretation of the work prompted glowing praise. The Times of London applauded the “emotion, depth and inspiration” of their “sumptuous performance,” which was “so vividly and dramatically characterised that the ballet seemed to play out in [the critic’s] mind’s eye.” Similarly, admiring their “scintillating realisation” of Ravel’s score, The Guardian found Pappano to be “in his element here, shaping the undulating lines to maximise their grace and sensuousness, with the wordless voices of Tenebrae adding that extra touch of colour. … Simply wondrous playing.”

About Sir Antonio Pappano

Acclaimed for his charismatic leadership and inspiring performances in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Sir Antonio Pappano is one of today’s most sought-after conductors. In September 2024, he inaugurated his tenure as Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He was Music Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden from 2002 until 2024 and is Music Director Emeritus of Rome’s Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, of which he was Music Director from 2005 to 2023. Other past positions include Music Director of Oslo’s Den Norske Opera, Music Director of Brussels’s Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic.

Pappano makes regular guest appearances with such prestigious ensembles as the Berlin, Czech, New York, and Vienna Philharmonics; the Bavarian Radio, Boston, and Chicago Symphonies; the Cleveland, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philadelphia, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras; the Staatskapelle Dresden; the Orchestre de Paris; and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with which he maintains a particularly strong relationship. Equally in demand in opera, he has led productions at houses including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milan’s La Scala, the Berlin and Vienna State Operas, and the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals. It was Pappano who conducted the music at last year’s coronation of King Charles III.

About the London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere – from orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners all over the world. The LSO was established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for quality, ambition, and a commitment to sharing the joy of music with everyone. The LSO performs some 70 concerts every year as Resident Orchestra at the Barbican, with its family of artists: Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, and Associate Artists Barbara Hannigan and André J. Thomas. The LSO has major artistic residencies in Paris, Tokyo, and at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, as well as a growing presence across Australasia.

Through LSO Discovery, the LSO’s learning and community program, 60,000 people each year experience the transformative power of music. The orchestra’s musicians are at the heart of this unique program, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, and visiting schools, hospitals, and community spaces. The home of much of this work is LSO St Luke’s, the LSO’s venue on Old Street. In 2025, the LSO will open up the venue’s facilities to more people than ever before, with new state-of-the-art recording facilities and dedicated spaces for LSO Discovery.

The LSO’s record label, LSO Live, is a leader among orchestra-owned labels, bringing to life the excitement of a live performance in a catalog of more than 200 acclaimed recordings, and reaching millions through streaming services and online broadcasts. The LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, making more recordings than any other orchestra, with more than 2,500 projects to date, including film, video games, and bespoke audio collaborations.

London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Antonio Pappano: U.S. tour

Feb 17 & 18
Santa Barbara, CA
Music Academy of the West

Feb 17
Lehmann Hall
Auxiliary event
Violin masterclass for Music Academy alumni with LSO Principal Second Violin Julián Gil Rodríguez

Feb 17
Hahn Hall
Auxiliary event
Chamber concert by LSO musicians and Music Academy alumni
MOZART: Flute Quartet in D
RAVEL: Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet, and string quartet
MOZART: Clarinet Quintet

Feb 18
Granada Theatre
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 19
Palm Desert, CA
McCallum Theatre
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto (with Janine Jansen, violin)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 20
Costa Mesa, CA
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Hall
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Yunchan Lim, piano)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 21
San Diego, CA
Jacobs Music Center
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Yunchan Lim, piano)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 22
Davis, CA
Mondavi Center
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 23
Stanford, CA
Bing Concert Hall
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto (with Janine Jansen, violin)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

Feb 26
Orlando, FL
Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto (with Janine Jansen, violin)
ELGAR: Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma”)

Feb 27 & 28
Naples, FL
Hayes Hall

Feb 27
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
WALTON: Symphony No. 1

Feb 28
ELGAR: Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma”)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

March 1
West Palm Beach, FL
Dreyfoos Hall, Kravis Center
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
WALTON: Symphony No. 1

March 2
Miami, FL
Knight Concert Hall, Arsht Center
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
ELGAR: Variations on an Original Theme (“Enigma”)

March 5 & 6
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall

March 5
WALKER: Sinfonia No. 5, “Visions” (without narrators)
BERNSTEIN: Serenade (after Plato’s “Symposium”) (with Janine Jansen, violin)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”)

March 6
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Yunchan Lim, piano)
WALTON: Symphony No. 1
   [This concert will be broadcast live in WQXR’s Carnegie Hall Live series.]