Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

23/08/2026

Strauss' colossal Ein Heldenleben tells the story of a hero grappling with life’s adversities, complete with blazing horn themes, rich melodies, and an unstoppable drive towards triumph and glory.

We're performing this piece as our 80th Anniversary Season with Vasily Petrenko opens one month from now on Wednesday 23 September at the Royal Albert Hall. Find out more and book your ticket: rpo.co.uk/rpoat80

21/08/2026

Does an orchestra actually need a conductor? 🤔

Discover our 2026–27 Season with Vasily Petrenko: rpo.co.uk/RPOxVP

20/08/2026

Andrew Klee, who has been a member of our First Violins for nearly 50 years, talks to our Visual Artist-in-Residence Artist Jeremy Houghton about his artistic approach to playing the violin, and a concert he played in that was too much for one conductor...

In creating a series of paintings for the Orchestra’s 80th anniversary, Jeremy has sat down with various musicians from the Orchestra to sketch them and find out more about their lives and experiences in the art of making music.

Read Jeremy's full interview with Andrew: www.rpo.co.uk/stories/andrew-klees-50-year-journey

19/08/2026

Our 2025–26 season saw many memorable RPO Resound events, spanning a diverse range of education and community projects which brought people from many different backgrounds together and enabled them to express themselves through music. Some highlights of ours include:

🎻Collaborating with Orchestras Live and Deep Roots, Tall Trees to deliver a series of music workshops at a youth club in Corby.
🏥Bringing STROKESTRA to UCLH - University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for stroke survivors and their carers
🎺Sharing music with young people at ACS International Schools’ STEAM Day at Thorpe Park
🪘Delivering our Sound Sanctuary workshops for Brent residents experiencing mental health challenges at Brent Mencap and Willesden Green Library
⚽️Bringing our Sports Day Family Concert to The Albemarle Music Centre
🪉Delivering three of our inclusive Relaxed Performances, including one at Brent Council Civic Centre
👽Performing two Noisy Kids concerts, including It Came From Outer Space at the Hexagon in Reading What's On Reading

We look forward to continuing the impact of our Resound work in the 2026–27 season! You can find out more about our projects and future events at rpo.co.uk/resound

📸 1 Deep Roots, Tall Trees
📸 2,8 Tim Lutton
📸 3,4,5,7 Jasmine Waterfield
📸 6 Tennessee Woodiel

19/08/2026

Get under the skin of Mozart’s last symphony 🎼

On Thursday 1 October, join us at Cadogan Hall for an insightful one-hour exploration of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, ‘Jupiter', with Music Director Vasily Petrenko and presenter Leah Broad. We'll take the music apart and show you how it works, and then put it back together in a complete performance of the symphony.

Book your tickets today at rpo.co.uk/whats-on

18/08/2026

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ '[The RPO] positively dazzled.' theartsdesk.com

Did you catch us at the BBC Proms on Sunday?

We returned to the world's biggest classical music festival in a sold-out performance at the Royal Albert Hall conducted by our Music Director Vasily Petrenko. Featuring in the programme was Webern's Passacaglia, Walton's Symphony No.2 and Elgar's Cello Concerto with soloist Pablo Ferrández - Cellist, who made his BBC Proms debut.

You can listen back to this richly expressive music from the 20th century on BBC Sounds, and see photos and reactions from the evening in our latest blog: www.rpo.co.uk/stories/photos-and-reactions-the-rpos-sell-out-bbc-prom

Pablo Ferrández will be joining us again on stage at the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 23 September for our 80th anniversary celebration, playing Beethoven's Triple Concerto alongside Julia Fischer and Jan Lisiecki.

📷 Mark Allan

17/08/2026

16/08/2026

It's that time of year again – we're back at the BBC Proms! 🎶🎺🎻

This evening at the Royal Albert Hall we're performing Webern's Passacaglia, Elgar's Cello Concerto with Pablo Ferrández and Walton's Symphony No.2 under the baton of our Music Director Vasily Petrenko.

We'll see you here at 7.30pm! Don't forget that you can listen live on BBC Radio 3 📻

14/08/2026

Did you know? If you live, work, or study in Brent, you can join our free Brent Membership scheme to access up to two tickets for just £5 and two FREE under-18 tickets.*

Brent Members can book tickets for concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, and Cadogan Hall, including exciting upcoming performances like Symphonic Soul and Moonwalkers: Live in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall and Mozart Revealed at Cadogan Hall.

Find out more about the scheme and sign up now at rpo.co.uk/brent

*There is a limited allocation of discounted RPO Brent tickets available for RPO London Season concerts, subject to availability.

👨‍🚀Image credit: Justin Sutcliffe/NASA

12/08/2026

Get to know our Co-Principal Second Violin, Elen Hâf Rideal!

Born in Neath, South Wales, Elen played the piano, violin and harp from a young age. She joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Second Violins in 2008 and has been playing with the orchestra for almost 20 years.

Read more about Elen’s journey with the RPO at: rpo.co.uk/musicians/elen-hâf-rideal