We’re taking a break from our 30th birthday season at Southbank Centre to pay a visit to the stunning West London Synagogue, just off Edgware Road.
Read MoreIn concerts generally we play the music and you listen and enjoy. There is of course one well known exception – and that is the Hallelujah chorus of Handel’s Messiah. For reasons we’ll explain in a future post generally what happens ( in the UK at least) is that the entire audience stands up and joins in – much to the bemusement of any non-Brits in the audience.
Read MoreWe’re currently on tour with violinist Richard Tognetti, who is directing our ‘Lord of the Strings’ programme – which you can hear in London in full on Tuesday (parts of it also feature in Monday’s The Works and The Night Shift).
Read MoreA new season of OAE concerts starts on 9 October, with concerts at Southbank Centre and elsewhere running through until May next year. You can get a little taste of what’s to come on our 100 second new season trailer, filmed in a low-fi ‘activist’ style to match our brochure and images this year.
Read MoreLast autumn we went on tour with our Emeritus Conductor Sir Roger Norrington, with some pretty unusual repertoire for us – Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Indeed, this was only the second time we have ever programmed this piece. Here’s a clip of the Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington rehearsing the piece at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels ahead of performances there, and in Warsaw and Helsinki.
Read MoreWe had a rummage through our archives and found this gem from back in 2008 which we thought was worth sharing with you all. Then intern Nick Cooke traveled out to deepest Chesham to meet up with OAE Librarian Colin Kitching. The video includes rare footage of the OAE’s legendary music shed…
Read MoreBoyce’s Solomon – A Serenata was wildly popular in its day and even eclipsed Handel’s Messiah in the popularity stakes. But it’s libretto was perhaps slightly racy and it fell foul of later, more prudish, tastes.
Watch the video below for a sneak peek at our rehearsals.
Read MoreOn 12 June we close our Southbank 2013-2014 Season with Gamechangers: Mildly Rude?, so called for its inclusion of Boyce’s Solomon – A Serenata, which caused outrage when performed in front of Victorian audiences.
Read MoreBack on Tuesday we bought Gamechangers: Symphonic Greats to the Royal Festival Hall, with performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 and Schubert’s Symphony No.9 conducted by Semyon Bychkov. We caught up with the audience afterwards and here’s what they said.
Read MoreOur intrepid cameraman Zen ventured out to the wilds of Hammersmith this morning to capture the OAE at work, rehearsing Schubert’s Symphony No.9.
Read MoreAhead of our last concert featuring the Violoncello da Spalla, tomorrow night at Southbank Centre, here’s a video with Sigiswald Kuijken talking about and demonstrating the instrument.
Read MoreWe’ve just released this video trailer ahead of our performance of Offenbach’s opera Fantasio on 15 December.
Read MoreIf your typical Monday night contains ANY of the things in the video above then we can help you.
Read MoreWell, is it?
Very few of us jump out of bed on a Monday full of the joys of spring. It’s very few people’s favourite day of the week.
Read MoreGet a taste of what we have in store for you over the year ahead with our just-released 2013-2014 trailer. In it we look back at highlights from the last 12 months and give you a taste of some of the most exciting treats we have in store for you.
Read MoreWell, what a year it’s been…what with the small matter of the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee, the notorious IKEA monkey in a coat, and of course, some fab concerts with the OAE.
So we thought we’d put together our top office highlights from 2012…enjoy!
Read MoreOAE violinist, Henrietta Wayne, gives us an insight into the history of the violin bow, from the 1500s to today.
Watch the video to find out about what a violin frog is and how you can make your own bow with a twig and string!
Read MoreWe’re very pleased to be able to offer you the chance to watch the 2009 Glyndebourne production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, featuring the OAE, online.
Read MoreWe caught up with audience members after Sunday’s concert with Sir Simon Rattle and Pierre-Laurent Aimard to ask them what they thought – here’s what they said. More photos and video from the Rattle tour coming soon.
Read MoreAhead of tonight’s concert at the Royal Festival Hall here’s a video we filmed during rehearsal last weekend, in which Pierre-Laurent Aimard talks about Ravel’s dark and war-tinged Piano Concerto for the left hand.
Read More