Sir Simon Rattle presents people’s concert in Trafalgar Square.

London. Trafalgar Square will be transformed into a
giant music stage for Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony
Orchestra to present BMW CLASSICS on Sunday 1 July 2018. This free
summer concert marks the renewal of a continuing, long-term
partnership between BMW and the London Symphony Orchestra, bringing
access to world-class music to everyone in one of the world’s most
iconic public spaces.

 

With an audience in the square of up to 10,000 people, the concert
will be live streamed for the first time exclusively on YouTube,
making the concert accessible to music fans worldwide. The London
Symphony Orchestra regularly live streams its concerts free from the
Barbican Centre. This occasion marks the first live stream of the
orchestra’s iconic free summer concert.

 

Simon Rattle will take to the stage to conduct 100 musicians from the
London Symphony Orchestra, alongside 50 talents aged 11–18 from the
LSO On Track programme in East London, and musicians from the
Guildhall School of Music Drama. The programme will feature
music on a theme of dance and ballet by Dvořák, Massenet, Tchaikovsky
and Stravinsky and includes a world premiere by 29 year-old composer
and pianist Kate Whitley, founder of Peckham Car Park’s Multi-Story Orchestra.

 

Commenting today, Simon Rattle said: “This is a dream concert for me
on a stage like no other. I hope that the excitement of the musicians
of the London Symphony Orchestra playing alongside these brilliant
young Londoners in such an extraordinary place will fire people’s
imaginations. And prove that, inside or outside the walls of a concert
hall, experiencing great music is for everyone. I am truly grateful to
BMW and the Mayor for London for making this possible.”

 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This summer Trafalgar Square
will be transformed into the capital’s biggest concert hall so that
visitors, Londoners and people viewing online can enjoy an incredible
free performance by Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony
Orchestra. They’ll also be able to enjoy the world premiere of Kate
Whitley’s Sky Dances – a new work by an emerging composer. ‘I’m
delighted that 50 outstanding young London musicians will join the
professional ranks of the LSO for this special performance which will
showcase the next generation of musical talent in the capital and
firmly reiterate London’s position as a global capital of music.”

 

Kate Whitley said: “I am inspired by the idea of working with young
people as performers and integrating them with professional musicians.
To create a work for these musicians on this stage right in the centre
of London is a thrilling challenge for me.”

 

Candice Morrissey, Head of Music Partnerships in EMEA at YouTube,
said: “We echo the sentiment of Sir Simon Rattle that great music is
for everyone; giving people access to incredible and engaging content
no matter where they are is core to our mission at YouTube. It’s
wonderful to see a world class cultural institution like the LSO using
the YouTube platform to broaden its audience, and we are thrilled to
partner on live streaming their ‘people’s concert’ in Trafalgar Square
to people all around the world.”

 

BMW Classics is part of a series of outdoor concerts that BMW Group
is partner of in London, Munich and Berlin.

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION

 

BMW CLASSICS

London Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 1 July 2018 5pm

Trafalgar Square, London

 

Free, no ticket required. Early arrival essential. No glass or
furniture in the square.

Featuring music from Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dances”, Massenet’s “Le Cid”,
Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” and a
world premiere by Kate Whitley – “Sky Dances”.

lso.co.uk

 

Join the audience online in a free exclusive YouTube livestream: youtube.com/lso

 

lso.co.uk/bmwclassics
@londonsymphony
#bmwclassics

 

For further questions please contact:

Dr Thomas Girst
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental
Affairs
Cultural Engagement
Telephone: +49 89 382 247 53

Leonie Laskowski

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Cultural Engagement

Telephone: +49-89-382-45382

 

www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

 

About the London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) was established in 1904 and has a
unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic
ownership and partnership. With an inimitable signature sound, the
LSO’s mission is to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of
people. The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican
Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982, giving 70
symphonic concerts there every year. The Orchestra works with a family
of artists that includes some of the world’s greatest conductors – Sir
Simon Rattle as Music Director, Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier
Roth as Principal Guest Conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor
Laureate and André Previn as Conductor Emeritus. Through LSO
Discovery, it is a pioneer of music education, offering musical
experiences to 60,000 people every year and over 100 live events at
its music education centre LSO St Luke’s on Old Street. With the
formation of its own record label LSO Live in 1999 the LSO pioneered a
revolution in recording live orchestral music. The LSO strives to
embrace new digital technologies – having successfully moved into
digital film, Blu-Ray Audio, downloads, streaming and virtual reality
– and it continues to innovate with platforms such as LSO Play, a
web-based video player that allows people to observe the Orchestra
from different angles. The LSO is also a highly successful creative
enterprise, with 80% of all funding self-generated.

lso.co.uk

 

About BMW Group’s Cultural Commitment


For almost 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated
and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company
places the main focus of its long-term commitment on contemporary and
modern art, classical music and jazz as well as architecture and
design. In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the
artist Gerhard Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group’s
Munich headquarters. Since then, artists such as Andy Warhol, Jeff
Koons, Daniel Barenboim, Jonas Kaufmann and architect Zaha Hadid have
co-operated with BMW. In 2016 and 2017, female artist Cao Fei from
China and American John Baldessari created the next two vehicles for
the BMW Art Car Collection. Besides co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate
Live, the BMW Art Journey and the “Opera for All” concerts in Berlin,
Munich and London, the company also partners with leading museums and
art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The
BMW Group takes absolute creative freedom in all its cultural
activities – as this initiative is as essential for producing
groundbreaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a
successful business.

 

Further information: www.bmwgroup.com/cultureand www.bmwgroup.com/culture/overview

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BMW-Group-Culture-925330854231870/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmwgroupculture/

@BMWGroupCulture

#BMWGroupCulture

 

The BMW Group

 

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.

 

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 129,932 employees.

 

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

 

www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup

Twitter: http://twitter.com/BMWGroup

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview

Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com