Architecture is frozen music (Goethe)
Get ready to hear the City and see the City.
This autumn, the City Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge celebrates the City’s unique environment, beauty and creativity through a two week programme of live music and performance.
As the birthplace of London, the City is a place with an ever-changing skyline – modern creations set against Christopher Wren’s baroque churches. They invite you to experience iconic City spaces in new ways.
The programme also includes a variety of free lunchtime concerts in beautiful Wren churches, a singing workshop open to all City workers and residents on Vivaldi‘s ‘Gloria’ (led by Tenebrae’s Nigel Short), and evening events with tickets available from £20.
A few of the highlights of the festival include:
Evening Concerts
Opening Concert in Mansion House, the home and office of the Lord Mayor, 10 October
If you've been waiting for the perfect occasion to visit the stunning Mansion House, we have just the concert for you! Julian Joseph Tenebrae will be presenting a unique performance which will feature specially composed music alongside improvisations of Bach and Paganini. Enhanced by immersive technology, the performance will blend acoustic instruments with the precision of cutting-edge digital processing, powered by the innovative 'd&b Soundscape' system.
Tickets: £30/40 incl. glass of wine
Book tickets for Atmospheres.
Eklectric Duo: Electric Paganini, 16 October
Eklectric Duo is the synergy of two great personalities from the classical music world in an electric key that fits where the dividing walls of music genres collapse. Expect music ranging from hot Paganini to Coldplay at this unique concert.
Tickets: £20
Book tickets for Eklectric Duo: Electric Paganini.
Mazzini & Paganini: the Guitar and the Opera, 17 October
Tickets are no longer available for this concert. The City Festival of Music, Invention and Knowledge has been in touch to let us know that sadly guitarist Josè Scanu is unwell, and unable to travel to the UK, so they have had to make the decision to cancel the concert.
Free Lunchtime Concerts (secure your space in advance)
Before they are famous (Thursday 10 October at 13:05): See Julian Joseph Jazz Academy in St Dunstan-in-the-West.
Before they are famous (Monday 14 October at 13:05): See Matteo Cimatti (violin), Gabriel Francis-Dehqani (cello) & Zany Denyer (piano) performing works by Paganini, Elgar, Busoni & Britten (GSMD) in St Dunstan-in-the-West.
Before they are famous (Thursday 15 October at 13:05): See the Sonas Quartet (GSMD) performing Paganini String Quartet No.3 and Schumann String Quartet No.1 in St Margaret Pattens.
Before they are famous (Thursday 17 October at 13:05): See the Royal College of Music Jazz Guitars performing Paganini Terzetto for guitar, cello and violin Light Perpetuum by Laura Snowden c.8’ in St James Garlickhythe.
Sold out! Before they are famous (Tuesday 22 October at 13:05): See the Royal Academy of Music Guitars and Strings performing Paganini at St Mary-le-Bow.
The Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge is supported by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Michael Mainelli, as part of his mayoral theme Connect to Prosper, the City of London Corporation’s Destination City programme, and the Comune of Genoa. Curated by artistic director Ian Ritchie, and produced by Tessa Marchington, Music in Offices.
