Roll up, roll up: Southbank's orchestral initiative to feature circus, poetry and more

London's Southbank Centre has announced a new collaborative programming strand – specifically designed to shine a light on orchestral music – in its upcoming season. Multitides runs from 23 April until 3 May and has been programmed in conversation with the venue's resident ensembles – Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Philharmonia Orchestra. Highlights include circus company Circa and London Philharmonic's version of Ravel's Daphnis and Chloé and Chineke! Orchestra's performance with George the Poet.

'Audience numbers have broadly recovered since the pandemic,' says Mark Ball, Southbank Centre's artistic director, 'but they are relatively static. We've undertaken some research that suggests the audience base for classical music is not currently changing. Conversely, we're seeing a rise in listenership of orchestral classical music via streaming services. There is a group of people who love this music but who aren't necessarily coming to concert halls.'

Further research comprised taking a focus group of around fifty people to various performances and collating their feedback. People loved the music but commented on a lack of spectacle and a lack of theatricality. There were also easier fixes: some reports queried why the house lights remained on during classical music performances, for example. Working closely with their in-house musicians, (and stage technicians) Ball and his team have curated a series of concerts that aim to bridge that gap in newcomers' expectations. Stage work from the likes of Circa will provide a visual stimulus intended to enhance Ravel's score. 'Multitudes is a radical application of the research,' admits Ball.

Southbank resident ensemble Chineke! Orchestra. Image courtesy of the orchestra

And for those who may argue that Ravel's music does not need such enhancement, Ball has a useful analogy, passed on by the researchers. 'Around twenty years ago, cricket was struggling to maintain a fanbase because its format was a five-day game. So they introduced the T20 [Twenty20], which was shorter, but still the same game. It's now watched and played around the world.'  

Ball and colleagues hope that their reimagining of the concert hall experience will bring new interest to classical music. It comes off the bat – to borrow another cricket reference – of subtler changes witnessed at the Southbank, such as the freer rein given to residency artists. Patricia Kopatchinskaja recently delivered a blistering series of concerts that combined quirky programming (Cage and Mozart, for example) with pertinent themes, such as a recital marking climate change, performed to the usual high standards you would expect from the violinist. 

'Multitudes is created in partnership with our orchestras and I've been struck – and reassured – by their sense of adventure,' says Ball.

'They are excited by new ideas and new ways of doing things. So it feels like this isn't really a Southbank Centre initiative, but a sector initiative. 'We're not replacing the existing format,' Ball concludes, 'We're creating a new one.'