Brighton Festival 2025 is set to deliver an extraordinary classical music programme under the guidance of this year’s Guest Director, Grammy-nominated musician and composer Anoushka Shankar. Featuring renowned orchestras, acclaimed soloists, and innovative new works, the festival will offer audiences a diverse array of unforgettable performances from 3 to 26 May.
A standout highlight is Shankar’s own performance on 9 May, where she will present her father Ravi Shankar’s celebrated album Passages in collaboration with the Britten Sinfonia and Indian classical musicians. This marks only the second full UK performance of the album, which blends Ravi Shankar’s Indian classical music with the minimalist style of Philip Glass.
On 22 May, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will debut Tipping Points, a new violin concerto by Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman. Addressing themes of the climate crisis, the piece will feature violinist Francesca Dego and Grammy Award-winning conductor Ludovic Morlot. The concert will also include Sibelius’s Tapiola and John Luther Adams’ environmentally inspired Vespers of the Blessed Earth with the Brighton Festival Chorus.
Another highlight is the London Symphony Orchestra’s concert on 17 May, conducted by Susanna Mälkki. Joined by violinist Leila Josefowicz, the programme will feature Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Julia Perry’s vibrant A Short Piece for a Large Orchestra.
Celebrating his 80th birthday, William Christie will lead a concert on 4 May at Glyndebourne Opera House, featuring performers from his Baroque academy, Les Arts Florissants. Expect a masterful celebration of French Baroque music.
On 18 May, acclaimed cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason will join the Castalian String Quartet to perform a contemporary response to Bach’s Solo Cello Suites by Natalie Klouda, alongside Schubert’s Quintet in C and Thomas Adès’ Arcadiana. Additionally, Braimah Kanneh-Mason will collaborate with the Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra on 12 May, featuring a family-friendly programme including Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain.
The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers, will offer a choral journey from the medieval works of Hildegard of Bingen to modern pieces by Arvo Pärt on 10 May. On 19 May, Dame Sarah Connolly will present a recital of German, French, and English songs by Schumann, Wolf, Debussy, and Barber.
The Festival’s lunchtime concerts will spotlight emerging artists, including medieval ensemble Rune performing works inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron and French quartet Quatuor Van Kuijk celebrating Ravel’s 150th birthday. Glyndebourne’s Jerwood Young Artists will also present operatic favourites.
Anoushka Shankar said: “This year’s Festival explores art’s power to challenge and uplift. I’m thrilled to share the music of my father, Ravi Shankar, with Brighton audiences and to witness the incredible range of classical talent that will grace the stage.”
Brighton Festival 2025 website: brightonfestival.org.
