The Southbank Centre today announces that legendary composer, producer and musician Brian Eno will perform his new live concert programme, ‘Ships’, in a UK exclusive on Monday 30 October with two performances, 6.30pm and 9pm. The date is part of a series of concerts which marks Brian Eno’s first live tour in his five decade solo career and also his first appearance with an orchestra.
Originally commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, Eno will perform ‘Ships’, premiering at the 2023 Venice Biennale Musica this coming October. Eno will be performing together with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, orchestrated and conducted by Kristjan Järvi. The performance will also feature the actor Peter Serafinowicz, and long-time collaborators, guitarist Leo Abrahams and programmer/ keyboardist, Peter Chilvers. The centrepiece of these concerts will be an orchestral adaptation of Eno’s acclaimed 2016 album, ‘The Ship’, as well as new and classic Eno compositions.
Commenting on the tour, Brian Eno said “The album ‘THE SHIP’ is an unusual piece in that it uses voice but doesn’t particularly rely on the song form. It’s an atmosphere with occasional characters drifting through it, characters lost in the vague space made by the music. There’s a sense of wartime in the background, and a sense of inevitability. There is also a sense of scale which suits an orchestra, and a sense of many people working together. I wanted an orchestra which played music the way I would like to play music: from the heart rather than just from the score. I wanted the players to be young and fresh and enthusiastic. When I first saw the Baltic Sea Philharmonic I found all that…and then noticed they were named after a sea. That sealed it!”
Eno has only ever played a handful of solo shows in his career, the last time in 2021 at the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Acropolis in Athens with his brother Roger Eno to a standing ovation from a sold-out theatre. On this tour, Eno will be playing in some of the most distinguished venues in Europe, commencing in Venice’s renowned opera house, Teatro la Fenice, with additional concerts at the Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, La Seine Musicale in Paris, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht before finishing at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with his only UK date.
These performances coincide with his attendance at the 2023 Venice Biennale Musica where he will be honoured with the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tickets for the Southbank Centre concert on Monday 30 October will be available via members sale on Wednesday 7 June at 10:00am and general sale on Thursday 8 June at 10:00am via https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/gigs/brian-eno-baltic-sea-philharmonic
Adem Holness, Head of Contemporary Music at the Southbank Centre, said: “It is an immense privilege to host Brian and Baltic Sea Philharmonic at the Southbank Centre for this special event. His influence transcends genre and borders and this rare opportunity to see him live, and with an orchestra, will truly be one to cherish.”
Mark Ball, Artistic Director at the Southbank Centre, said: “Brian Eno is one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the past 50 years and is a unique creative thinker. His collaborations with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of popular music have changed the way music is made, performed and perceived. We’re thrilled to exclusively welcome his first ever solo live tour to the Southbank Centre and to continue a journey of musical landmarks in the Royal Festival Hall.”
