City Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge
10th – 24th October 2024
Join us 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. We invite you to experience iconic City spaces in new ways.
Festival highlights
British Jazz pianist Julian Joseph in Mansion House, with a stellar new quintet and state-of-the-art surround sound
Italy’s innovative Eklectric Duo, performing a playlist from hot Paganini to Coldplay
Music of Paganini, Rossini and Verdi by Genoa's guitar maestro Josè Scanu
The Flower of Cities, a musical tour of City destinations and Paganini variations, set in architectural beauty
Bach, Paganini and the music of bees from Benjamin Marquise Gilmore and Tenebrae
Free lunchtime concerts from emerging new talent
Vivaldi singing workshop
The Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge is supported by the Lord Mayor, 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.
“I am delighted to be patron of this new festival in the City of London, reflecting the nature of the ‘Square Mile’ as a trading place and a cultural destination, locally and internationally, while also representing other key themes of my mayoralty”
A Journey into the Beauty of Genoa
Join us in celebrating the artistic beauty of Genoa at DSQube Gallery with works by Fulvio Manurno and the captivating "Capricci Genovesi" collection.
Discover the charm of Genoese art in the heart of London!
Vernissage: 14 October, 5:00 PM
Location: DSQube Gallery, 10 Devonshire Square, EC2M AE, London
Exhibition Dates: 15–31 October
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Festival Programme
Before they are famous
St Dunstan-in-the-West
Julian Joseph Jazz Academy
Paganini & improvisation
THURSDAY
10TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Atmospheres: Julian Joseph (piano) / Benet McLean (violin) / Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) / Alok Verma (tabla) / Mark Hodgson (bass)
Mansion House
Julian Joseph presents an exciting new band, with music specially written and improvised versions of Bach and Paganini, for the audience to experience sound in a totally new way:emotion and drama enhanced by immersive technology, marrying acoustic sound with split second digital processing capability, featuring the brand new ‘d&b Soundscape’ system.
Pre-concert - 18:45 Michael Poll (guitar)
THURSDAY
10TH OCTOBER
19:30
£30/40 incl. glass of wine
Before they are famous
St Dunstan-in-the-West
Young Artists from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Matteo Cimatti (violin), Gabriel Francis-Dehqani (cello) & Zany Denyer (piano): works by Paganini, Elgar, Busoni & Britten
Paganini Caprice No.2 for solo violin
Elgar Violin Sonata in E minor op82
Busoni Serenata for cello and piano op34
Britten Cello Sonata in C major op65
MONDAY
14TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Before they are famous
St Margaret Pattens
Young Artists from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Sonas Quartet: Yente Lottman & Isabelle Allan (violins), Eve Quigley (viola) & Alice Abram (cello)
Paganini String Quartet no3
Schumann String Quartet no1
TUESDAY
15TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Eklectric Duo: Electric Paganini
Milton Court Concert Hall
Eklectric Duo Elisa Tomellini (piano) & Alberto Casadei electric (cello): eclectica, ranging from hot Paganini to Coldplay
A. Casadei "Arabian Dream"
ColdPlay "Viva la Vida"
N.Rota "Il Padrino"
A.Casadei/A.Vivaldi "Summer Rock"
A.Casadei/G.Rossini "Figaro Madness"
N.Paganini Variations on one String on a Theme by Rossini
N.Paganini "Cantabile"
A.Casadei/Daft Punk "Get Lucky Hacked"
A.Casadei/J.Corry "Head&Heart Hacked"
A.Casadei/AVICII "Levels Hacked"
WEDNESDAY
16TH OCTOBER
19:00
£20
To book wheelchair spaces with a companion, please contact the Barbican’s Access Bookings telephone number: 020 7101 1188, open from 10am to 17:30, Monday to Sunday.
For any other phone enquiries, please contact 0207 870 2500, open from 12pm to 17:30, Monday to Friday.
Before they are famous
St James Garlickhythe
Young Artists from the Royal College of Music
Paganini inventions & variations
THURSDAY
17TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE - Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Before they are famous
St Mary-le-Bow
Young Artists from the Royal Academy of Music
Paganini chamber music
Centone de Sonata [Century of Sonatas] for Violin and Guitar no1
Quartet for Guitar and Strings
Grand Sonata in A major for guitar and violin
Cantabile for guitar and strings
TUESDAY
22ND OCTOBER
13:05
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Architecture is frozen music
St Mary-le-Bow
The Flower of Cities Ensemble: Francisco Correa & Xuefei Yang (guitars) / Max Baillie (violin) / Oscar Perks (viola) / Ben Hughes (cello) / Laurence Ungless (bass) / Ethan Skuodas (Percussion) Introduced by special guest, John Williams (speaker)
S. Goss Paganini Variations
S. Goss Frozen Music
Dufay (arr. S Goss) Nuper Rosarium Flores
S. Goss The Flower of Cities
TUESDAY
22ND OCTOBER
19:00
£20
To book wheelchair spaces with a companion, please contact the Barbican’s Access Bookings telephone number: 020 7101 1188, open from 10am to 17:30, Monday to Sunday.
For any other phone enquiries, please contact 0207 870 2500, open from 12pm to 17:30, Monday to Friday.
Bach’s Invention: The Divine Trickery of JS Bach
LSO St Luke’s
Prof Milton Mermikides: Bach, Paganini & variations (Gresham Lecture)
WEDNESDAY
23RD OCTOBER
18:00
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Vivaldi Gloria
St Lawrence Jewry
Workplace choirs open workshop and short performance, led by Nigel Short (conductor of Tenebrae Choir)
Supported by
THURSDAY
24TH OCTOBER
13:05
FREE – Walk-ins welcome, but to guarantee your seat & stay in touch, please register below.
Supported by
Tenebrae: Bee for Bach
St Lawrence Jewry
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore (violin) / Tenebrae (choir) / Stephen Disley (organ) / Prof. Milton Mermikides (speaker)
P Locatelli Caprice for solo violin No.1
Anna Semple For thy creature the bee
N Paganini Caprice for solo violin No.24
JS Bach Partita in D minor / Chorales / Ciaconna
i. Chorale - Ach Heer, lass dein lieb Engelein (St John Passion)
ii. Partita - Allemande
iii. Partita - Courante
iv. Chorale - Christ lag in Todesbanden
v. Partita - Sarabande
vi. Chorale - Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt
vii. Partita - Gigue
viii. Chorale - Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden (St Matthew Passion)
ix. Partita - Ciaconna (ed. Helge Thoene)
G Dufay Nuper rosarum flores
Find out more
THURSDAY
24TH OCTOBER
19:00
£20
To book wheelchair spaces with a companion, please contact the Barbican’s Access Bookings telephone number: 020 7101 1188, open from 10am to 17:30, Monday to Sunday.
For any other phone enquiries, please contact 0207 870 2500, open from 12pm to 17:30, Monday to Friday.
Supported by
Tickets from £20 / half-price concessions for students and people aged under 22
Ian Ritchie
Artistic Director
Ian Ritchie, singer, festival director and interdisciplinary curator, founded and programmed the new City Festival of Music, Innovation & Knowledge in 2024. Following studies at the Royal College of Music (where he won the Mario Grisi Prize in 1972), Trinity College, Cambridge, and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, he has spent more than 45 years leading a number of award-winning British music organisations, such as the City of London Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Opera North, and directed several international and local arts Festivals, including the St Magnus Festival (Orkney) and many editions of the City of London Festival. In 2010 Ian set up the Setubal Music Festival (Portugal), which he masterminded for nine years, and currently he continues to work for a number of music charities, advise various festivals, curate interdisciplinary projects and perform occasionally as a solo baritone.
Nearly 200 years ago, Paganini took London by storm after arriving from Genoa. Experience the same magic during a fortnight of concerts, talks, and workshops. Discover the beauty of the City and its architecture brought to life by music. There’s something for everyone to enjoy.
In the Press
-
"City of London Festival set to return this autumn with stellar line-up"
-
‘A brand-new festival celebrating the City of London’s unique environment, beauty and creativity.’
-
‘an exciting programme of evening events performed and presented by world-class classical and jazz musicians’
-
‘A new festival will be enlivening the City of London in October’
-
-
A two-week music festival is coming to the City of London in October, for Michael Mainelli, ending his tenure as Lord Mayor.
-
City Festival of Music, Invention and Knowledge celebrates the City’s ‘unique environment, beauty and creativity’
-
A brand-new festival celebrating the City of London’s unique environment, beauty and creativity.
-
An annual culture festival that takes place not far from Aldgate is set to return later this year.
Festival Supporters
-
![]()
Comune di Genova
-
![]()
City of London Corporation
-
![]()
Wax Chandlers’ Company
-
![]()
Wren300
-
![]()
New London Architecture
-
![]()
London Symphony Orchestra
-
![]()
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
-
![]()
Gresham College
-
![]()
Friends of the City Churches
-
![]()
d&b audiotechnik
-
![]()
Barbican Centre
-
![]()
Culture Mile Bid
“Music is liquid architecture and Architecture is frozen music”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe