Evenitto's guide · the whole of the UK
Classical concerts: questions and answers
What people ask most about going to a classical concert in the UK.
Finding a concert
Where can I find classical concerts in the UK?
In the agenda on this page: we collect the programmes of concert halls, theatres, arts centres, churches and ticket sites across the country every day, from the Royal Albert Hall to village churches, and sort them by day, city, genre and composer.
Is there a classical concert tonight?
Very likely. Most days there are classical concerts somewhere in the country, and many more on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The week page shows them day by day.
Are there free classical concerts?
Yes. Cathedrals and churches hold organ recitals and choral evensong that anyone can attend, usually free with a collection at the door, conservatoires give student concerts, and many cities have lunchtime series. The free page lists every free concert on the agenda.
Which classical music festivals are there in the UK?
The BBC Proms is the biggest, a summer season of orchestral concerts held mainly at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Edinburgh International Festival fills the city in August. Their own sites have the dates.
Going to a concert
How do I get cheap tickets?
Look for under-30, student and concession prices, which many halls and orchestras offer, and for the cheaper seats behind or beside the stage. Lunchtime and church concerts cost little or nothing, and the Proms sell standing places for each concert.
What do you wear to a classical concert?
There is no dress code. Wear what you would wear to a nice restaurant; jeans are fine everywhere.
When do you clap at a classical concert?
At the end of a whole piece, not between its movements: wait until the conductor lowers their arms or turns round. At the opera you can applaud after a big aria. Nobody minds a mistake.
How long does a classical concert last?
Most evening concerts start at 7.30pm and last about two hours, including an interval of about twenty minutes. Lunchtime concerts last about an hour, family concerts about an hour.
Through the year
About this guide
Which orchestras are there in the UK?
Among them the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, the Hallé in Manchester, the CBSO in Birmingham, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Bristol, Royal Northern Sinfonia at The Glasshouse in Gateshead, the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Cardiff.
How does Evenitto choose the concerts?
Concerts come from the halls' and organisers' own agendas. Evenitto checks the agenda every day and leaves out events that are not classical concerts; the highlights come from a ranking of the concerts, not from an editor's choice. Nobody pays to be listed or picked.
