London Symphony Orchestra Sells Out QPAC Concert

London called and Brisbane answered loud and clear. The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) performance in the Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC's) Concert Hall last Saturday 22 November, was completely sold out.

Under the baton of acclaimed Principal Conductor, Valery Gergiev, the LSO played to a full house for its long-awaited debut at QPAC and the first concert in the orchestra's 2014 Australian tour.

QPAC Chief Executive John Kotzas said that the Centre anticipated the concert would be extremely popular given it was the LSO's first Australian tour in more than three decades.

"Over 80 per cent of available tickets were sold after just one week of the Brisbane season announcement," Mr Kotzas said.

"This demand continues to illustrate the importance of our commitment to bringing the world's best in performing arts to Queensland and that live performance events featuring companies of this calibre are not-to-be missed."

The visit by the LSO forms part of QPAC's strategy to present the finest international companies to its audiences and follows a line up of some of the world's greatest orchestras performing at the Centre in recent years including the London and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, the Hamburg Philharmonic, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Mr Kotzas said that this visit adds to a significant year for QPAC with the Centre presenting its three signature events Clancestry, Out of the Box and the 2014 International Series and Australian exclusive of American Ballet Theatre.

Arts Minister Ian Walker said world-class performances such as the London Symphony Orchestra helped to grow Queensland's reputation as a cultural tourism destination and arts hub in the Asia Pacific region.

"I congratulate QPAC on its success," Mr Walker said.

"This follows on from a stellar year in the performing arts which saw the Queensland Government's Super Star Fund investing in exclusive performances at Queensland venues.

"Renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox OBE joined the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for Journey Through the Cosmos; Queensland Theatre Company's production of Macbeth, directed by Michael Attenborough CBE, was the company's best-selling show in 21 years; and the Queensland Ballet's Romeo & Juliet broke a 54-year-old box office record for the company."

In 2014, the London Symphony Orchestra marks 110 years of outstanding music making. Since its formation in 1904, LSO has attracted outstanding players, soloists and conductors and become one of the most extensively touring and recorded orchestras in the world.

The LSO was the official Orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Ceremonies. The LSO has also recorded music for hundreds of films, including Philomena, Pixar's Brave, four of the Harry Potter films, The King's Speech, Superman and all six Star Wars movies.

LSO is resident orchestra at the Barbican in London and presents over 70 concerts annually. Valery Gergiev, LSO's principal conductor, is one of the most prominent figures in the world's major concert halls.

The repertoire for the one night concert at QPAC was Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2 with virtuoso pianist Denis Matsuev, and Shostakovich Symphony No 10.

Following its Brisbane performance, the LSO plays at The Sydney Opera House on 24, 25 and 26 of November and at The Arts Centre Melbourne on 28 November.

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