London's Wigmore Hall Unveils 2021-22 Season

The 500-concert season hopes to signal a return to pre-pandemic programming

Earlier this week, Wigmore Hall in London announced its upcoming season featuring 2,500 artists from more than 30 nations, plus 50 United Kingdom and world premieres. The robust season is announced as COVID-19 restrictions have relaxed and vaccination rates are increasing in the UK.

The 2021-22 season, which will run from September 1 to July 31. 25,000 tickets sold for £5 each for audience members under 35.

Although live concerts have resumed around the world, over 150 concerts in the upcoming season will also be live-streamed, allowing increased access. During the past 18 months, Wigmore Hall's streams have garnered an audience of approximately seven million viewers.

"It has been a great joy welcoming audiences back to Wigmore Hall again, with the hope of fuller houses from September," Wigmore Hall’s Artistic Director John Gilhooly said, emphasizing the support of audiences, government officials, and donors in making the season possible.

"Having navigated through the most difficult period in the Hall’s history, we are under no illusion about the challenges ahead. There is the possibility of postponements or cancellations as each international territory moves through this crisis at a different pace. However, we also want to be as confident as we possibly can be, and we will be quick on our feet in reacting to challenges, as required, to deliver this, with solutions in the Hall itself, or online, as we have done right through this crisis."

Several artists will perform multiple times during the 2021-22 season as artists in residence — including violinists Alina Ibragimova and Christian Tetzlaff, pianist Sergei Babayan, jazz bassist Christian McBride, and the early music ensemble Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

Guest artist highlights include pianists Martha Argerich, András Schiff, and Igor Levit; violinists Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, and Leonidas Kavakos; and chamber ensembles Quatuor Ebène and the Takács Quartet.