The LSO and Mezzo are proud to announce their new partnership

The London Symphony Orchestra is joining forces with the television channel Mezzo to win over an international audience. As its first step in the new partnership, Mezzo – which is available to 18 million households in 44 countries – is co-producing broadcasts of the Brahms/Szymanowski series, performed by the LSO in five concerts under the baton of its principal conductor, Valery Gergiev, including a live broadcast from the Barbican Centre in London on 19 December.

The London Symphony Orchestra will also be ‘Orchestra of the Month’ in December on Mezzo Live HD, Mezzo’s 100% HD channel.

Audiovisual developments have always been at the top of the LSO’s agenda since its creation in 1904.

The LSO made its first recording in 1913 and has become the most-recorded orchestra in the world. In addition to its many benchmark classical albums, the LSO has recorded numerous original film scores, including the Star Wars saga.

In 2000, the LSO launched its own label, LSO Live, at a time when most record companies were reducing their investments in new recordings. Using the latest sound technologies, the label has since enjoyed an enviable level of success, allowing music lovers all over the world to enjoy the LSO’s best concerts.

The orchestra’s new partnership with Mezzo continues its tradition of ambitious development.

Mezzo has been the worldwide benchmark for classical and jazz music and dance on television since 1996. Available to 18 million households in 44 countries, Mezzo has become an essential resource for the most demanding music lovers while remaining accessible and exciting for the novice.

The Mezzo offering includes two television channels with an all-new range of programmes each month – Mezzo and Mezzo Live HD – as well as video on demand with Mezzo VOD. Content is continually updated thanks to Mezzo’s policy of constantly instigating and investing in the co-production of new programmes, with over 350 hours recorded all over the world each year. In 2011, Mezzo was the leading private investor in the audiovisual sector for live performances in France.

Mezzo has co-production agreements with the world’s leading theatres and best orchestras, including the Bolshoi, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Orchestre de Paris, the Aix-en-Provence and Glyndebourne festivals, the Mariinsky, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam to name a few, and is thus immensely proud to welcome the London Symphony Orchestra as one of its most prestigious partners.
December 2012: A Dedicated LSO series on Mezzo Live HD

• Brahms and Szymanowski (I) live from the Barbican Centre, Wednesday 19 December at 8:30 p.m.
  Szymanowski: Symphony No. 4, Concerto for Violin No. 2 – Brahms: Symphony No. 4
  Denis Matsuev, piano, Leonidas Kavakos, violin
  London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
• Brahms and Szymanowski (II), Saturday 22 December at 9 p.m.
  Szymanowski: Symphony No. 1, Violin Concerto No. 1 – Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Janine Jansen, violin, London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
  Recorded in 2012 at the Barbican Centre, London
• Mahler: Symphonies No. 9 & 10 (Adagio), Saturday 22 December at 11 p.m.
  London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
  Recorded in 2010 at the Salle Pleyel, Paris
  (repeated on 26/12 at 12 noon)
• Brahms and Szymanowski (III), Monday 24 December at 9 p.m.
  Brahms: Tragic Overture and Symphony No. 2 – Szymanowski: Symphony No. 2
  London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
  Recorded in 2012 at the Barbican Centre, London
  (repeated on 25/12 at 4:30 p.m. and 26/12 at 1:50 p.m.)