Spitalfields Music has released the full programme for its 49th annual festival, taking place from 1 to 9 July 2025. Spread across a variety of East London venues, this year’s edition brings together a wide-ranging mix of world and London premieres, reinterpretations of classical works, and site-specific performances that combine music with storytelling, movement, and electronics.
Thirteen premieres form the centrepiece of the festival’s nine-day run. Among them is Theatre of Origins by Aníbal Vidal, performed by The Carice Singers at Bishopsgate Institute. The piece draws on multiple global creation myths and is accompanied by new works from students at the New Voices Composers Academy.
Composer Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade will debut Scenes from Under Milk Wood, an adaptation of Dylan Thomas’s radio play, in collaboration with the Presteigne Festival. The work, presented in abridged form, introduces a new musical response to the text.
Jonathan Dove, a former Artistic Director of the festival, is represented twice: first with a new commission for horn and piano performed by Ben Goldscheider and Richard Uttley; and later with his own solo piano suite, Late Night Music, a quiet, extended piece designed for a reflective late-night audience.
“Thirteen premieres form the centrepiece of the festival’s nine-day run.”
The festival’s programming continues to pair contemporary work with historical repertoire. In Cornucopia, Beethoven and Brahms are set alongside new works by Dove and Brian Elias. This approach also shapes the programme of the Consone Quartet, who celebrate their 10th anniversary with a concert that includes the premiere of Oliver Leith’s On a horse, on a hill, faraway, through fog and bonfire. Framed by works from Purcell, Haydn and Schumann, the concert explores lineage and influence across time.
Two guided walking tours form part of the programme, emphasising the festival’s relationship with its surrounding neighbourhoods. A Tale of Two Worlds focuses on the boundaries and contrasts between Shoreditch and the City of London, while Charles Booth’s Victorian Whitechapel traces the history of immigration and poverty mapped out in Booth’s 19th-century surveys.
The festival also continues its investment in multimedia and cross-disciplinary work. Violinist Aisha Orazbayeva and composer Peiman Khosravi perform as the Liebestraum Duo in Darkness, a concert blending early music reimaginings with newly written material for violin and electronics. The concert will be staged at the state51 Factory.
At Rich Mix, Cover Her by composer Litha Efthymiou offers a performance that combines music, dance and storytelling. Using a range of influences—from medieval hagiographies to the contemporary #MeToo movement—the piece addresses themes of female identity and autonomy.
Meanwhile Harpland, performed at Wilton’s Music Hall, uses harp, electronics, and visual design to reflect on themes of loss, migration, and belonging. Composers Ruth Wall and Graham Fitkin weave Scottish and Gaelic musical forms into a 21st-century sound environment.
The Round Chapel in Hackney will host a new staging of The Protecting Veil by John Tavener, presented by musicians and dancers from Trinity Laban Conservatoire and led by cellist Raphael Wallfisch. Originally shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, the work is reimagined here with movement and lighting to create a more immersive experience.
“Originally shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, the work is reimagined here with movement and lighting to create a more immersive experience.”
The festival concludes at the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, within the Tower of London. The Choir of the Chapels Royal will perform Palestrina’s Missa Dum Complerentur alongside Messiaen’s Messe de la Pentecôte, closing the event with a pairing of Renaissance polyphony and 20th-century modernism.
Sarah Gee, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, noted the programming’s focus on both continuity and change. “Our 2025 festival is full of thought-provoking music, both new and established,” she said, while highlighting plans to begin reflecting on the festival’s legacy ahead of its 50th anniversary in 2026.
Featured Image: The Protecting Veil – Spitalfields Music Festival 2025
Venue: Various venues across East London, including Bishopsgate Institute, Wilton’s Music Hall, Rich Mix, state51 Factory, Round Chapel, and the Tower of London.
Dates: 1 – 9 July 2025
Tickets: £15 – £50
Age: Varies by performance
Booking: Click here
Access: Some venues are wheelchair accessible; accessible seating and companion tickets are available. Contact box office for full access information.
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Spitalfields Music Festival 2025: 13 World Premieres and Cross-Disciplinary Performances – The Quinntessential Review
