Spotlight On: Southbank Centre

This article was originally published in our Summer 2022 issue. Click here to subscribe to our quarterly print magazine and be the first to read our September issue features.

December 2020 was not the best time to be arriving at London’s Southbank Centre as the new head of classical music. The second Covid lockdown in the UK had just ended, to be replaced by a new Tier 4 ‘Stay at Home’ alert level. The new arrival was heralded by Norman Lebrecht’s Slippedisc website with the happy headline, ‘SINKING SOUTHBANK CENTRE APPOINTS CLASSICAL MUSIC CHIEF’.

Toks Dada may well smile wryly as he looks back over his past 18 months in the job. He has lots to say about coping with the fallout from Covid, and is determined that the Southbank Centre is far from sinking.

For anyone starting a new role there is always the challenge of becoming acquainted with a new organisation and new colleagues, he says. But Covid put that in sharper focus. ‘As a site-based organisation, this challenge was even more acute as there wasn’t the opportunity to physically engage with people or our wonderful spaces.’

He is very well aware that he was not alone in facing the situation. ‘December 2020 was a challenging time for all of us in the arts. However, it is often times of crisis that produce new ways of thinking, and this couldn’t have been more evident than during the past two years.

‘Amidst the challenges, it gave us a tremendous opportunity to consider some of the big questions facing classical music. How can we engage different audiences to better reflect wider society? How can we support the next generation of artists taking a different approach to their creative practice? How can classical music thrive in the digital age? And then to develop meaningful solutions.’

One of the great unknowns as restrictions slowly lifted was whether the pandemic would have a long-term effect on classical audiences for live music. Dada has noticed some changes, but feels the underlying appetite is undiminished.

‘We have certainly seen a shift in audience behaviour, with people booking much closer to the performance date, rather than months in advance as they did pre-pandemic. That said, we’re seeing very strong ticket sales this year with sell-out performances across an incredible range of concerts, including piano recitals in the Royal Festival Hall from Víkingur Ólafsson and Yuja Wang, as well as Alexandre Kantorow’s hugely well-received recital debut in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and a near sell-out for Manchester Collective and cellist Abel Selaocoe’s unique collaboration bringing together western classical and non-western musical traditions.

‘Our resident orchestras have also experienced very strong sales, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and the Philharmonia with violinist Hilary Hahn. Clearly, the shift in audience behaviour is a practical response to the uncertainty of the last two years, rather than a reflection of people’s appetite for classical music.’

One of the changes that pre-dates Covid is a significant widening in the Southbank Centre’s remit. So just how important is classical music to the venue these days? ‘Classical music is the most programmed artform,’ says Dada, ‘and will always be incredibly important to the Southbank Centre. It is what we are known for and we’re very conscious of that heritage. Crucially, what we want to see is a healthy and vibrant future for classical music. This is why we are engaging the widest possible audiences, supporting a broader range of artists, and developing projects that push forward the artform of classical music.

‘The notion of evolution is often misinterpreted as a complete discarding of the great classical music traditions and conventions. In fact, the opposite is true, we are looking forward to the future while celebrating where we have come from. And we’re not doing this alone – we continue to support and collaborate with our resident orchestras (the London Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Philharmonia) on our shared vision for classical music. We’ve also expanded that group, adding the forward-thinking Aurora Orchestra and Chineke! Orchestra, so we’re making a clear statement about our commitment to classical music at the Southbank Centre.’

Covid did nothing to help any venue’s finances and, like others in his position, Dada expresses gratitude for the government furlough scheme and the Culture Recovery Fund. ‘That stabilised our finances and allowed us to rebuild and refocus for the future,’ he says. 

If the pandemic made forward planning an almost impossible dream, many hall managers saw it as a chance to step back and do some serious thinking about how things might be different in the future.

‘The pandemic gave us the opportunity to rethink how we organise our programme,’ says Dada. ‘Instead of rolling out the season in one single announcement, we at the Southbank Centre, along with the majority of orchestras and venues across the country, have moved towards a two-wave announcement model. This gave us more flexibility to adapt and deal with any changes to Covid restrictions but also meant we could be more responsive to changes within the classical music landscape and the world around us. From speaking with my connections at other venues and orchestras, it is clear that the ability to be flexible is something that’s here to stay, long after the pandemic is over.’

Despite the difficulties, Dada and his team managed to nail their colours to the mast with a strong autumn/winter 2022/23 season, and Dada is clearly enjoying getting down to the job properly. ‘We’re incredibly proud of our entire autumn/winter programme, which truly reflects classical music in all its forms. If I had to pick one element, it would be our opening weekend, which really sets the tone for the programme as a whole.’

 Toks Dada in front of the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall

Like all good weekends, it gets started on a Thursday, running 22-25 September. ‘The weekend features several of our newly announced resident artists,’ says Dada, ‘including Víkingur Ólafsson and Abel Selaocoe, who will celebrate the release of his debut solo album with a concert in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Manchester Collective, who are returning as a resident artist, will make their season debut with a multimedia production of Michael Gordon’s Weather featuring an hour-long, immersive sound installation from Chris Watson, the legendary field recording artist and Sir David Attenborough collaborator.

‘There will be performances from our resident Philharmonia Orchestra with principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, performing works by Mahler, Korngold, George Walker, and the LPO with Schoenberg’s mighty Gurre-Lieder, as well as the incredible Paraorchestra, who will invite audiences to “climb inside the orchestra” with an immersive sonic experience.’

Two more names on board as resident artists are violinist Daniel Pioro and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Pioro first appears in October to premiere Tom Coult’s new violin concerto with the LPO, returning in January to join James McVinnie (organ and harpsichord) in a day-long marathon of Biber’s Rosary Sonatas. Kanneh-Mason, who is also the Philharmonia Orchestra’s featured artist for 2022/23, starts his residency in late
September, playing two Haydn cello concertos with Marin Alsop conducting.

The 2022/23 season also sees a reboot of the Contemporary Edit series, celebrating innovative modern music. Those taking part include viola player Lawrence Power and creative studio Âme with a bespoke production, Fathom, percussionist Joby Burgess launching his album, A Percussionist’s Songbook, and The Hermes Experiment playing Timothy Cape and Mira Calix.

Back at the opening weekend, Dada is helping audiences loosen their stays by turning the Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer into a 17th-century boozer. ‘We’ve created some unique events that will give people a new way to experience classical music. Barokksolistene’s “Alehouse Sessions” are a great example of this’.

If there is a lot on offer, Dada is not offering any excuses for missing any of it. ‘We’ve scheduled the whole weekend so visitors can attend every performance. It will be a really exciting way to kick-start our new programme.’ And a word for the prophets of doom? ‘Personally,’ says Dada, ‘I could not be more thrilled for the future of classical music at the Southbank Centre.’

You can find out more about the Southbank Centre here.