• Over 2,500 musicians from around the globe to perform 450 concerts between 1 September 2022 and 31 July 2023
• Over 40 World/UK/London premieres, including British composer Charlotte Bray’s ‘Ungrievable Lives’ – a musical response to the migration crisis in conjunction with a new art installation by Caroline Burrawa
• Leading artists returning to Wigmore Hall include Associate Artist Nitin Sawhney, cellists Steven Isserlis, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Alisa Weilerstein; singers Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly, Alice Coote, Diana Damrau, Iestyn Davies, Christian Gerhaher, Karita Mattila, Christoph Prégardien, Roderick Williams; pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, Richard Goode, Stephen Hough, Sir András Schiff, Maria João Pires, Igor Levit, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang; violinists Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Leonidas Kavakos, Midori, Christian Tetzlaff; Ensembles Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, Quatuor Ebène, the Hagen Quartet and Wigmore Hall Associate Artists the Takács Quartet.
• Composers-in-Focus to include Cassandra Miller, Lera Auerbach, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Ferruccio Busoni; performances of the complete Bach Cello Suites, Prokofiev Piano Sonatas, Mozart Piano Sonatas, and Benjamin Britten String Quartets
• Over 450 Wigmore Hall Learning events in collaboration with community, education, health and social care organisations
• 25,000 tickets at £5 to be made available to people under-35, as well as thousands of free tickets for under-26s through Wigmore Hall's partnership with the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust.

John Gilhooly, Artistic and Executive Director of Wigmore Hall, today unveils the full line-up of concerts and artists for the 2022/23 concert season from 1 September 2022 to 31 July 2023. Home to the UK’s largest classical music concert programme, Wigmore Hall will welcome over 2,500 of the finest singers, instrumentalists and ensembles from within the United Kingdom and beyond in 450 concerts.

Two major milestones of the season are the cementing of relationships with The African Concert Series and the London Contemporary Music Festival. 2022/23 will see The African Concert Series make Wigmore Hall its London home, as part of a multi-year collaboration across the seasons ahead, and there will be a new major partnership between Wigmore Hall and the London Contemporary Music Festival, with events in June 2023 and beyond.

Composers-in-focus for 2022/23 include Cassandra Miller (b. 1976), Lera Auerbach (b. 1973), Gerald Barry (b. 1952) and the Black English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912). The piano music of Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) and Claude Debussy (1862–1918) are subjects of major series led by pianists Kirill Gerstein, Boris Giltburg and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Of the 40 World/UK/London premieres to be performed at Wigmore Hall next season, a particular highlight will be the new string quartet by the British composer Charlotte Bray (b. 1982). Entitled ‘Ungrievable Lives’, Bray’s 13-movement quartet will be presented in conjunction with an eponymous installation by the TBW Drawing Prize-winning British artist Caroline Burraway – comprising 13 children’s dresses, handmade from refugee lifejackets gathered by the artist at the Lifejacket Graveyard in Lesvos (Greece), hanging from old iron and brass weighing hooks, above piles of sand. Each dress represents 1 of the 13 million child refugees worldwide, signifying the absent body and evoking memory, absence and loss.

Bray said, "Feeling the weight and seriousness of the current ongoing migration crisis, I feel compelled to respond to it with the means I have. With shocking news stories appearing almost daily, I attempt to imagine and find some way of illustrating what millions of migrants are enduring, in search of safety or a better life. Caroline Burraway has responded to the crisis since 2015 and witnessed first-hand the camps and the situation in the Mediterranean up close. Her installation forms a large part of the stimulus behind my string quartet." The Wigmore Hall presentation, a UK premiere, will be performed by the Castalian String Quartet on 21 October 2022.

Wigmore Hall’s 2022/23 season opens on 3 September with the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition. With a total prize money of £34,500, the biennial competition celebrates the art of the song recital and is open to singers and pianists aged 33 and under. Contestants will be required to perform in at least three languages. The young stars emerging from the competition will be followed by some of the most distinguished and beloved singers who appear throughout the season, including Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly, Alice Coote, Diana Damrau, Iestyn Davies, Christian Gerhaher, Karita Mattila, Christoph Prégardien and Roderick Williams.

In partnership with BBC Radio 3, the lunchtime concerts every Monday at 1pm will be broadcast live on the station as well as streamed live on Wigmore Hall's website. To date, over 10 million people have engaged with Wigmore Hall’s online content since the outbreak of the pandemic in spring 2020.

John Gilhooly, Artistic and Executive Director of Wigmore Hall, said,

“In times of great tumult, art and music provide precious moments of reflection, comfort and consolation. I hope Wigmore Hall continues to be a haven where audiences can experience the beauty and wisdom of great music from the most diverse possible origins.

“I am heartened that our ‘£5 Tickets for Under 35s’ scheme has seen the highest ever take up since the initiative was launched four years ago, bringing many thousands of new, young concertgoers to live performances this season. As we brace ourselves for the economic uncertainties over the coming 12 months, I must thank Friends of Wigmore Hall, a consortium celebrating its 30th birthday, without whose support we cannot do what we do."

The 2022/23 season opens with the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition (3–7 September 2022).

The works of two important contemporary composers – Cassandra Miller (b. 1976) and Gerald Barry (b. 1952) – are heard in a day of programmes from the Quatuor Bozzini (3 December 2022).

Collaborating with violinist Hilary Hahn (13 September 2022), composer and pianist Lera Auerbach (b. 1973) was the winner of the Hindemith Prize for outstanding contemporary composers from the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in 2005. She is also a writer and a visual artist.

The music of Black English composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) received numerous performances during Wigmore Hall’s first decade. Soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper perform his songs (9 September & 15 December 2022, 19 March 2023) while Wigmore Hall Associate Ensemble Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective performs his Nonet (13 November 2022).

The protean figure of pianist/composer and writer Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924) -- who took part in Wigmore Hall’s inaugural concert on 31 May 1901 -- is explored in recitals devised by pianist Kirill Gerstein (23 November 2022, 3 March & 2 July 2023).

Boris Giltburg continues his series placing the piano music of Maurice Ravel in the context of his predecessor and successors (7 October 2022, 14 February & May 3 2023), while Jean-Efflam Bavouzet similarly positions the works of Claude Debussy amidst those who influenced him and those whom he in turn influenced (13 & 15 November 2022, 15 & 17 March 2023).

Wigmore Hall makes substantial contributions to the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, notably with a programme from Chamber Ensemble in Residence The Nash Ensemble including the Serenade to Music (15 October 2022). Roderick Williams opens the RVW series on 13 October 2022, and singers join pianist William Vann in bespoke vocal programmes throughout the autumn.

Among leading pianists returning to Wigmore Hall are Angela Hewitt, who commences her residency on 22 September 2022; Sir András Schiff (7 & 9 December, 18 & 20 February, 20 & 22 May 2023); Elisabeth Leonskaja (19 September 2022, 29 January 2023); and a rare but welcome return visit from Maria João Pires (29 September 2022). Igor Levit returns (25 September 2022) with a programme of Brahms, Fred Hersch, Liszt and Wagner, with several further visits throughout the season.

The young Italian pianist Beatrice Rana begins a residency on 11 October 2022. Richard Goode returns on 29 October 2022. Olli Mustonen performs the complete Prokofiev piano sonatas over two concerts (31 October & 1 November 2022). Leif Ove Andsnes is welcomed back to Wigmore Hall on 20 & 21 November 2022. Paul Lewis commences a series devoted to Schubert sonatas on 30 November 2022. The young Japanese pianist Mao Fujita performs the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas interspersed with sets of Variations over five concerts (10–14 July 2023). Mitsuko Uchida, who has been central to the last 20 years of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, collaborates with some of its distinguished alumni as part of a special weekend celebrating the Trust's 20th anniversary (10 & 11 June 2023).

Violinist Hilary Hahn commences her residency on 13 September 2022 alongside composer and pianist Lera Auerbach, in a celebration of Auerbach's music. Internationally acclaimed guitarist Sean Shibe gives a recital on 16 September 2022. Alisa Weilerstein performs the complete Bach Cello Suites (16 October 2022).

The Schumann Quartet performs music of their namesake Robert Schumann and Brahms, plus Schoenberg (30 September 2022, 7 February & 20 April 2023). The Belcea Quartet’s is joined by cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras for two performances of Schubert's String Quintet (11 September), with three further concerts from the quartet across the season (7 November 2022, 21 January 2023, 13 April 2023).

The world’s great recitalists once again perform at Wigmore Hall throughout the season.

One of the members of the jury for the Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition, American soprano Roberta Alexander gives masterclasses on 2–3 November 2022.

Long associated with Wigmore Hall, much loved Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter gives a series of recitals, masterclasses and interviews (20–24 June 2023). The Finnish opera superstar Karita Mattila makes a rare Wigmore Hall visit to perform Poulenc’s La voix humaine (8 November 2022).

Artist-in-residence countertenor Iestyn Davies shares the Wigmore platform with fellow-countertenor Hugh Cutting, winner of the 2021 Kathleen Ferrier Award (21 September 2022), and performs Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin with pianist Joseph Middleton (9 February 2023). Hugh Cutting will also make several further appearances throughout the season.

Another competition winner – in her case of the Song Prize at Cardiff Singer of the World in 2021 -- Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha presents a recital (19 October 2022).

Christian Gerhaher returns for Schubert on 29 November & 1 December 2022, with further concerts on 10 & 12 February 2023.

As part of his residency, German tenor Simon Bode performs Schubert’s three seminal song cycles: Winterreise (18 November 2022), Die schöne Müllerin (13 January 2023) and Schwanengesang (9 June 2023).

American baritone and composer Will Liverman appears on 11 & 13 March 2023, including a rare performance of Hans Werner Henze’s El Cimarrón, based on the biography of runaway Cuban slave Estaban Montejo, as well as a recital of music by Black composers.

Rising star French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig gives a recital on 19 April 2023. Golda Schultz is heard on 16 July 2023.

A master Lieder singer, Christoph Prégardien gives recitals as well as masterclasses (12 September 2022, 3–7 July 2023).

Having already collaborated with Leeds Lieder and Oxford Lieder, Wigmore Hall joins with the Ludlow English Song Weekend and its artistic director Iain Burnside for a Ludlow English Song Day (22 October 2022).

Le Concert Spirituel performs Fauré’s Requiem on 17 September 2022. Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra make a welcome return on 18 September 2022. Wigmore Hall Associate Ensemble Apartment House brings an exciting programme of new music on 12 October 2022. Freiburg Baroque Orchestra performs Purcell and Handel (22 November 2022).

The acclaimed ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro, known for its performances of Baroque and classical repertoire, has a three-date residency across the season, which includes concerts from the Il Pomo d'Oro Choir (23 December 2022) and with tenor Michael Spyres (21 May 2023).

Christmas 2022 celebrations include appearances by Arcangelo in their Roman Baroque Christmas (5 December), Tenebrae (11 December), brass ensemble Septura’s arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker (18 December) and two appearances by the 2021 Royal Philharmonic Society ‘Ensemble of the Year’ the Dunedin Consort (20 & 31 December).

Wigmore Hall Learning's sector-leading and award-winning participatory music programme continues this season, leading vital and impactful work in the community with people living with dementia; young people on the autism spectrum; schools; and families who have experienced domestic abuse, homelessness and poverty, as well as events at Wigmore Hall for children under 5, families, schools, young people and people living with dementia.

The Hall once again celebrates International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023 with two programmes featuring Héloïse Werner and the 2021 Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning Hermes Experiment.

In a weekend of Indian classical music, a member of an illustrious dynasty of musicians, and himself one of the finest performers on the sarod, Amjad Ali Khan celebrates 50 years as a performer (7–9 January 2023) alongside Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, all three of whom are Wigmore Hall Associate Artists.

World-acclaimed jazz pianist Jason Moran appears on 18 December 2022, and the celebrated jazz bassist and Wigmore Hall Associate Artist Christian McBride continues his fruitful association with the Hall on 17 July 2023.

Concerts from fellow Wigmore Hall Associate Artists across the season include composer/performer Nitin Sawhney (20 July 2023), violist Lawrence Power (31 May 2023), soprano Gweneth Ann Rand (4 January 2023), saxophonist Trish Clowes (1 March 2023) and vocal and movement artist Elaine Mitchener (22 January 2023 and 26 May 2023).

Pianist, composer and writer Stephen Hough is joined by singers Ailish Tynan, Ema Nikolovska, Nicky Spence and James Newby for a concert of songs by Hough, including the world premiere of his song cycle Songs of Love and Loss (2 January 2023).

Wigmore Hall’s Chamber Ensemble in Residence The Nash Ensemble devotes a series to Beethoven & the Romantics (from 19 November 2022).

The Hagen Quartet presents a series of Mozart concerts over three days (3, 4 and 5 February 2023).

Under its artistic director Peter Whelan, Irish Baroque Orchestra gives an anniversary performance of the original Dublin edition of Handel’s Messiah, a work premiered in that city on 2 April 1742 (2 April 2023).

The 50th anniversary of the International Musicians Seminar held at Prussia Cove in Cornwall is celebrated over the weekend of 26–27 November 2022.

The 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd is marked by a performances of his three Masses by The Cardinall’s Musick throughout 4 July 2023.