The London Philharmonic Orchestra gives the UK premiere of Radiance, a new orchestral piece by the Japanese composer Dai Fujikura, at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Karina Canellakis conducts, and the new work sits between Elgar’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
Fujikura was born in Osaka in 1977 and has lived in England since he was 15, so a London premiere is close to a home fixture for him.
Dai Fujikura's Radiance in London
UK premiere at the Royal Festival Hall, played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra- Address
- Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX
- Admission
- From £16 plus booking fee
- Starts
- November 4, 2026, 7:30 PM
- Ends
- November 4, 2026 9:45 PM
More about the event
- World premiere
- Radiance was first played on 31 October 2026 in Thessaloniki, by the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra under Kornilios Michailidis.
- Commissioned by
- The London Philharmonic Orchestra shares the commission with orchestras in Thessaloniki, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Sendai, the Music Biennale Zagreb and the Dutch concert series NTR ZaterdagMatinee.
- On the radio
- BBC Radio 3 is recording the concert for broadcast on Tuesday 19 January 2027 at 7.30pm.
- The soloist
- Christian Tetzlaff won the 2026 Opus Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year award for his recording of the Elgar and Adès violin concertos with the BBC Philharmonic.
- Running time
- About two hours, including a 20 minute interval.
Radiance, the London Philharmonic and the 4 November Programme
How Fujikura Built Radiance Over a Slowed Beethoven Recording
The commission asked for an orchestral work that might, in some way, “echo” Beethoven’s world. Fujikura writes in the concert programme that reading Beethoven’s letters did not spark anything, so he tried a more hands-on approach.
He took a recording of a movement from one of Beethoven’s symphonies and stretched it to around five times its original length, which turned it into a slow, heavy rumble. He composed on top of that sound, then removed the recording. None of Beethoven’s music is left in the score.
The piece opens high in the orchestra, “as if light appears first”, in Fujikura’s words, and the title points to the brightness that rises once the weight underneath has gone. He describes composing as building “a utopia I would like to live in”, with no furniture borrowed from anyone else’s house.
Elgar With Christian Tetzlaff, Then Radiance and Beethoven’s Fifth
Christian Tetzlaff opens the evening as soloist in Elgar’s Violin Concerto, which Fritz Kreisler first played at London’s Queen’s Hall in 1910 with Elgar conducting. Radiance follows the interval, and Beethoven’s Fifth closes the night, so Fujikura’s piece is heard straight before the composer it was asked to echo.
Karina Canellakis has been the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor since 2021 and is also Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. The London Philharmonic Orchestra puts the full concert programme online for free, including Fujikura’s own note on Radiance.
Dai Fujikura in London This Autumn, From the Barbican to Kings Place
Radiance comes a little over two weeks after the London premiere of Amber Alchemy, which Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra played at the Barbican on 18 October. Fujikura told us how that piece grew out of beehives on a London rooftop in our interview on Amber Alchemy and Pierre Boulez.
His double album Reizei came out worldwide on 23 October on his own label, Minabel. Radiance is not on it, but the record is the easiest way to hear how he writes for Japanese instruments, and our feature on Reizei tells the story of the shamisen duo behind its title.
Two more London dates are listed. I dreamed on singing flowers is played at the 1901 Arts Club on 12 December 2026 as part of the London New Wind Festival, and the pianist Zubin Kanga gives the world premiere of Nagisa for piano and synthesiser at Kings Place on 20 February 2027. The rest of the year is on Fujikura’s concerts page.
Radiance at the Royal Festival Hall: Questions and Answers
About ten minutes. It is the shortest of the three works on the programme.
No. Reizei collects fourteen other works, and Radiance is not among them.
Tickets From £16 and Getting to the Royal Festival Hall
Standard tickets start at £16 plus a booking fee, and the Southbank Centre notes that prices may change with demand. The concert starts at 7.30pm and should finish at about 9.45pm.
The Royal Festival Hall stands on Belvedere Road, a short walk from Waterloo station, or over the Golden Jubilee footbridges from Embankment. The building is cashless, so bring a card.
Royal Festival Hall
Seats for Radiance and the rest of the programme can be booked on the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s event page.
