The UK has opened their borders and is allowing tourists to come to experience its art, culture, music, and more. With so many people cooped up at home during the pandemic, staying away from family and loved ones to protect them, and making sacrifices, traveling and enjoying themselves seemed like a far off dream.
However, it is possible to start following passions again and touring some of the UK’s best musical and cultural cities. When you’re planning to travel to the UK, there are several things that you need to consider beforehand, like the visas, documentation, and paperwork. It is ideal to get in touch with well-reputed immigration solicitors London and ensure that everything is in order before you book your tickets.
Some people like to build their travel itineraries around food, dance, meeting people, etc. We have you covered if you want to develop your UK trip around music.
Let us look at some of the greatest musical cities in the UK.
Brighton
When you think of the UK, there is a chance you may want to head to London first. However, Brighton should be on your map. If you’re interested in early music, you should consider the Brighton Early Music Festival in October and November. Brighton is gorgeous these months, with clear blue skies and thousands of people visiting for the vibrato music festival. The entire city is awash with the sounds of theorbos (large bass lutes) and recorders.
London
Without a doubt, London is the UK’s capital for music and theatre. Some of the greatest orchestras are nestled in this cosmopolitan city. The rich tapestry of London’s history is just the starting point for the leaps and bounds that this city sees in the music world even today. London has the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, etc. Apart from being the centre of the UK’s political and economic developments, London is home to the prestigious Barbican and Cadogan Hall and Royal Albert Hall. This city is also home to the maximum number of music festivals, pubs, and small music venues compared to the rest of the UK.
Birmingham
Birmingham must be on your list of musical cities to visit in the UK. In June 1854, Mendelssohn’s Elijah was premiered in Birmingham and commissioned by the Birmingham Music Festival. This festival is still one of the UK’s crowning glories and is extremely popular. The £30 million Symphony Hall has one of the world’s foremost musical programs to suit all ages and tastes. It has featured everything from La La Land – Live in Concert to Academy of Ancient Music and Jordi Savall. Birmingham is also home to the illustrious Orchestra in the Midlands, the City of Birmingham’s Symphony Orchestra, owned by Classic FM.
Cardiff
Cardiff, Wales, lives up to its reputation of being one of the most musical capitals in the world. Cardiff is home to one of Britain’s top conservatoires, Cardiff Millennium Centre, and St. David’s Halls international concert halls. Apart from these, Cardiff is also known to have a choral heritage that spans several hundreds of years, with nearly every street an ode to some form of music or the other. You would be hard-pressed to leave Cardiff without feeling overwhelmed by the melodies floating from each direction.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the birth and home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) and the Scottish Opera. While many other publicly funded organizations strive to sustain and hold on, these two premier institutes are flourishing even with adverse times. The Scottish Opera hosts new artistic designs, innovations, and rehearsal venues to keep the artists happy. This music and artists in this city usually don’t sleep and can be seen practicing their tunes late at night in cafés, street corners, and even private homes.
Manchester
Like London and Cardiff, Manchester is another heavyweight in the musical world. This city is known to have the Holy Trinity of musical venues. These are the Royal Northern College of Music, the glamorous Bridgewater Hall, and the Halle Orchestra. These institutions, several music festivals and pubs, small musical plays, and more make Manchester a hub for music education and classical music.
Liverpool
Does the name The Beatles ring a bell? Liverpool is home to the musical sensations of the 60s and 70s , but is also known for its classical music scene. Liverpool still lives up to its name of City of Culture with the Liverpool International Music Festival. After Vasily Petrenko joined the prestigious Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the city’s fame rose to even greater musical heights.
