6 January: Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces that its originally planned 2023 Glyndebourne on Tour season will not occur, as a result of the reduced funding from Arts Council England for the 2023–2026 National Portfolio.
9 January: The Royal Albert Hall announces the appointment of James Ainscough as its next chief executive director, effective in the late spring of 2023.
10 January: The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra announces that Kirill Karabits is to conclude his chief conductorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2023–2024 season.
13 January: The BBC announces the appointment of Sam Jackson as the new controller of BBC Radio 3, effective April 2023.
17 January: Arts Council England (ACE) announces the presentation to English National Opera (ENO) of a one-year grant of £11.46M for the period of April 2023 – March 2024, following its previous November 2022 announcement of a total withdrawal of ACE's funding to ENO for the period 2023–2026 unless ENO relocates outside of London.
31 January: The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announces Sir George Benjamin as the recipient of the 2023 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
1 February: In an interview on Finnish Radio, Sir Mark Elder states that he is to stand down as music director of The Hallé in August 2024, at the close of the 2023–2024 season..
3 February: John Lydon loses his bid to represent Ireland in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, with the Public Image Ltd song "Hawaii". They lose out to Wild Youth.
11 February: Pensacola Christian College in the USA cancels a concert appearance by The King's Singers two hours before the scheduled performance time, after objections from a group of students, parents and college staff to the presence of homosexuals in the ensemble.
18 February: Twelve new pieces of music are commissioned by Charles III for his coronation, including a composition by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
7 March: The BBC releases its 2023 Classical Review 2023, whose intended plans include:
A reduction in the number of salaried posts in the three BBC England-based orchestras by 20%
The closure of the BBC Singers
15 March: Universal Music Group announces its purchase of Hyperion Records.
24 March: The BBC announces a reversal of its intended closure of the BBC Singers, following public reactions in protest at the original 7 March 2023 announcement.
27 March: The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra announces the appointment of Emma Stenning as its next chief executive, effective 3 April 2023.
12 April: Opera North announces the appointment of Laura Canning as its next general director, the first woman named to the post, effective December 2023.
16 April: Vox Urbane performs its inaugural concert at the Asylum Chapel in Peckham, London.
23 April: "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers is removed from an official King's Coronation playlist celebrating British and Commonwealth artists after they were criticised for expressing anti-royal views.
25 April: Frankie Goes to Hollywood confirm they are to re-form in order to play a concert at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, the band's first live performance for 36 years.
27 April: British singer Adele joins James Corden for the final edition of Carpool Karaoke.
28 April: HMV announces plans to reopen its flagship store at 363 Oxford Street four years after it closed when the company went into administration.
3 May: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces Kate Bush and George Michael as among its roster of inductees for 2023.
4 May: A jury at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York decides that Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" when composing "Thinking Out Loud".
5 May: The official build-up to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest begins in Liverpool with a concert by Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra to open the fans village.
7 May: At the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla, the following new classical compositions receive their world premieres:
Judith Weir – Brighter Visions Shine Afar
Karl Jenkins – Crossing the Stone
Sarah Class – Sacred Fire
Nigel Hess, Roderick Williams, Shirley Thompson – Be Thou My Vision
Iain Farrington – Voices of the World
Patrick Doyle – King Charles III Coronation March
Paul Mealor – Kyrie Eleison (the first composition sung in Welsh at a coronation)
Christopher Robinson – The Recognition
Debbie Wiseman – Alleluia
Andrew Lloyd Webber – Make A Joyful Noise
Roxanna Panufnik – Coronation Sanctus
Tarik O'Regan – Coronation Agnus Dei
10 May: A performance by The View at Manchester's Deaf Institute comes to an abrupt end after an onstage fight breaks out between band members.
13 May: The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Liverpool and is won by Sweden.
6 June: The BBC announces its new roster of New Generation Artists for the period 2023–2025:
James Atkinson (baritone)
Alim Beisembayev (pianist)
Chaos Quartet
Giorgi Gigashvili (pianist)
Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano)
Michael Pandya (collaborative pianist)
Johanna Wallroth (soprano)
16 June:
The BBC Concert Orchestra announces the appointment of Anna-Maria Helsing as its next chief conductor,[30] the first female conductor to be named to the post and the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of any BBC orchestra, effective 1 October 2023, with an initial contract of three seasons.
King's Birthday Honours:
Kathryn McDowell is made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Ivor Bolton and Tasmin Little are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
Lucy Crowe, Janine Irons, Nicky Spence, and Caron Wheeler are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Rekesh Chauhan, Peter Corry, Jennie Muskett and Jyotsna Srikanth are each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
18 June: BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2023 competition results:
Main Prize: Adolfo Corrado
Song Prize: Sungho Kim
Audience Prize: Julieth Lozano Rolong
20 June: The Hallé announces the appointment of Wong Kah Chun as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2024–2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.
23 June:
The Foo Fighters make a surprise appearance at the Glastonbury Festival 2023, appearing on the Pyramid Stage.
The Arctic Monkeys headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023, their third appearance at the festival.
24 June:
Rick Astley plays the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023.
Guns N' Roses headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023.
25 June: Elton John plays the final UK concert of his farewell tour at Glastonbury 2023, headlining the Pyramid Stage on the festival's final day.
27 June: Lewis Capaldi announces a sabbatical from touring for the "foreseeable future" after struggling to finish his set at Glastonbury 2023.
29 June: National Youth Orchestras of Scotland announce the appointment of Catherine Larsen-Maguire to the newly created post of music director, effective 2024, with an initial tenure of 3 years.
1 July: BBC Two airs a special edition of Later... with Jools Holland dedicated entirely to Noel Gallagher to coincide with the release of Council Skies, the fourth studio album by his band, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.
4 July: Britten Pears Arts announces that Roger Wright is to stand down as its chief executive in July 2024.
6 July:
The Royal College of Music announces the appointment of James Williams as its next Director, effective 1 September 2024.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announces that James Williams is to stand down as its managing director, at the close of the 2023–2024 season.
14 July: The First Night of the Proms is briefly interrupted by two protestors from Just Stop Oil, who climb on stage at the Royal Albert Hall and unfurl an orange banner, before being removed by security staff.
27 July: Arts Council England announces an additional £24M grant for English National Opera from the period of April 2024 – March 2026, with an extended time frame to March 2029 for relocation of the company outside of London.
28 July:
Hyperion Records announces that it is to make available for streaming access 200 albums from its catalogue, for the first time in the company's history.
Three tracks from the Barbie soundtrack enter the UK singles Chart in the top five, the first time three songs from the same soundtrack have been in the top five at the same time. The songs are What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish at number three, Dance the Night by Dua Lipa at number four, and Barbie World by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice at number five.
4 August: The Official Chart now has four songs from the Barbie soundtrack inside the top ten, as Speed Drive by Charli XCX reaches number 9.
11 August:
The Ulster Orchestra confirms that Daniele Rustioni is to stand down as its music director at the close of the 2023–2024 season.
A UK Health Security Agency investigation into a number of cases of sickness and diarrhoea at the 2023 WOMAD Festival is inconclusive on a cause.
14 August: The BBC's Maida Vale Studios, which have been the venue for performances by artists including The Beatles and Adele, are sold to a group led by composer Hans Zimmer.
18 August: For the first time in its 70-year history, the top six selling singles on the Official Chart are by female artists. They are, 1: "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish, 2: "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa, 3: "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo, 4: "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift, 5: "(It Goes Like) Nanana" by Peggy Gou, and 6: "Bad Idea Right?" by Olivia Rodrigo.
20 August: The UK government gives the go ahead to plans for a northern version of London's BRIT School, based in Bradford.
23 August: An advertisement for a fictional glass repair business in the Hackney Gazette is believed to be a teaser for a new Rolling Stones album as it contains several references to the band's past songs.
24 August: Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner pulls out of the BBC Proms after being accused of assaulting a singer who left the podium in the wrong direction during a concert in France.
25 August: 25-year-old pianist Alim Beisembayev makes his BBC Proms debut playing Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall as a replacement for Benjamin Grosvenor, who was taken ill.
31 August: Sir John Eliot Gardiner announces his withdrawal from his remaining 2023 concert engagements to seek psychological treatment, following his striking of bass William Thomas on 22 August at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André, France.
1 September:
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody says the band will continue as a trio after Johnny Quinn and Paul Wilson announce their departure from the group.
Sophie Ellis Bextor headlines the 2023 Blackpool Illuminations switch-on concert.
5 September: Shireland CBSO Academy, the first school in the UK to be partnered with an orchestra, opens in West Bromwich. The school is partnered with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
6 September:
The Rolling Stones announce Hackney Diamonds, their 24th studio album and first album of original material since 2005.
A Yamaha baby grand piano used by Freddie Mercury to compose some of Queen's best known songs sells at auction for £1.7m.
7 September: Jazz quintet Ezra Collective win the 2023 Mercury Prize for their second studio album, Where I'm Meant to Be, becoming the first jazz act to win the prize.
9 September:
"Sprinter", a track by Dave and Central Cee, is declared the UK Official Chart's song of summer 2023.
The traditional Last Night of the Proms is held at the Royal Albert Hall and in the middle of a late summer heatwave.
13 September:
News reports reveal the new name of the Sage Gateshead complex as The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.
Jazz FM confirms that the annual Jazz FM Awards will return in Spring 2024, moving back to spring following disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic.
15 September:
Sugababes release "When the Rain Comes", their first single in a decade and the first to be released since the original line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy regained the rights to Sugababes name in 2019.
Lambeth Council gives the O2 Academy Brixton the go-ahead to reopen once the venue has met 77 "extensive and robust" conditions "designed to promote public safety".
20 September: The BBC announces the winners of its BBC Young Composer 2023 competition:
Lower Junior Category (age 12–14)
Atharv Gupta – Demain, Dès L'Aube
Avram Harris – Across the Void
Upper Junior Category (age 15–16)
Advaith Jagannath – Saturn Devouring his Son
Pascal Bachmann – Étude-Grotesque
Senior Category (age 17–18)
Jamie Smith – Into Oblivion
Reese Carly Manglicmot – Rumble
21 September: LIVE, the voice of the UK's live music industry, appoints Steve Lamacq as its new Chair.
25 September: Louise Redknapp and Kéllé Bryan are reported to have pulled out of a planned Eternal reunion tour scheduled for 2024 after a row occurred because their former bandmates, sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, refused to play at LGBTQ and Pride events.
4 October: The Snug in Atherton, Greater Manchester, is the first grassroots gig venue to benefit from the Music Venue Trust's "Own Our Properties" plan, where music fans can invest in venues to save them from increasing rents and closure.
10 October: Bilingual pop duo Rogue Jones win the 2023 Welsh Music Prize for their album Dos Bebés.
15 October: Martyn Brabbins resigns as music director of English National Opera with immediate effect, in protest at proposed music personnel reductions to the company's music staff.
20 October: Welsh rapper Ren Gill reaches number one in the UK Albums Chart with his second album Sick Boi, an account of chronic illness that has left him unable to perform on stage.
25 October:
The BBC announces the appointment of Bill Chandler as the next director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Chorus, effective December 2023.
In parallel with his appointment to the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Bill Chandler is to stand down as director of the BBC Concert Orchestra, as of December 2023.
The BBC announces the appointment of Adam Szabo as director of the BBC Philharmonic, effective February 2024.
Manchester Collective announces that Adam Szabo is to stand down as its artistic director and chief executive, effective January 2024.
26 October: Scottish band Young Fathers win the 2023 Scottish Album of the Year Award for their fourth album, Heavy Heavy.
27 October: The Dartington College of Arts announces that its planned 2024 summer school season is on hold, and the resignation of Sara Mohr-Pietsch and the summer school staff, with immediate effect.
2 November:
"Now and Then", described by the surviving members of The Beatles as their "last song", receives its public premiere.
The sale of tickets for the 2024 Glastonbury Festival is delayed for two weeks "out of fairness" to customers who did not realise their registration had expired.
3 November: The re-recorded version of Taylor Swift's album 1989 becomes the fastest selling album of 2023, selling 184,000 copies in the UK in its week of release, more than doubling the sales of the original version released in 2014.
7 November:
The Barbican Centre announces the appointment of Helen Wallace as its new head of music, effective February 2024.
Kings Place announces that Helen Wallace is to stand down as its artistic and executive director at the close of January 2024.
English National Ballet announces the appointment of Maria Seletskaja as its next music director, effective with the 2024–2025 season.
Arcangelo announces the appointment of Sir Nicholas Kenyon as its next chair of trustees, effective March 2024.
10 November:
Remastered versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are released to coincide with the issue of their final track, "Now and Then", which is included on the release.
"Now and Then" tops the UK Singles Chart, giving The Beatles the longest gap between the first and last number one.
16 November: Oxford Brookes University announces the scheduled closure of its music department and the shuttering of its music programmes in 2026.
17 November: The new versions of The Beatles' Red Album and Blue Album are beaten to the top of the UK Album Chart by Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version), putting them in the same position as the original 1973 release of the albums, which were beaten to number one by David Bowie Young Americans. The Blue Album reaches number two, while the Red Album reaches number three, the same positions they were at in 1973.
19 November: Tickets for Glastonbury 2024 go on sale at 9.00am, and sell out within an hour.
22 November: The four remaining members of Girls Aloud–Cheryl Tweedy, Kimberley Walsh, Nadine Coyle and Nicola Roberts–announce a reunion tour for 2024 following an eleven year break, and will dedicate the show to their late bandmate, Sarah Harding.
23 November: The BBC announces that David Pickard is to stand down as director of The Proms after the 2024 season.
24 November:
Organisers of the BRIT Awards announce they will update the rules for the 2024 Awards ceremony following controversy over the introduction of gender neutral awards when no female artists were nominated for Best Artist. The list of nominations for the prize will be expanded from five to ten. There will also be a prize for Best R'n'B Act.
Blink 182, Fred Again, Lana Del Rey and Catfish and the Bottlemen are among the acts announced as headline acts for the 2024 Reading and Leeds Festivals.
27 November: Members of Glasgow's Grand Ole Opry vote to ban the use of the Confederate Flag at the venue.
30 November: The Bristol Beacon music venue, previously known as Colston Hall, reopens after refurbishment and five years after it closed for repairs.
4 December: Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces the appointment of Adam Hickox as the new principal conductor of Glyndebourne Sinfonia, with immediate effect.
5 December: English National Opera announces Greater Manchester as the site of its planned new headquarters.
7 December: Indie band The Last Dinner Party are named winners of the 2023 Brit Award for Rising Star.
8 December: A total of 28 of the 40 songs in the week's Official Top 40 are festive songs, with "Last Christmas" by Wham! reaching number one for a fourth time.
20 December: Buckingham Palace announces that Dame Sarah Connolly is to receive The King's Medal for Music.
22 December: Wham!'s "Last Christmas" becomes the 2023 UK Christmas number one single 39 years after its release. Its main contender for the position, "You're Christmas to Me" by Sam Ryder, finishes at number two.
29 December: The 2024 New Year Honours are published.
Dame Shirley Bassey is made a Companion of Honour.
Judith Weir is made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Michael Eavis is made a Knight Bachelor.
Don Black and Lady Robey are each made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
James Ainscough, Paul Burger, Laurence Cummings, Michael Eakin, Yvette Griffith, and Carolyn Sampson are each made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Rachel Cowgill, Huw Edwards, Margaret Fingerhut, Anna Lapwood, Blair Parham, Selina Webb, Carla Marie Williams and Allan Young are each made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Margaret Archibald, Wiliam Hutton, Christopher Kent, Bernard Vause, William Watson, Martin White, and Jonathan Willcocks are each awarded the British Empire Medal.
30 December: Busking duo Jen & Liv win Series 12 of ITV's The Voice.
31 December: BBC One ends 2023 with the concert Rick Astley Rocks New Year's Eve. Rick Astley is joined by various guests, including Rylan Clark with whom he performs a rendition of the Dead of Alive track "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".
Classical Music
JULIAN ANDERSON
ECHOES
KRISTINA ARAKELYAN (texts by KATRINA PORTEOUS)
Whin Lands
NEWTON ARMSTRONG
The Book of the Sediments'
GERALD BARRY
Kafka's Earplugs
OLIVIA BELLI
Limina Luminis
LAURA BOWLER
Advert
KERENSA BRIGGS
Ode to a Savior
LINDA BUCKLEY
Mallacht
ANNA CLYNE
Weathered (clarinet concerto)
BRIAN ELIAS
I saw a peacock
RUFUS ISABEL ELLIOT
the stones in the river by our camp in the forest / the space on the ground where we lay
SADIE HARRISON
The River Dreams of Winter (first public performance)
HANNAH KENDALL
O flower of fire
SARAH LIANNE LEWIS
The Sky Didn't Fall
CHRISTIAN MASON (music) and PAUL GRIFFITHS (text)
The Singing Tree
GRACE-EVANGELINE MASON
A Memory of the Ocean
ABLAZE THE MOON
DAVID MATTHEWS
String Quartet No. 17
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN
The Dirac Sea: Folds in continuous fields
ROXANNA PANUFNIK (music) and JESSICA DUCHEN (texts)
Gallery of Memories
JOSEPH PHIBBS
Flame and Shadow
ADAM POUNDS
Symphony No 4.
COLIN RILEY
Hearing Places
ANGELA ELIZABETH SLATER
Where skies aflame (for string quartet)
RYAN WIGGLESWORTH
Quatre Vignettes de Jules Renard (version for voice and orchestra)
Operas completed in 2023
SARAH ANGLISS and ROSS SUTHERLAND
Giant
Sir GEORGE BENJAMIN and MARTIN CRIMP
Picture a Day Like This
CONOR MITCHELL
Abomination: A DUP Opera
JOBY TALBOT and GENE SCHEER
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'
PHILIP VENABLES and TED HUFFMAN
The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions
Please address any comments concerning this page to The Music Maestro
Mark Chard BSc, PLY
Page created: 6th May 2024
Last edited: 6th May 2024
