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Composers of the West End Walk
- A classical music themed walk
- Explore places where their music was performed
- Qualified City of Westminster tour guide
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A music-themed guided walk in London’s West End, touching on the lighter side, about composers connected with the Strand and some of the places where their music was performed.
Enjoy walking through Regency London with its wide straight streets and square. Marvel at the neoclassical theatre designed by architect John Nash before embarking on the Victorian centre for entertainment before finishing in iconic Covent Garden.
Hear how European influences, including George Frederic Handel and other notable composers helped secure the future of London’s increasingly sophisticated classical music scene and how that created popular offshoots in operetta and musicals.
On this 90 min guided walk covers a variety of classical composers but also theatre and opera productions plus some world-class performance venues in London’s West End.
Your Guide: Barbara Wright
Composers of the West End Walk Reviews
This walk with Barbara was excellent. She is personable and an excellent guide with vast knowledge. Even as a classical music buff, I learnt many new things about Handel and other composers – interesting aspects of their lives not easily come by. I will definitely go for walks with her in future.
Barbara has done a lot of research to put this interesting walking tour together. I was surprised that there was so much to see and hear about in undiscovered corners as I thought I knew this area well!
An interesting walk around the Strand and surrounding area, focusing on composers who lived and/or worked there. Lots of lovely hidden gems, such as monuments of composers and architecture relating to the history of some of the theatres. It was a hot day and the guide did her best to keep us in the shade where possible. An enjoyable walk.
The lovely guide, Barbara, took us to a few hidden gems I otherwise wouldn’t have known about, such as the little church by the Savoy. We learnt some interesting facts about the composers in London in different eras…It was a really hot, sunny day, and she made sure we were safely shaded at our stop points.
I attended the Classical Composers of the West End guided walk on 16th July 2022. It was a hot hot day! However, we persevered, and with the amazing input from our tour guide, Barbara really enjoyed ourselves despite the heat. We walked from St Martin-in-the-Fields through Strand towards the Royal Opera House, learning on the way about amazing composers that lived in London, contributed to cultural changes and left lasting legacies. We learnt about fortunes made and lost. Fashions changed, famous musical composers that remain in the names of theatres and many more. Our guide Barbara was very attentive, professional and friendly. She put everyone at ease and had a whole portfolio of interesting rare photos and pictures. I really enjoyed this walk and learned a lot! I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know interesting stories and facts about London’s musical history. Thank you very much!
An interesting walk around the Strand and surrounding area, focusing on composers who lived and/or worked there. Lots of lovely hidden gems, such as monuments of composers and architecture relating to the history of some of the theatres. It was a hot day, and the guide did her best to keep us in the shade where possible. An enjoyable walk.
This was an enjoyable walk with more of London's hidden gems revealed.
“Perhaps more of a niche walk this was nonetheless very enjoyable.Barbara was a very knowledgeable and delightful guide who really looked after the group on what was a a hot day in a crowded part of London. As always It was good to see parts of London I had no idea existed and this walk also tied in with other walks I have done with Hazel in this area. Anyone who is interested in classical music will find this walk interesting, particularly those who appreciate Handel. Thank you London Guided Walks for yet another delightful experience.”
My guide met me at Piccadilly and greeted me warmly. We chatted while waiting for others to arrive. I enjoyed listening to my guide and was most impressed by the amount of knowledge she passed on about the composers and their musical and social backgrounds. She was equally knowledgeable about the venues connected to these composers and their history. As we walked along the route from point to point, she talked most interestingly about the composers’ music and answered whatever questions that gave rise.
The host made us all feel welcome and showed concern that we were all together, and no-one went astray and that we were all comfortable. The pace was really good. It was very busy with people in the West End so the use of the microphone was good so that everyone could hear. It was really interesting and informative. The length of the walk was about right. It was a hot sunny day so any longer might have been too much.
Lovely walk. Surprising to discover how many classical composers frequented the West End. It is easy to forget when bombarded by music in our streets today how comparatively little there was in former times.
“An original and interesting walk”
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