Prepare for a summer of Beethoven at the beach, Prokofiev by the pool and Sibelius while sunbathing. This summer sees a significant rise in the proportion of UK adults that say orchestral playlists will be the soundtrack of their summer holiday.
The findings are from a new study by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), which asked a representative sample of 2,000 adults in which everyday situations they enjoyed listening to orchestral music. Across the country, 80% of adults said they enjoyed listening to the genre – a big rise on 60% last year – and much of this was down to the growing popularity of relaxing to classical music when on summer holiday.
Nationally, 34% of respondents said they would be relaxing to orchestral music on holiday this summer – more than double the figure this time last year (15%). The RPO data also revealed it was younger people (aged 25-34) that were most likely to be putting together classical playlists for their summer holiday (42%). Regionally, orchestral music was most likely to be the relaxing summer holiday soundtrack for people living in London (43%), the East Midlands (36%) and the North West (35%).
Tom Philpott, Director of Artistic Planning and Partnerships at the RPO comments: “For many people, a summer holiday is the perfect time of year to relax and have a wellbeing re-set on busy working lives at home. Orchestral music can support health and wellbeing when people are relaxing on holiday and it can also fire the imagination and inspire. Our new 2025/6 season has been curated to offer drama and discovery but also moments of relaxation and beauty. The genre offers something for everyone and, before our concert season starts in September, we are delighted to see that summer holidays will play their part in inspiring many people to discover the enriching world of orchestral music.”
Beyond enjoying orchestral music on holiday, over everyday situations where people said they would be listening to orchestral music this summer comprised of: commuting to work in the car (26%), cooking (18%), reading (18%) and enjoying the summer in the garden (13%).
The RPO has prepared a playlist of inspiring orchestral classics for the holiday sun lounger this summer: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6UK3d1gzN28hs8tTsQ316h?si=5VaVBlJQROeGwdwOyNrR2Q