Philharmonia Orchestra
London's Philharmonia Orchestra is generally considered one of Britain's top symphonic ensembles and has sometimes been named as the very best. Formed by recording executive Walter Legge at the end of World War II, the orchestra benefited from the presence of several top Continental conductors in its first years and has generated an impressive recording catalog from the very beginning. Although London already boasted the world-class London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestras, Legge resolved to create an ensemble that would equal the best in the German-speaking musical sphere. To this end, he recruited top young musicians (some 60 percent of the players were still serving in the British armed forces at the beginning) and, after he was turned down by friend Thomas Beecham, a roster of star German conductors. These included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. At first, Legge avoided the appointment of a permanent conductor, and the players learned to produce superb results under several different kinds of artistic leadership.
Primarily a recording ensemble at first, the Philharmonia began giving concerts that were often innovative in content. The young Leonard Bernstein recorded Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the group, and the orchestra gave the world premiere of Strauss' Four Last Songs with soloist Kirsten Flagstad in 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall. In the mid-'50s, Furtwängler died and Karajan departed for Berlin; Legge appointed the 74-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's performances were often idiosyncratic but just as often brilliant, and many of his recordings with the Philharmonia remain in print. A complete cycle of Brahms symphonies under Klemperer was reissued by the firm Broken Audio in the 2010s.
The orchestra ran into trouble in the early 1960s as financial problems arose and several of its best musicians, including hornist Dennis Brain, met untimely deaths. Legge attempted to disband the group in 1964, but the players, encouraged by Klemperer, formed the New Philharmonia Orchestra and continued to perform. The orchestra performed at the Beethoven bicentennial in Bonn, West Germany, in 1970. That year, Lorin Maazel was appointed associate principal conductor to reduce the workload of the aging Klemperer, but he clashed with the orchestra members, who had maintained a self-governing structure. Instead, Riccardo Muti was appointed chief conductor in 1973. Four years later, the original name was restored.
Under Muti, the orchestra often recorded opera and entered upon what was widely regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, under conductor Kurt Sanderling, the Philharmonia made the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Muti was succeeded in 1984 by Giuseppe Sinopoli, whose performances of key British repertory such as the works of Elgar were criticized, but who extended the orchestra's reach in Italian opera. Christoph von Dohnányi ascended the podium in 1997 and took the orchestra on tours of continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, to a residency in New York. Bicontinental Finnish conducting star Esa-Pekka Salonen became chief conductor in 2008 and has continued to maintain the orchestra's high standards; his departure was announced for the year 2021, creating an opening at the very top level of English music-making. The Philharmonia continued to record for EMI after Legge's departure but moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli and has since recorded for a large variety of labels. In 2019, the Philharmonia backed innovative Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut release, with Salonen conducting.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Prokofiev: Symphony No.5
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 12, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Swan: Classic Works for Cello and Orchestra
Han-Na Chang, Leonard Slatkin, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Oct 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.1; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphony No. 41, K. 551 "Jupiter"
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1955
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Maria Callas, Luigi Alva, Tito Gobbi, Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op. 61
Itzhak Perlman, Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Tannhäuser
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fauré: Requiem / Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
Kathleen Battle, Andreas Schmidt, Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini, Philharmonia Chorus
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner by Otto Klemperer: The Ring Without Words, Wesendonck Lieder, Overtures, Preludes
Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Christa Ludwig
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Nov 24, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius & Glazunov: Violin Concertos
Esther Yoo, Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on Oct 15, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini : Tosca
Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia by Maria Callas
Maria Callas, Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Jan 1, 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strawinsky: Violin Concerto / Lutoslawski: Partita; Chain 2
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Phillip Moll, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Witold Lutosławski, Paul Sacher
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos - Beethoven: Romances
Johanna Martzy, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Mar 4, 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: El sombrero de tres picos
Victoria de los Angeles, Philharmonia Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov 6, 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Arleen Auger, Ann Murray, Ambrosian Singers, Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Narciso Yepes, English Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, García Navarro
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 'Resurrection'
Benjamin Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Linn Records on Sep 9, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: The Symphonies / Tone Poems / Violin Concerto
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lalo: Concerto pour violoncelle - Caplet: Épiphanie
Frédéric Lodéon, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Symphonies 1, 2 and Froissart Overture
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 1, 2009
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo