BBC Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1904 and therefore the oldest of the city's symphony orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra became world-renowned for recordings that date back to early gramophone records in 1912. Amid decades of diverse classical programming that followed, including performances for radio and TV, the orchestra also became known for its appearances in numerous film scores, including the Star Wars series. The LSO also tours and first visited North America in 1912 (narrowly avoiding passage on the Titanic).
The ensemble's direct antecedent was the Queen's Hall Orchestra, formed in 1895 for conductor Henry Wood's series of Promenade Concerts. The summer series was so successful that a series of weekly Sunday afternoon concerts was established the same year. The orchestra, however, had never become a permanent group; its members could and often did send other musicians to substitute for them at concerts. In 1904, Wood attempted to end this practice, prompting 46 members to leave and form their own orchestra.
The London Symphony Orchestra was organized as a self-governing corporation administered by a board selected by the players. They arranged for the great Hans Richter to conduct the inaugural concert, and continued to engage a variety of conductors, practically introducing the concept of the guest conductor to the London musical scene. Soon, though, the title and post of principal conductor was established for Richter. The LSO's connection with the BBC goes back to 1924 when Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the orchestra in the premiere broadcast performance of his Pastoral Symphony. It was the unofficial orchestra in residence for the BBC until the formation of the BBC Symphony in 1930 and continued to broadcast concerts and provide background music for many BBC productions. Other conductors most associated with the orchestra's first few decades include Edward Elgar and Thomas Beecham. During World War II, Wood was welcomed for a series of concerts.
The War took its toll on orchestra membership as it had the general populace, and a concurrent drop in private funding led to increased reliance on the state arts council. This eventually led to structural reorganization in the 1950s, resulting in increased professional standards and the abandonment of profit-sharing; players became salaried employees. The revamped orchestra made only its second tour of the United States in 1963 (the first had been in 1912), and in 1964 embarked on its first world tour. In the mid-1960s the city of London broke ground for the Barbican Arts Centre, intended as the LSO's permanent home. The building was an architectural and acoustic success, and since 1982 has provided the orchestra the solid base it lacked during the first 70-plus years of its existence. The venue opened under principal conductor Claudio Abbado, who took over for André Previn in 1979.
In the meantime, the orchestra made its Star Wars debut, performing John Williams' score for the original 1977 film. While the organization had recorded its first film score in 1935 (H.G. Wells' Things to Come) and appeared in such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and The Sound of Music, Star Wars won three Grammys, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA, among many other accolades, sold over a million copies in the U.S. and over 100,000 in the U.K., and endures as a touchstone in modern film music. The LSO went on to record music for the franchise's entire first two trilogies as well as films like 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1993's Schindler's List, 1997's Titanic, and select installments of the Harry Potter series.
During the tenure of Colin Davis, who was named principal conductor in 1995, the LSO established its own record label, LSO Live. Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, recorded at Barbican Centre in 1999 and released in 2000, bears catalog number 0001. Their 2000 recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens won two Grammys in 2002, and Verdi's Falstaff took home the Best Opera Grammy in 2006. In 2007, Davis took the position of orchestra president, its first since Leonard Bernstein's passing in 1990, and Valery Gergiev became principal conductor.
Also known for crossing over into rock, jazz, and Broadway, among other categories, they followed hit recordings such as Symphonic Rolling Stones and Gershwin Fantasy (with Joshua Bell) with albums like 2017's Someone to Watch Over Me, which had them accompanying archival recordings of Ella Fitzgerald.
© Marcy Donelson, Joseph Stevenson & Corie Stanton Root /TiVo
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This New Noise (Live)
Public Service Broadcasting, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jules Buckley
Alternative & Indie - Released by Test Card Recordings on 8 Sep 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anna Clyne: Mythologies
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jennifer Koh, Irene Buckley
Classical - Released by AVIE Records on 16 Oct 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Delius: Appalachia & The Song of the High Hills
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Rupp, Olivia Robinson, Christopher Bowen, BBC Symphony Chorus
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Chandos on 7 Apr 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms by Arrangement, Vol. Two: Orchestrations by Robin Holloway
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Paul Mann
Classical - Released by Toccata Classics on 5 May 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schmitt: Symphony No. 2 & Suites from Antoine et Cléopâtre
Sakari Oramo, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: The Piano Concertos
Stephen Kovacevich, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1990
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lutosławski: Symphony No. 1, Partita, Chain 2 & Preludia Taneczne
Edward Gardner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tasmin Little, Michael Collins
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Szymanowski: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 - Concert Overture
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie, Edward Gardner
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Holst: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Susan Gritton, BBC Symphony Chorus, Stephen Jackson
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Michael Collins plays British Clarinet Concertos
Michael Collins, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lutosławski: Orchestral Works III
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Paul Watkins, Edward Gardner
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2012
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Howells: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 & Penguinski
Richard Hickox, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Howard Shelley
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2000
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerhard: Symphony No. 2 & Concerto for Orchestra
Matthias Bamert, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Feb 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie n° 2 - Concerto pour orchestre
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Matthias Bamert
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 Feb 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gerhard: Symphony No. 4 & Pandora Suite
Matthias Bamert, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar : Enigma Variations
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Sonata
Alexander Ullman, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Concertos - Released by RUBICON on 24 Jun 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
John Adams: Doctor Atomic
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams
Full Operas - Released by Nonesuch on 29 Jun 2018
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 48.0 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 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet plays Debussy, Ravel & Massenet
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Yan Pascal Tortelier, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2010
Gramophone Award24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos; Diabelli Variations; Bagatelles; 8 Sonatas (6)
Stephen Kovacevich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo