Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has held a prominent place in British music-making for more than seven decades. With a wide reach across Britain, in addition to its regular concerts in London's Cadogan Hall, including concerts in places where access to orchestral music is limited, the RPO can lay claim to the title of Britain's national orchestra. The RPO incorporates the pops-oriented Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the avant-garde Sharp Edge group, and RPO Resound, a community and educational outreach program.
The RPO's broad contemporary appeal, which has included appearances with popular music stars and on film, television, and video game soundtracks, would have been lauded by its founder and first conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, who set up the RPO in 1946 and helped lead a vital revival in the U.K.'s orchestral life after World War II. The new orchestra prospered, beginning a long summer residency at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1948 and touring the U.S. in 1950, becoming the first English orchestra to do so since 1912. Rudolf Kempe became principal conductor upon Beecham's death in 1961. The orchestra hit a rough patch in the early '60s under the leadership of Beecham's widow; Kempe departed (and then returned), and the orchestra temporarily lost the right to use the "royal" designation. That was restored by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966, and several strong conductors, Antal Doráti (1975-1978), André Previn (1985-1992), and Vladimir Ashkenazy (music director, 1987-1994), built the orchestra artistically. Later conductors have included Daniele Gatti, Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, and Vasily Petrenko, who began his tenure as music director in 2021.
The RPO is especially notable for the depth and variety of its recording program, which in the first few years of its existence had already topped 100 items; by the early 2020s decade, the orchestra had issued many hundreds of recordings, stretching from pop (disco enthusiasts will remember it as the orchestra featured on the Hooked on Classics recordings of the 1980s) to new avant-garde music. Among these was a 125-album contract with the Tring label. The orchestra's RPO Records, formed in 1986, is thought to have been the first recording label owned by a symphony orchestra; such an arrangement is now commonplace. The following year, the RPO launched the light music (or pops in the U.S.) companion group, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
In 1993, the RPO inaugurated an educational and community outreach program titled RPO Resound. This program provides musical experiences outside of traditional concert settings, such as schools, prisons, and hospitals. Among the key projects for this program is the stroke rehabilitation project STROKESTRA. The RPO is the resident music ensemble of Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, becoming the first London orchestra to have a permanent home, giving its first concert there in 2004. In 2019, the RPO released Animal Requiem by rocker Pete Townshend's collaborator and marital partner, Rachel Fuller. That year, the RPO was named the associate orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestra's 2022 albums are a recording of two Sibelius Symphonies and Air, featuring the music of Oliver Davis. The next year, they teamed with Joe Hisaishi for A Symphonic Celebration, which reimagined songs from beloved Studio Ghibli animated films.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Incantation
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Classical - Released by Aparté on 21 Feb 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Nation's Favourite Carols
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Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) (Classics) on 1 Dec 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Colours Of Christmas
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Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hollywood Blockbusters
Classical - Released by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Peter Breiner: A Journey – Calm Romantic Piano Music, Vol. 2
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Last Night of the Proms
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 3 Aug 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moonlight Shadow
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Classical - Released by Cleopatra Records on 28 Sep 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Unchained Melodies: Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
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Rock - Released by Legacy Recordings on 16 Nov 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
There's a Place for Us
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Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 24 Aug 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Moods
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Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 25 Mar 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto / Bruch: Violin Concerto / Scottish Fantasy
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Silent Nights - Die schönsten Melodien für eine entspannte Weihnachtszeit
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A Royal Christmas for the Queen
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tubular Bells (2023 Edit)
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Pete Townshend's Classic Quadrophenia
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Classical Christmas
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 18 Nov 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oliver Davis: Air
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Classical - Released by Signum Records on 6 May 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Whole New World (From "Aladdin")
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) (Classics) on 11 Sep 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mother’s Broom (from 'Kiki's Delivery Service')
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo