Ulster Orchestra
Based in Belfast, the Ulster Orchestra performs across Northern Ireland and beyond, including in the Republic of Ireland. The only professional symphony orchestra in Northern Ireland, the group has a large recording catalog, comprising more than 40 albums as of the early 2020s.
The Ulster Orchestra was founded in 1966 by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Its immediate predecessor was the semi-professional City of Belfast Symphony Orchestra, which was disbanded at that time. The orchestra's first conductor was Maurice Miles, who served for a single year; he was replaced by Sergiu Comissiona, who conducted the orchestra from 1967 to 1969 and was the first of its many conductors to hail from beyond Northern Ireland and beyond Britain. Comissiona was succeeded by Edgar Cosma, Alun Francis, and Bryden Thomson; the latter oversaw a substantial expansion of the group as the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra disbanded in 1981, and many of its players moved to the Ulster Orchestra. The group now has 63 full-time players, and despite some funding crises, it has remained stable thanks to support from the Arts Council and the city of Belfast. Concerts are held mostly at Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall in Belfast. In 1990, the orchestra released the album Shaun Davey: The Relief of Derry Symphony on the Tara label. The following year, the group began a long association with the Chandos label, issuing Stanford: Irish Rhapsodies, Clarinet Concerto.
The Ulster Orchestra has had many music directors, typically retaining them for periods of just a few years. Thomson's successors included Vernon Handley (1985-1989), who was later named conductor laureate, Yan Pascal Tortelier (1989-1992), En Shao (1992-1995), JoAnn Falletta (2011-2014), the group's first female and first American conductor, and Daniele Rustioni (2019-). The orchestra has a strong commitment to contemporary music and has employed Brian Irvine and Ian Wilson as Associate Composers. The Ulster Orchestra is often heard live on the BBC 3 network and is noted for its educational and outreach programs in the Belfast community. The group's recordings are notable for their variety, extending from crossover releases of classical favorites to thorny contemporary works. The orchestra has made numerous recordings for Chandos, Naxos, Hyperion (where it has been heard on several installments of the label's Classical Piano Concerto and Romantic Piano Concerto series), and Somm, where it was heard on a 2022 recording of Kurt Weill's little-recorded Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 2.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Holst: Orchestral Works
Ulster Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta
Classical - Released by Naxos on 23 May 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stanford: A Song of Agincourt & Other Works
Ulster Orchestra, Howard Shelley
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 2 Aug 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: 4 Sea Interludes - Bridge: The Sea - Bax: On The Sea Shore
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1986
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aloys Schmitt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 etc. (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 84)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jul 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Moeran: Symphony in G Minor, Overture for a Masque & Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Margaret Fingerhut
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2004
Discothèque Insolite Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Violin Concerto
Ulster Orchestra, Adèle Anthony, Takuo Yuasa
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Apr 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra, Gillian Weir
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dussek: Piano Concertos Op. 1/3, 29 & 70 (Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 1)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 27 Jul 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Paine: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Ulster Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta
Classical - Released by Naxos on 3 Mar 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Oeuvres orchestrales
Ulster Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta
Classical - Released by Naxos on 3 Sep 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concerto / Where the Bee Dances
Simon Haram, John Lenehan, Ulster Orchestra, Takuo Yuasa
Classical - Released by Naxos on 9 Jul 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chausson: Poème de l'amour et de la mer, Poème for Violin & Orchestra - Faure: Pelléas er Mélisande Suite & Pavane
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra, Linda Finnie, Renaissance Singers
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rare French Works: Fauré: Violin Concerto – Canteloube: Poème etc.
Philippe Graffin, Ulster Orchestra, Thierry Fischer
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Mar 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: A Colour Symphony, Cello Concerto, the Enchantress
Ulster Orchestra, Linda Finnie, Raphael Wallfisch, Vernon Handley
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and other Orchestral Works
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra, Gerard McChrystal
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stanford: Symphony No. 7, Irish Rhapsody No. 3 & Concert Piece for Organ and Orchestra
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Gillian Weir, Raphael Wallfisch
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brusa: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4 (Live)
Ulster Orchestra, Daniele Rustioni
Classical - Released by Naxos on 4 Dec 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello Concerto
Alice Neary, Ulster Orchestra, Gretel Dowdeswell, George Vass
Classical - Released by Toccata Classics on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Ouverture de Féérie & Trois Poèmes - Debussy: Nocturnes
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra, Linda Finnie, Grosvenor High School Choir, Renaissance Singers
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stanford: Symphony No. 6 & Irish Rhapsody No. 1
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo