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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Handel: Messiah, HWV 56 by Otto Klemperer (2024 Remastered, London 1964)
Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus
Klassiek - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 14 mrt. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Faust-Symphonie - Psaume XIII - Poèmes symphoniques
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Thomas Beecham, Constantin Silvestri
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 3 okt. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 7-9
Philharmonia Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Symfonische muziek - Released by Signum Records on 1 jun. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Airs célèbres d'opéra
Christine Brewer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Barry Banks, Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, Janice Watson, David Parry
Operafragmenten - Released by Chandos on 1 aug. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gustav Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen - Kindertotenlieder (Recordings of 1955 & 1956)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe
Klassiek - Released by Casta Diva on 31 dec. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Emilia di Liverpool
Yvonne Kenny, Sesto Bruscantini, Chris Merritt, Geoffrey Dolton, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry
Klassiek - Released by Opera Rara on 1 jan. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glazunov: Symphony No. 4; Symphony No. 5
Philharmonia Orchestra, Yondani Butt
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 jan. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart · Die Zauberflöte
Nicolai Gedda, Gundula Janowitz, Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by G.O.P. on 29 mei 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Philharmonia Composers' Academy Vol. 6
Philharmonia Orchestra, Robin O’Neill
Klassiek - Released by NMC Recordings on 27 okt. 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vieuxtemps: Concerto pour violon No. 4 (Mono Version)
Yehudi Menuhin, Walter Susskind, Philharmonia Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonie No. 1, Op. 68 (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Sings Operetta (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Ackermann, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss Horn Concertos No.1 and No.2
Dennis Brain, Wofgang Sawallisch, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by In Vinyl We Trust on 28 okt. 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 - Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Václav Neumann, Philharmonia Orchestra
Lounge - Released by Collins Classics on 7 mrt. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 & Symphonic Dances
Neeme Järvi, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 sep. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven 3 and 5
Klassiek - Released by Signum Records on 22 sep. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Piano Concerto version), Pictures from Crimea
Klassiek - Released by Cala Records on 10 jul. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor - Chopin: Piano Concerto in F Minor
Neeme Järvi, Philharmonia Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Concertmuziek - Released by Chandos on 1 mei 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Pianists : Moiseiwitsch, volume 3 (1944-1945)
Benno Moiseiwitsch, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, George Weldon
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 20 nov. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 82 - Finlandia, Op. 26
Herbert von Karajan, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Classically on 27 feb. 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonie No. 5 & Finlandia (Mono Version)
Herbert von Karajan, Philharmonia Orchestra
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo