The BBC Concert Orchestra
Of the five orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Company, the BBC Concert Orchestra is the most oriented toward light music, popular music, and jazz. The orchestra's name is somewhat inaccurate: although it does often perform live concerts, the group's most important tasks are connected to radio broadcasting.
The BBC Concert Orchestra grew out of the BBC Theatre Orchestra, which was formed in 1931 and was later renamed the BBC Opera Orchestra. In 1952, that group was reorganized as the BBC Concert Orchestra. The following year, it became the house orchestra for the BBC program Friday Night is Music Night, which as of the late 2010s, remained on the air as the world's longest-running radio program. The orchestra performed a variety of other light music on BBC programs, accompanied popular singers, sometimes teamed with the BBC Big Band, and at times performed operatic and symphonic works. For two decades, the group gave live concerts at London's Camden Theatre, moving to the Hippodrome in North London in 1972. The orchestra's first conductor was Gilbert Vinter. Subsequent conductors have included Charles Mackerras (1954-1956), Vilem Tausky (1956-1966), Marcus Dods (1966-1970), Ashley Lawrence (1970-1989), Barry Wordsworth (1989-2006), Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart (2010-2017, remaining as the principal guest conductor), and Bramwell Tovey (2018-). Composers associated with the BBC Concert Orchestra have sometimes been associated with popular music spheres; they include Radiohead guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood, who became the orchestra's composer-in-association in 2004. The orchestra's other responsibilities have included recording jingles for BBC News programs.
The BBC Concert Orchestra has a large catalog of recordings, many of them covering British light music, film music, and symphonic music that has not been recorded elsewhere. Many of their recordings have appeared on the Bainbridge, Excalibur, Dutton Laboratories (which has issued a lengthy series of light music/easy listening recordings), Chandos, and Somm labels. In 2019, the orchestra issued an album on Regent of music by its new composer-in-residence, Dobrinka Tabakova.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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African Rhapsodies (A Work for Kora & Symphonic Orchestra)
Seckou Keita, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Mark Heron
Classical - Lançado por Claves Records em 26 de mai. de 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Orchestral Works
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 4 de nov. de 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Swing, a Benny Goodman Story (Bonus Track Version)
Pierre Génisson, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Keith Lockhart
Classical - Lançado por Aparté em 24 de jan. de 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dorothy Howell: Orchestral Works
Rebecca Miller, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Signum Records em 8 de mar. de 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Seldom Seen Kid (Live At Abbey Road)
Elbow, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Polydor Records em 17 de mar. de 2008
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Last Night of the Proms Collection
Della Jones, Robert Ferriman, The Royal Choral Society, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 1 de jan. de 1996
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Frederick Delius - Hiawatha, Tone Poem for Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 1 de jun. de 2009
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Maltworms & Milkmaids
The BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, David Hill, Ben McAteer
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por EM Records em 18 de ago. de 2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Story: Piano Themes From Cinema's Golden Age
Valentina Lisitsa, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Gavin Sutherland
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 26 de ago. de 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
La Nuit de Noël
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Stephen Fry, BBC Singers, Rebecca Turner, Barry Wordsworth
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 1 de nov. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Longed-for Light
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Simon Callow, Susan Gritton, John Wilson
Classical - Lançado por SOMM Recordings em 13 de nov. de 2012
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceQualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Film Music of John Addison
Rumon Gamba, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de mai. de 2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Howells: Missa Sabrinensis & Michael Fanfare
The Bach Choir, The BBC Concert Orchestra, David Hill
Classical - Lançado por Hyperion em 1 de mai. de 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jeffes: "Still Life" at the Penguin Café; Four Pieces for Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 1 de jan. de 1990
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Light Music
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Philip Martin, Roderick Elms, Kenneth Alwyn
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 25 de jun. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthony Collins - Vanity Fair
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 1 de fev. de 2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cyril Scott: Piano Concerto, Cello Concerto & Overture to Pelleas and Melisanda
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 1 de abr. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edward German: Henry VIII - Incidental Music & Dances
Edward German, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 5 de mar. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chadwick: Sinfonietta in D Major
George Whitefield Chadwick, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 11 de ago. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gregson: A Song for Chris - Trombone Concerto - Music for Chamber Orchestra - 2 Pictures
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Peter Moore, Timothy Welch, Guy Johnston, Bramwell Tovey
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de jan. de 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Frozen Planet (Soundtrack from the TV Series)
George Fenton, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Film Soundtracks - Lançado por Silva Screen Records Ltd em 28 de fev. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo