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
Artistas semelhantes
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Harty: The Children Of Lir & Ode to a Nightingale
Bryden Thomson, Ulster Orchestra, Heather Harper
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de jul. de 1985
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moeran: Violin Concerto & 2 Pieces for Small Orchestra
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Lydia Mordkovitch
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de jan. de 1998
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Naxos March 2015 New Release Sampler
Classical - Lançado por Naxos Special Projects em 1 de mar. de 2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dussek: Piano Concertos Op. 3, 14 & 49 (Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 5)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Hyperion em 31 de ago. de 2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stanford: A Song of Agincourt & Other Works
Ulster Orchestra, Howard Shelley
Classical - Lançado por Hyperion em 2 de ago. de 2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de ago. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen Suites & L'Arlesienne Suites
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Ulster Orchestra, Christopher Swann, Colin Fleming, Paul Young, Theresia van Hellenburg Hubar
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de jan. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Popplewell: Organ Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Jane Watts, Ulster Orchestra, Sir David Willcocks
Classical - Lançado por Priory Records em 13 de ago. de 2007
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Favourites
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de mar. de 2004
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Steibelt: Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 5 & 7 Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 2)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Hyperion em 31 de dez. de 2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dussek: Piano Concertos Op. 1/3, 29 & 70 (Hyperion Classical Piano Concerto 1)
Howard Shelley, Ulster Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Hyperion em 27 de jul. de 2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Serenade No. 1 & Variations on a Theme by Haydn
Ulster Orchestra, Vernon Handley
Classical - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de fev. de 1989
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n° 3, 5 & 8
Northern Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, Heinrich Schiff, Vernon Handley
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de abr. de 1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Piano Concerto, Lyric Suite & Peer Gynt Suite No. 2
Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Margaret Fingerhut
Symphonies - Lançado por Chandos em 1 de fev. de 1990
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greg Caffrey: Orchestral Works
Craig Ogden, Daniel Browell, Ulster Orchestra, Sinead Hayes
Classical - Lançamento no dia 17 de mai. de 2024 por Divine Art
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Conor Mitchell: Our Day - EP
Giselle Allan, Eamonn Mulhall, Marcella Walsh, Ulster Orchestra, Fergus Shiel
Opera - Lançado por NMC Recordings em 30 de jul. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo