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
-
BBC Concert Orchestra Performs Music from the Silver Screen
Film Soundtracks - Released by MD Chapel Music on 5 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maw: Hymnus; Little Concert; Shahnama
Nicholas Cleobury, Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Daniel, Oxford Bach Choir, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Musiques de film de Stanley Black
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1 Apr 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Foulds: Undine, Chinese Suite & Miniature Suite
Classical - Released by Dutton Epoch on 2 Dec 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sir Edward Elgar (The Sketches, Drafts And Recordings Of His Piano Concerto)
The BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers
Classical - Released by Dutton on 1 Feb 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lesley Garrett Soprano in Hollywood
Lesley Garrett, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Film Soundtracks - Released by Silva Screen Records Ltd on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BBC Concert Orchestra Plays Songs from The Musicals
Musical Theatre - Released by Music Manager on 30 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Film Music of Stanley Black
Barry Wordsworth, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Cinema Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Apr 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Something's Gotta Give
David Charles Abell, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Simon Keenlyside, Scarlett Strallen
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on 1 Nov 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Carpenter: Krazy Kat
Classical - Released by Dutton Epoch on 24 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nyman: The Diary of Anne Frank - Arr. Harle: If
Jess Gillam, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Jessica Cottis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 7 Sep 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blue Planet - Music from the BBC TV Series
Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford, The BBC Concert Orchestra, George Fenton
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Film Music from the BBC Concert Orchestra Conducted by Barry Wordsworth
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth
Film Soundtracks - Released by Sharp Edge Records on 11 Sep 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hadley: Salome & San Francisco
Classical - Released by Dutton Epoch on 24 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Arnell - Ballet Music
Classical - Released by Dutton Epoch on 21 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Celebration 2
Royal Ballet Sinfonia, The BBC Concert Orchestra
Classical - Released by Heritage Records on 8 Dec 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charles-Marie Widor: Piano Concertos
Classical - Released by Dutton Epoch on 6 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Love Story: Piano Themes From Cinema's Golden Age
Valentina Lisitsa, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Gavin Sutherland
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 26 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howells: Missa Sabrinensis & Michael Fanfare
The Bach Choir, The BBC Concert Orchestra, David Hill
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 May 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Coates: Under The Stars - 17 Orchestral Miniatures
The BBC Concert Orchestra, John Wilson
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo