Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra is a central institution of the British classical concert scene, performing major repertory works, British standards, contemporary music, and more. Especially on recordings, the group has also engaged with music from beyond the classical sphere.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra was formed in 1932 in response to a consensus that London's major orchestras, lacking strong artistic leadership, were inferior to those in Germany and even the U.S. So conductor Sir Thomas Beecham assembled a crack membership of 106 players, and the new orchestra was successful from the start. Beecham steered the group through financial difficulties at the beginning of World War II before resigning for health reasons and due to conflicts over the ensemble's artistic direction. Postwar conductors included Eduard van Beinum (1947 to 1951) and Sir Adrian Boult (1951 to 1958); the latter inaugurated an active recording program, releasing albums that remain standards to this day.
In 1966, Bernard Haitink became the orchestra's principal conductor; his tenure, lasting until 1979, was longer than that of any other conductor of the group until Vladimir Jurowski. The orchestra renovated a disused church, renamed it Henry Wood Hall, and began to use the space for rehearsals and recordings in 1975. Haitink's successor was another giant, Sir Georg Solti, who served as principal conductor from 1979 to 1983 and continued as conductor emeritus afterward, often appearing and recording with the orchestra. Solti was succeeded by a trio of Germans, Klaus Tennstedt in 1983, Franz Welser-Möst in 1990, and Kurt Masur in 2000. Welser-Möst officially installed the orchestra as the resident ensemble of the Royal Festival Hall, which remains its main concert venue.
The orchestra has also had numerous guest conductors over the years, and these have been responsible for many of its crossover releases. Although not as active in this field as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic has made high-visibility film soundtrack recordings. These include soundtracks for such films as Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Fly (1986), and the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, as well as the anthology Academy Award Themes (1984). The orchestra has released albums devoted to the music of progressive rock bands Pink Floyd and Yes, and as far back as 1959, it released the album Hawaiian Paradise. In 2011, the London Philharmonic recorded 205 national anthems in preparation for the London Olympic Games of the following year. The orchestra's album releases, classical and otherwise, numbered 280 by 1997 and has increased by well over 250 albums since then; in the year 2001 alone, the orchestra released 21 albums. The London Philharmonic established its own LPO label in the mid-2000s decade and has issued large amounts of music, both classical and not, including Genius of Film Music: Hollywood Blockbusters 1980s to 2000s, in 2018.
In 2007, the London Philharmonic was in the forefront of taking advantage of the wave of talented Russian musicians who had emigrated to the West, installing Vladimir Jurowski as principal conductor. He remained in the post until 2020, becoming the orchestra's longest-serving conductor and leading the group in a 2021 recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 ("Symphony of a Thousand"). In 2020, Karina Canellakis became the orchestra's first female principal guest conductor. Jurowski was succeeded in 2021 by Edward Gardner, who became the group's first British principal conductor for decades.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
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Bruckner: Symphony No.4 in E-flat Major, WAB 104 (Edition Haas)
Christian Thielemann, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 8 Oct 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto K.595; Concerto for 2 Pianos K.365 / Schubert: Fantasy D940
Elena Gilels, Emil Gilels, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals
Alfons Kontarsky, Aloys Kontarsky, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 23 Jun 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni by Wilhelm Furtwängler (2022 Remastered, Salzburger Festspiele 1954)
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 8 Jan 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Lohengrin, WWV 75 by Rudolf Kempe (2023 Remastered, Vienna 1963)
Rudolf Kempe, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus
Opera - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 6 Dec 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen, WD 31 (Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 12 Oct 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: The Symphonies
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Symphonies - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1991
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Year's Concert 1992 (In the 150th Jubilee Year of the Wiener Philharmoniker)
Carlos Kleiber, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Sony Classical on 9 Mar 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky / Korngold: Violin Concertos
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2004
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder / Mahler: Rückert Lieder (Live from Salzburg)
Elina Garanca, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Thielemann
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 Dec 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Serenades for Strings and Winds
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Myung-Whun Chung
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A Major, WAB 106 (Edition Nowak)
Christian Thielemann, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 13 Oct 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Glass : Violin Concerto - Schnittke : Concerto Grosso 5
Gidon Kremer, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Rainer Keuschnig
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner: Orchestral Music
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Opera - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Mar 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms : Piano Concertos No. 1 & No. 2 (Version Lossless) (Live)
Hélène Grimaud, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, WAB 102 (Edition Carragan)
Christian Thielemann, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 4 Feb 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No.9
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5
Maurizio Pollini, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 3 Sep 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphonie No. 1 "Titan" (Mono Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sound the Bells! (Version for Full Orchestra)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, John Williams
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 2 Dec 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss, R.: Ein Heldenleben; Also Sprach Zarathustra; Don Juan, etc.
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo