BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is Scotland's national broadcasting orchestra and considered one of the leading orchestras in Europe. It is one of the five full-time BBC orchestras, and the oldest full-time radio orchestra in Scotland. While most of its performances are in studio for the BBC, it has enjoyed success performing throughout the U.K. and internationally.
The BBC SSO was founded as the BBC Scottish Orchestra in 1935 by conductor and composer Ian Whyte while he served as the first head of music in Scotland for the BBC. Originally located in Edinburgh, the orchestra moved in 1938 to its newly built home in Glasgow. Throughout World War II, the orchestra continued broadcasting its live studio performances for the BBC Home and World Services. Following the war, Whyte expanded the size of the orchestra and in 1948 began the orchestra's annual trip to perform in the Edinburgh Festival. However, the majority of its performances remained in studio.
In 1960, Norman Del Mar was named principal conductor. In 1961, Del Mar lead the BBC Scottish Orchestra, along with the Scottish National Orchestra, in the U.K. premiere of Stockhausen's Gruppen für drei orchester. The following year he would lead the orchestra in its first performance at the BBC Proms. The orchestra expanded further under Del Mar, and in 1963 was renamed the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Following Del Mar's departure in 1965, the BBC SSO had a number of principal conductors, including James Loughran (1965-1971), Christopher Seaman (1971-1977), and Jerzy Maksymiuk (1983-1993). In 2003, Ilan Volkov became the youngest chief conductor of a BBC orchestra; during Volkov's tenure, the orchestra moved to its new home at City Halls in Glasgow. He served as chief conductor until 2009. In 2016, Thomas Dausgaard was named chief conductor with a contract running through 2022.
In the 1990s, while continuing to perform for BBC programming, the BBC SSO began performing more often in public. It went on international tours across Europe, the Americas, India, and China. The orchestra also attended more festivals, including the Cheltenham Festival and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
Alongside its live broadcast performances, the BBC SSO has released a multitude of commercial recordings, with a majority on the Hyperion label. The BBC SSO under Dausgaard released a recording of Sibelius' Kullervo in 2019 on Hyperion.
© Keith Finke /TiVo
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Wallace: Creation Symphony & Other Orchestral Works
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chabrier: Briséïs ou Les amants de Corinthe
Scottish Opera Chorus, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Yves Ossonce
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Medtner: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 2)
Nikolaï Demidenko, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites
Classical - Released by Naxos Special Projects on 9 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Peer Gynt / Lyric Pieces / Sigurd Jorsalfar
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Standards
Simon Höfele, Duncan Ward, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Berlin Classics on 31 Jan 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Klassiska Favoriter, Vol. 2
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Naxos on 10 Nov 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musique classique pour la méditation
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Naxos Special Projects - France on 1 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 – Shchedrin: Piano Concerto No. 2
Marc-André Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bennett : Orchestral Works, Vol. 2
Howard Mcgill, Scott Dickinson, Gordon Rigby, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, John Wilson
Concertos for wind instruments - Released by Chandos on 1 Jul 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Moszkowski & Paderewski: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 1)
Piers Lane, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Oct 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scary Masterpieces - Music by Grieg, Liszt, Dvorak, Franck, Ducas, Saint-Saens ( Various Artists)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
James MacMillan: Violin Concerto & Symphony No. 4
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles, Vadim Repin
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on 21 Oct 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mackenzie & Tovey: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 19)
Steven Osborne, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Aug 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dreyschock & Kullak: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 21)
Piers Lane, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Niklas Willen
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Aug 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Korngold & Marx: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 18)
Marc-André Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg : Musique orchestrale
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Richard Studt
Classical - Released by Naxos on 5 Jun 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubbra & Walton: Viola Concertos
Lawrence Power, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jun 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alkan & Henselt: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 7)
Marc-André Hamelin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roslavets: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Alina Ibragimova, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bronsart & Urspruch: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 77)
Emmanuel Despax, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Tzigane
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 28 Sep 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo