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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Homecoming - A Scottish Fantasy (Mirror)
Nicola Benedetti, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Rory MacDonald
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concerto / Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Frith, George Hurst
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Sep 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BRIAN: Symphony No. 18 / Violin Concerto / The Jolly Miller
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Dec 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harvey: Speakings
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by AEON on 3 Jun 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hyde: Symphony, Op. 20
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Geoffrey Paterson
Symphonic Music - Released by Resonus Classics on 20 May 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dohnányi, Enescu & Albert: Cello Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Cello Concerto 1)
Alban Gerhardt, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Kalmar
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 5 Sep 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pierné: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 34)
Stephen Coombs, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Corp
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Oct 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Searle: Orchestral Works
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alun Francis
Classical - Released by CPO on 9 Mar 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hahn & Massenet: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 15)
Stephen Coombs, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Yves Ossonce
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Macabre Masterpieces (Macabre Masterpieces)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
York Bowen & Cecil Forsyth: Viola Concertos
Lawrence Power, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 May 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Litolff: Concertos symphoniques Nos. 3 & 5 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 26)
Peter Donohoe, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jul 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Harvey: Body Mandala, Timepieces, Tranquil Abiding, White as Jasmine & …Towards a Pure Land
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov, Stefan Solyom
Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on 7 Apr 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 27 Jun 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lowell Liebermann: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 etc.
Stephen Hough, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Lowell Liebermann
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Butterworth: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 4 (Live)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Adey, Bryden Thomson, Arthur Butterworth
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 10 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Kullervo Symphony, Op. 7
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 28 Jun 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Magnard: The Four Symphonies
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Yves Ossonce
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Eugen d'Albert: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 9)
Piers Lane, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Alun Francis
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
British Violin Concertos
Clare Howick, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Grant Llewellyn
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Dec 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rootham: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 97 & Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity, Op. 81
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lyrita on 3 Jul 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo