London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is among the leading ensembles in the U.K., devoted largely to contemporary music. The group has a large recording catalog stretching back to the LP era, much of it on major labels.
The London Sinfonietta was formed in 1968 by administrator Nicholas Snowman and conductor David Atherton. Atherton served as music director until 1973, and he remained active with the group after that, conducting it on early recordings, including a 1980 release of Michael Tippett's opera King Priam. The orchestra has a core of 11 Principal Players, augmented each year by guest performers as needed according to the repertory being performed. The group has commissioned more than 450 new works and given world premieres of hundreds of others. The orchestra's programming is eclectic; it has programmed works by such composers as Luciano Berio, Harrison Birtwistle, Steve Reich, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it has also performed mainstream repertory, including Bach, Britten, and Stravinsky, and even jazz pieces and works of musical theater. The London Sinfonietta has an artistic director; since 2007, it has been Andrew Burke. It is also often led by guest conductors, which include Markus Stenz and composer Oliver Knussen, among others. Knussen also served as artistic director from 1998 to 2002.
The London Sinfonietta has London's Southbank Centre as its home base, performing several concerts there annually, including an annual concert for schools. The group also appears at other British venues and has toured regularly across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. It has developed novel methods of communicating its work digitally, including a Clapping Music mobile phone game app based on Reich's work of that name. The London Sinfonietta is notable for the depth and variety of its recording catalog, which numbers well over 80 items in the digital era, plus LPs before that. Some of the group's albums have appeared on major labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, CBS/Sony Classical, Decca, and EMI, while others have been issued by smaller contemporary music specialist labels, including the group's own London Sinfonietta label. The London Sinfonietta was heard on the album Luke Bedford: In the Voices of the Living, issued on the NMC label in 2023.
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Gorecki: Symphony No. 3
Dawn Upshaw, London Sinfonietta, David Zinman
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 7 Jun 1991
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Geyser (Live at Royal Albert Hall - BBC Proms)
Marius Neset, London Sinfonietta
Jazz - Released by ACT Music on 27 Oct 2023
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Takemitsu: Quotation Of Dream; Two Signals From Heaven; How Slow The Wind; Twill By Twilight; Archipelago S; Dream/Window
Paul Crossley, Peter Serkin, London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 9 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des Animaux; Phaéton; Danse Macabre etc.
Pascal Rogé, Cristina Ortiz, London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms; Mass / Poulenc: Easter Motets
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Simon Preston
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
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Schoenberg: Suite, Op.29; Wind Quintet, Op.26
London Sinfonietta, David Atherton
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1974
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Lieberson: Raising The Gaze
Rosemary Hardy, Asko Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, The Cleveland Orchestra, Oliver Knussen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
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Stravinsky: Divertimento; Suites 1 & 2; Octet; Fanfare for a New Theatre; 3 Pieces for Solo Clarinet
Riccardo Chailly, London Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Feb 1986
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Georges Delerue: Music from the Films of Francois Truffaut
London Sinfonietta, Hugh Wolff
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 11 Jul 1997
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Weill: Kleine Dreigroschenmusik; Mahagonny Songspiel; Happy End; Berliner Requiem; Violin Concerto
London Sinfonietta, David Atherton
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thomas Adès : In Seven Days / Nancarrow Studies Nos. 6 & 7
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 18 Oct 2011
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Copland: Grohg; Prelude for Chamber Orchestra; Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
The Cleveland Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Oliver Knussen
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guix: Images
London Sinfonietta, Geoffrey Paterson, Josep Maria Guix
Classical - Released by Neu Records on 1 Mar 2019
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Ligeti: Melodien; Double Concerto; Chamber Concerto etc.
Aurèle Nicolet, Heinz Holliger, London Sinfonietta, David Atherton
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1976
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Kiri sings Kern
Kiri Te Kanawa, London Sinfonietta, Jonathan Tunick
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 20 Mar 1993
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Chamber Symphony / Grand Pianola Music
John Adams, London Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Nonesuch on 25 Oct 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Jazz Album
Sir Simon Rattle, London Sinfonietta, John Harle, Peter Donohoe, Jeremy Taylor, Michael Collins
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1993
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Gudmundsen-Holmgreen: Mixed Company
London Sinfonietta, Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier
Chamber Music - Released by Dacapo on 3 Mar 2014
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Górecki, Henryk: Kleines Requiem Für Eine Polka/Harpsichord Concerto/Good Night
David Zinman, Dawn Upshaw, London Sinfonietta, Elzbieta Chojnacka
Classical - Released by Nonesuch - Warner Records on 13 Jun 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Falla: El Retablo de Maese Pedro; Harpsichord Concerto; Psyche
John Constable, London Sinfonietta, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1980
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concertos by Mozart, Bach & Haydn
Alicia de Larrocha, London Sinfonietta, David Zinman
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 14 May 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo