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.
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Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4; Alto-Rhapsody; Tragic Overture
Anne Sofie von Otter, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnold Schönberg Chor, James Levine
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Salome (Stereo Version)
Birgit Nilsson, Gerhard Stolze, Sir Georg Solti, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 - Carl Maria von Weber: Konzertstück, Op. 79 - Richard Strauss: Burleske
Friedrich Gulda, Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm, Volkmar Andreae
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on 4 Jun 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Karol Szymanowski : Concerto pour violon n°1 - Symphonie n°3
Steve Davislim, Christian Tetzlaff, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Pierre Boulez, Wiener Singverein, Johannes Prinz
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 19 Oct 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs & Lieder by Lisa della Casa
Lisa Della Casa, Karl Böhm, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 6 Jun 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony in D Minor, WAB 100 ("Nullified" Second Symphony, also called "nullte")
Christian Thielemann, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 28 Jul 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: The Symphonies
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romantic Russia
London Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1966
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"
Yvonne Kenny, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt, Jard van Nes, Neville Creed
Classical - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 30 Mar 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4
Wilhelm Backhaus, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 22 Sep 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Requiem, K. 626 (Mono Version)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, Wilma Lipp
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 "Romantische" - Richard Wagner: Parsifal (Good Friday Music)
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker
Symphonies - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Dec 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos.2 & 5 "Emperor"
Maurizio Pollini, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Eugen Jochum, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 8 (Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Edition – Decca Recordings, Vol. 4)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1969
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
New Year's Concert 2019 (Neujahrskonzert 2019, Concert du Nouvel An 2019)
Christian Thielemann, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Christian Thielemann & Wiener Philharmoniker
Symphonic Music - Released by Sony Classical on 7 Jan 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 (Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 31 Aug 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wilhelm Furtwängler: Romantic Poems & Viennese Dances [Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Smetana...]
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Jan 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Berlioz: Grande Messe des morts
London Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Colin Davis, Barry Banks
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released by LSO Live on 11 Mar 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms : 21 Hungarian Dances
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 13 Jun 1982
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner : Das Rheingold
Sir Georg Solti, Kirsten Flagstad, George London, Gustav Neidlinger, Set Svanholm, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 14 Oct 1997
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo