Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has held a prominent place in British music-making for more than seven decades. With a wide reach across Britain, in addition to its regular concerts in London's Cadogan Hall, including concerts in places where access to orchestral music is limited, the RPO can lay claim to the title of Britain's national orchestra. The RPO incorporates the pops-oriented Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the avant-garde Sharp Edge group, and RPO Resound, a community and educational outreach program.
The RPO's broad contemporary appeal, which has included appearances with popular music stars and on film, television, and video game soundtracks, would have been lauded by its founder and first conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, who set up the RPO in 1946 and helped lead a vital revival in the U.K.'s orchestral life after World War II. The new orchestra prospered, beginning a long summer residency at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1948 and touring the U.S. in 1950, becoming the first English orchestra to do so since 1912. Rudolf Kempe became principal conductor upon Beecham's death in 1961. The orchestra hit a rough patch in the early '60s under the leadership of Beecham's widow; Kempe departed (and then returned), and the orchestra temporarily lost the right to use the "royal" designation. That was restored by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966, and several strong conductors, Antal Doráti (1975-1978), André Previn (1985-1992), and Vladimir Ashkenazy (music director, 1987-1994), built the orchestra artistically. Later conductors have included Daniele Gatti, Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, and Vasily Petrenko, who began his tenure as music director in 2021.
The RPO is especially notable for the depth and variety of its recording program, which in the first few years of its existence had already topped 100 items; by the early 2020s decade, the orchestra had issued many hundreds of recordings, stretching from pop (disco enthusiasts will remember it as the orchestra featured on the Hooked on Classics recordings of the 1980s) to new avant-garde music. Among these was a 125-album contract with the Tring label. The orchestra's RPO Records, formed in 1986, is thought to have been the first recording label owned by a symphony orchestra; such an arrangement is now commonplace. The following year, the RPO launched the light music (or pops in the U.S.) companion group, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
In 1993, the RPO inaugurated an educational and community outreach program titled RPO Resound. This program provides musical experiences outside of traditional concert settings, such as schools, prisons, and hospitals. Among the key projects for this program is the stroke rehabilitation project STROKESTRA. The RPO is the resident music ensemble of Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, becoming the first London orchestra to have a permanent home, giving its first concert there in 2004. In 2019, the RPO released Animal Requiem by rocker Pete Townshend's collaborator and marital partner, Rachel Fuller. That year, the RPO was named the associate orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestra's 2022 albums are a recording of two Sibelius Symphonies and Air, featuring the music of Oliver Davis. The next year, they teamed with Joe Hisaishi for A Symphonic Celebration, which reimagined songs from beloved Studio Ghibli animated films.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Kaija Saariaho: Circle Map, Graal théâtre, Vers toi qui es si loin & Neiges
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Clément Mao-Takacs, Peter Herresthal
Classical - Released by BIS on 6 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Jan Erik Mikalsen: Saan
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Poing, Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 8 Sep 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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R. Strauss: Tilleulenspiegel; Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird
Classical - Released by Simax Classics on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Kjell Bækkelund, Øivind Fjeldstad, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Tylden on 16 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wallin: Boyl
Oslo Sinfonietta, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 1 Jun 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hallvard Johnsen: Pastorale
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Cikada String Quartet, Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 12 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Yoav Talmi, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Sep 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nordheim: Evening Land for Soprano & Orchestra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Elisabeth Søderstrøm
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 12 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kvandal: Concerto for Violin, Antagonia and Concerto for Oboe
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, The Norwegian Youth Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 30 Aug 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sunset Boys (Pakten)
Film Soundtracks - Released by MTG Classy on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Tapiola, Op. 112
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 4 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Irgens Jensen: Japanischer Frühling Etc.
Classical - Released by Simax Classics on 12 Jun 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104: III. Poco vivace
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 21 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & Petrushka
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kay: Sinfonia in E; Binkerd: Symphony No. 2
Classical - Released by NWCRI on 1 Apr 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Persen: Over Cross and Crown
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 15 Dec 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Slettholm: Possible Selections
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vegard Landaas, Tom Ottar Andreassen
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 2 Aug 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Arne Tangen Pedersen
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 19 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thoresen: The Sonic Mind
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Marcello Viotti
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 1 Nov 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sæverud: Diverse Komposisjoner
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Aurora Records AS on 16 Oct 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo