The Philharmonia Orchestra
London's Philharmonia Orchestra is generally considered one of Britain's top symphonic ensembles and has sometimes been named as the very best. Formed by recording executive Walter Legge at the end of World War II, the orchestra benefited from the presence of several top Continental conductors in its first years and has generated an impressive recording catalog from the very beginning. Although London already boasted the world-class London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestras, Legge resolved to create an ensemble that would equal the best in the German-speaking musical sphere. To this end, he recruited top young musicians (some 60 percent of the players were still serving in the British armed forces at the beginning) and, after he was turned down by friend Thomas Beecham, a roster of star German conductors. These included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. At first, Legge avoided the appointment of a permanent conductor, and the players learned to produce superb results under several different kinds of artistic leadership.
Primarily a recording ensemble at first, the Philharmonia began giving concerts that were often innovative in content. The young Leonard Bernstein recorded Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the group, and the orchestra gave the world premiere of Strauss' Four Last Songs with soloist Kirsten Flagstad in 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall. In the mid-'50s, Furtwängler died and Karajan departed for Berlin; Legge appointed the 74-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's performances were often idiosyncratic but just as often brilliant, and many of his recordings with the Philharmonia remain in print. A complete cycle of Brahms symphonies under Klemperer was reissued by the firm Broken Audio in the 2010s.
The orchestra ran into trouble in the early 1960s as financial problems arose and several of its best musicians, including hornist Dennis Brain, met untimely deaths. Legge attempted to disband the group in 1964, but the players, encouraged by Klemperer, formed the New Philharmonia Orchestra and continued to perform. The orchestra performed at the Beethoven bicentennial in Bonn, West Germany, in 1970. That year, Lorin Maazel was appointed associate principal conductor to reduce the workload of the aging Klemperer, but he clashed with the orchestra members, who had maintained a self-governing structure. Instead, Riccardo Muti was appointed chief conductor in 1973. Four years later, the original name was restored.
Under Muti, the orchestra often recorded opera and entered upon what was widely regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, under conductor Kurt Sanderling, the Philharmonia made the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Muti was succeeded in 1984 by Giuseppe Sinopoli, whose performances of key British repertory such as the works of Elgar were criticized, but who extended the orchestra's reach in Italian opera. Christoph von Dohnányi ascended the podium in 1997 and took the orchestra on tours of continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, to a residency in New York. Bicontinental Finnish conducting star Esa-Pekka Salonen became chief conductor in 2008 and has continued to maintain the orchestra's high standards; his departure was announced for the year 2021, creating an opening at the very top level of English music-making. The Philharmonia continued to record for EMI after Legge's departure but moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli and has since recorded for a large variety of labels. In 2019, the Philharmonia backed innovative Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut release, with Salonen conducting.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Anatole Fistoulari - Russian Concert Favourties
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Guild Music on 15 mei 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hamlet & Henry V
Sir Laurence Olivier, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Performance on 1 jan. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Klemperer Conducts Wagner
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Klassiek - Released by Radio Tower Records on 24 okt. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sleeping Beauty & The Nutcracker
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Franz Donauer
Klassiek - Released by Allegro on 1 jan. 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Unfinished Symphony
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Symfonische muziek - Released by OBX Records on 21 jan. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Introducing: The Horn
Vienna Philharmusica Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Labacensis, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 31 jul. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Overtures
Klassiek - Released by Blue Pie Records USA on 6 feb. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Horns for the Hunting Season
Vienna Philharmusica Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Labacensis, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 31 jul. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, "From the New World"
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 1 okt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonic Studies
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 18 jun. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hänsel und Gretel
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Grümmer
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 26 feb. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 In D Major, K. 385 ("Haffner") /Symphony No. 36 In C Major, K. 425 ("Linz")
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Otto Klemperer
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 25 okt. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Symfonische muziek - Released by OBX Records on 2 mrt. 2015
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Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 'From the New World' & Carnival Overture, Op. 92
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Symfonische muziek - Released by Radio Tower Records on 26 nov. 2014
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Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21 & Tchaikovsky: Sérénade Mélancolique, Op. 26
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Klassiek - Released by Radio Tower Records on 26 nov. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Solomon, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 10 jan. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Incidental Music to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 25 mrt. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best of Joan Hammond
Joan Hammond, The Philharmonia Orchestra
Opera - Released by Past Classics on 4 feb. 2009
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Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
Klassiek - Released by Past Classics on 6 mei 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak: Symphony No. 5, in E Minor, Op. 95 ("From The New World")
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 12 sep. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovitch: Concerto For Pianoforte, Trumpet and Strings, Op. 35 / Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16
Saura Cherkassy, The Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert Menges, Harold Jackson
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 18 dec. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo