City Of London Sinfonia
The City of London Sinfonia is a medium-sized group that often collaborates with choirs and opera companies. The group has a major presence in London's concert life, appearing everywhere from traditional concert halls to clubs.
The City of London Sinfonia, often CLS, was founded in 1971 by conductor Richard Hickox, who shaped the group fundamentally and remained its music director until 2008. It was originally called the Richard Hickox Orchestra. The group collaborated with choirs from the beginning, appearing in a 1973 performance of Handel's Messiah at a Royal Albert Hall Promenade concert. The CLS made its first recording in 1975, issuing an album of Bach masses on the Argo label. The change to the name City of London Sinfonia came in 1979 when the group was installed as resident ensemble at the still-under-construction Barbican Centre. The CLS began its international career with a tour of West Germany in 1985 and has continued to tour in many countries, often annually. In the mid-'80s, the CLS made several recordings for the Collegium label of music by John Rutter with the Cambridge Singers. The group began a new residency at the summer Opera Holland Park company in 2004 and continues to hold that position as of the mid-2020s.
The group often collaborates with both choral ensembles and opera companies and in 1997, its recording of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes won a Grammy Award. The group has a large repertory ranging from the Baroque to contemporary works; in its earlier years, it often focused on British music. Michael Collins was named principal conductor in 2010, with Stephen Layton serving as artistic director; since 2017, the group has been led by violinist Alexandra Wood in the position of creative director. The orchestra's recording catalog is vast, although its pace slowed somewhat in the 2010s; it has recorded for Chandos, Signum Classics, Hyperion, and many other labels. In 2023, the CLS backed The Wimbledon Choral Society on a Signum Classics recording of Cecilia McDowall's Da Vinci Requiem and 70 Degrees Below Zero. By that time, the group's recording catalog comprised more than 60 digital items, plus earlier releases during the LP era.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
-
Poulenc: Sacred Music
Donna Deam, Mary Seers, Cambridge Singers, City Of London Sinfonia, John Rutter
Classical - Released by Collegium on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Musique pour orchestre à cordes
City Of London Sinfonia, Andrew Watkinson, Richard Hickox, Edward Roberts, Matthew Souter, Shuna Wilson
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Britten: Les Illuminations, Serenade, Nocturne, Noye's Fludde
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Apr 3, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Flute and Harp Concerto, Oboe Concerto - Salieri: Flute and Oboe Concerto
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia, David Theodore, Skaila Kanga, Susan Milan
Concertos - Released by Chandos on May 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Respighi: Aretusa - Lauda Per La Natività - Il Tramonto - Trittico Botticelliano
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia
Classical - Released by Collins Classics on Feb 27, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ireland: A Downland Suite, Contertino Pastorale, Two Symphonic Studies & Orchestral Poem
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Oboe Concertos, Vol. 1
Anthony Camden, City Of London Sinfonia, Julia Girdwood, Nicholas Ward
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 19, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour clarinette n°1 et n°2
Michael Collins, Stephen Stirling, City Of London Sinfonia
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dame Janet Baker sings Berlioz, Brahms, Mendelssohn & Respighi
(Dame) Janet Baker, London Symphony Chorus, City Of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
At the Tabard Inn - Symphonie en sol majeur - In honour of the city
London Symphony Orchestra, City Of London Sinfonia, London Symphony Chorus, Richard Hickox
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rutter: Te Deum and Other Church Music
Cambridge Singers, John Scott, David Rix, City Of London Sinfonia, John Rutter
Classical - Released by Collegium on Nov 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Italian Oboe Concertos, Vol. 2
Anthony Camden, City Of London Sinfonia, Peter Lloyd, Nicholas Ward
Classical - Released by Naxos on Nov 22, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Burgon: Merciless Beauty, Cello Concerto & Viola Concerto
Rumon Gamba, City Of London Sinfonia, Dame Sarah Connolly, Philip Dukes, Josephine Knight
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Apr 1, 2010
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Discover the Classics: Power and Glory
London Symphony Orchestra, City Of London Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by ImpDigital on Jan 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ward-Steinman, Turok, Dello Joio, Cowell, Creston: Modern Masters
Classical - Released by Kleos Records on Mar 30, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dyson: Violin Concerto, Children's Suite, Concerto leggiero, Concerto da camera & Concerto da chiesa
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia, Lydia Mordkovitch, Eric Parkin
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 2005
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains & Other Works
Corydon Singers, City Of London Sinfonia, Matthew Best
Classical - Released by Hyperion on May 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour flûte, harpe & hautbois
Susan Milan, David Theodore, Skaila Kanga, City Of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Classical - Released by Chandos on May 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howells: Concerto for String Orchestra, Elegy, Suite for String Orchestra & Serenade
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
King of Ghosts
Soumik Datta, Cormac Byrne, City Of London Sinfonia, Bill Barclay
Classical - Released by Globe Music on Jan 5, 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Faure: Requiem
The Choir Of Westminster Cathedral, City Of London Sinfonia, David Wilson Johnson, Aidan Oliver, Harry Escott, David Hill
Classical - Released by imp on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo