Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra has been a part of the city's cultural life since its founding in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society. The orchestra is fully international in its orientation, and indeed, except for founder-organizer Tor Aulin, it has never had a Swedish-born conductor.
The Stockholm Concert Society, originally "intended primarily for workers," gave its first concert on October 21, 1902. At the beginning, the group had no fixed membership, drawing as needed on members of the existing Royal Court Orchestra and the Swedish Music Association. From the beginning, the orchestra's concerts often included new and contemporary Swedish works. In 1914, the orchestra was established as a professional ensemble, and the following year, Georg Schnéevoigt became its first principal conductor. Over his ten-year reign, the orchestra experienced a period of growth. Conductor Václav Talich served as principal conductor from 1926 to 1935, overseeing the orchestra's move into the Konserthuset concert hall in 1926; the orchestra continues to perform there today. Fritz Busch served as conductor from 1937 to 1940 before fleeing Europe due to the rise of Nazism; he was succeeded by conductor-violinist Carl Garaguly (1942-1953) and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1955-1964). The group's name was changed to the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957. In 1992, when patronage from Sweden's royal family began, the orchestra took on its current name, Kungliga Filharmoniska Orkestern (or Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; in English, the term "Stockholm" is added to avoid confusion with England's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
Contemporary Royal Stockholm Philharmonic conductors have all had substantial international careers. The group included several from the Communist East Bloc, thanks to Sweden's neutrality: Antal Dorati (1966-1974) and Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1974-1977 and 1991-1995), whom orchestra players, flummoxed by his hard-to-pronounce name, called Rolfe Svensson. Between Rozhdestvensky's two terms came Yuri Ahronovitch (1982-1987) and Paavo Berglund (1987-1991), who launched major European tours and one of Japan in 1990. The orchestra's recording program accelerated in the 1990s and especially the 2000s, under conductor Alan Gilbert (2000-2008). The group has recorded for BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, and other labels. Sakari Oramo was chief conductor from 2008 to 2021 and led many recordings, including a 2022 recording of Ravel's La valse; the orchestra has released many albums of Swedish music, but its repertory is international. By the early 2020s, the orchestra's catalog comprised more than 35 items. The group regularly attracts top-rank international conductors, including Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti, and Andris Nelsons. In addition to subscription concerts at the Konserthuset, the orchestra is quite visible during its performances annually at the Nobel Prize award ceremony and for Sweden's Polar Music Prize; it also hosts a pair of May festivals, the Stockholm International Composer Festival and the Composer Weekend. Ryan Bancroft was selected to replace Oramo, with a term beginning in 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Concerto pour piano n° 1
Mats Widlund, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Chandos on 1/06/1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Victoria Borisova-Ollas: Orchestral Works
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrey Boreyko, Martyn Brabbins, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on 7/08/2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Eliasson: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Johannes Gustavsson, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on 7/01/2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Symphony No. 2 - Sospiri - Elegy
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on 23/04/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pettersson: Symphonies No. 7 & No. 16
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Allan Pettersson, Antal Doráti, Yuri Ahronovitch
Symphonic Music - Released by Swedish Society on 1/01/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on 1/03/2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3 & Songs
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Larissa Dyadkova, Tord Wallstrom
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1/03/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For A Better Day (Avicii Arena Version)
Ella Tiritiello, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Universal Music AB on 18/05/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janácek : Sinfonietta; Ballad of Blanek; Fiddler's Child; Taras Bulba
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Classical - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on 11/09/1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Börtz: Sinfonias Nos. 1 & 7, Strindberg Suite & Parodos
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1/06/1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rosenberg : Orpheus In Town, Symphony No.3 & Louisville Concerto
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Classical - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on 30/09/1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Serenade
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis
Classical - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on 30/09/1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schnittke: Symphony No. 2, "St. Florian"
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Leif Segerstam
Classical - Released by BIS on 1/01/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 "The Four Temperaments" & Symphony No. 3 "Sinfonia espansiva"
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, Solveig Kringelborn
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1/08/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 & Symphony No. 6
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1/05/1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vilar glad. I din famn
Gustaf Sjökvists Kammarkör, Storkyrkans Kor, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Orsa Spelmän
Classical - Released by Mono Music AB on 28/06/2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinsson: Presentiment
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze
Classical - Released by BIS on 10/05/2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gubaidulina: Offertorium / Rejoice! Freue Dich
Oleh Krysa, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, James Depreist
Classical - Released by BIS on 28/02/1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Börtz: Sinfonia No. 1, Sinfonia No. 7, Parados & Strindberg Suite for Orchestra
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1/06/1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Orchestral Works
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Solveig Kringelborn
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1/10/1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Making Something Out of Nothing
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Emmi Christensson
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - Nilento on 11/03/2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo