BBC Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1904 and therefore the oldest of the city's symphony orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra became world-renowned for recordings that date back to early gramophone records in 1912. Amid decades of diverse classical programming that followed, including performances for radio and TV, the orchestra also became known for its appearances in numerous film scores, including the Star Wars series. The LSO also tours and first visited North America in 1912 (narrowly avoiding passage on the Titanic).
The ensemble's direct antecedent was the Queen's Hall Orchestra, formed in 1895 for conductor Henry Wood's series of Promenade Concerts. The summer series was so successful that a series of weekly Sunday afternoon concerts was established the same year. The orchestra, however, had never become a permanent group; its members could and often did send other musicians to substitute for them at concerts. In 1904, Wood attempted to end this practice, prompting 46 members to leave and form their own orchestra.
The London Symphony Orchestra was organized as a self-governing corporation administered by a board selected by the players. They arranged for the great Hans Richter to conduct the inaugural concert, and continued to engage a variety of conductors, practically introducing the concept of the guest conductor to the London musical scene. Soon, though, the title and post of principal conductor was established for Richter. The LSO's connection with the BBC goes back to 1924 when Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the orchestra in the premiere broadcast performance of his Pastoral Symphony. It was the unofficial orchestra in residence for the BBC until the formation of the BBC Symphony in 1930 and continued to broadcast concerts and provide background music for many BBC productions. Other conductors most associated with the orchestra's first few decades include Edward Elgar and Thomas Beecham. During World War II, Wood was welcomed for a series of concerts.
The War took its toll on orchestra membership as it had the general populace, and a concurrent drop in private funding led to increased reliance on the state arts council. This eventually led to structural reorganization in the 1950s, resulting in increased professional standards and the abandonment of profit-sharing; players became salaried employees. The revamped orchestra made only its second tour of the United States in 1963 (the first had been in 1912), and in 1964 embarked on its first world tour. In the mid-1960s the city of London broke ground for the Barbican Arts Centre, intended as the LSO's permanent home. The building was an architectural and acoustic success, and since 1982 has provided the orchestra the solid base it lacked during the first 70-plus years of its existence. The venue opened under principal conductor Claudio Abbado, who took over for André Previn in 1979.
In the meantime, the orchestra made its Star Wars debut, performing John Williams' score for the original 1977 film. While the organization had recorded its first film score in 1935 (H.G. Wells' Things to Come) and appeared in such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, and The Sound of Music, Star Wars won three Grammys, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA, among many other accolades, sold over a million copies in the U.S. and over 100,000 in the U.K., and endures as a touchstone in modern film music. The LSO went on to record music for the franchise's entire first two trilogies as well as films like 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1993's Schindler's List, 1997's Titanic, and select installments of the Harry Potter series.
During the tenure of Colin Davis, who was named principal conductor in 1995, the LSO established its own record label, LSO Live. Dvorák's Symphony No. 9, recorded at Barbican Centre in 1999 and released in 2000, bears catalog number 0001. Their 2000 recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens won two Grammys in 2002, and Verdi's Falstaff took home the Best Opera Grammy in 2006. In 2007, Davis took the position of orchestra president, its first since Leonard Bernstein's passing in 1990, and Valery Gergiev became principal conductor.
Also known for crossing over into rock, jazz, and Broadway, among other categories, they followed hit recordings such as Symphonic Rolling Stones and Gershwin Fantasy (with Joshua Bell) with albums like 2017's Someone to Watch Over Me, which had them accompanying archival recordings of Ella Fitzgerald.
© Marcy Donelson, Joseph Stevenson & Corie Stanton Root /TiVo
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Schumann & Dvořák: Cello Concertos (Live)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jacqueline du Pré, Jean Martinon
Classical - Lançado por Ica Classics em 06/04/2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edward Elgar - The Spirit of England
Classical - Lançado por Dutton Epoch em 01/10/2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suk: Prague - A Summer's Tale
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek
Symphonic Music - Lançado por Chandos em 01/09/2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Concertos Vol.1 - Piano Concertos Nos.1 - 4 etc.
Stephen Kovacevich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, Arthur Grumiaux, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1994
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg / Schumann: Piano Concertos
Stephen Kovacevich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1971
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Edward Elgar
Jacqueline du Pré, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Huddersfield Choral Society, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Altair em 28/06/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anna Meredith: Nautilus
Dalia Stasevska, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Anna Meredith
Classical - Lançado por Platoon em 08/03/2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: Adelson e Salvini
Daniela Barcellona, Enea Scala, Maurizio Muraro, Simone Alberghini, Daniele Rustioni, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Opera Rara em 03/03/2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Causton: La terra impareggiabile
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Farnsworth, Sakari Oramo, Huw Watkins
Classical - Lançado por NMC Recordings em 28/10/2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin; Sonata for 2 Pianos and Percussion; Divertimento
BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1995
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: Mary of Magdala, The Enchantress & Meditations on a Theme by John Blow
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dame Sarah Connolly, James Platt, BBC Symphony Chorus
Cantatas (secular) - Lançado por Chandos em 01/11/2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Finlandia, En Saga, The Swan of Tuonela.. by Sir Malcolm Sargent (2023 Remastered)
Sir Malcolm Sargent, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording em 16/10/2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, Sonata for 2 Violins
Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Lançado por Warner Classics em 01/01/2003
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44 & The Bells, Op. 35 (2023 Remaster) (Live)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Beecham, Sir Henry Wood
Classical - Lançado por Biddulph Recordings em 02/06/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Birtwistle: Panic / Earth Dances
John Harle, Paul Clarvis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis, The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi
Classical - Lançado por Decca Music Group Ltd. em 01/01/1996
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hans Werner Henze: Heliogabalus Imperator. Works for Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, Anssi Karttunen
Classical - Lançado por wergo em 17/05/2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Adams: Doctor Atomic
BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, John Adams
Classical - Lançado por Nonesuch em 29/06/2018
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bliss: The Beatitudes, Introduction and Allegro & God Save the Queen
Sir Andrew Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Emily Birsan, Ben Johnson, BBC Symphony Chorus, David Temple
Cantatas (secular) - Lançado por Chandos em 01/02/2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Durand: La terre et le feu
Gareth Hulse, Hans-Ola Ericsson, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Paul Silverthorne, Pierre-André Valade
Classical - Lançado por Mode Records em 21/09/2004
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Times (Complete Orchestral Works)
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Besançon, Orchestre Poitou-Charentes, Orchestre National de France
Classical - Lançado por AEON em 31/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n°4, n°6 et n°7
Philadelphia Orchestra, Finnish National Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Léopold Stokowski, Georg Schneevoigt, Serge Koussevitzky
Classical - Lançado por Naxos em 01/03/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo