Prague 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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Tchaikovsky, Sibelius: Violin Concertos
Vaclav Hudecek, Jiří Bělohlávek , Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski, Jean Sibelius
Classical - Released by Supraphon a.s. on 4 Feb 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Intégrale des Symphonies
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Antonino Polizzi
Classical - Released by Polymnie on 4 Nov 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Václav Smetáček 3
Albín Berky, Bruno Belcík, Vaclav Smetacek, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by Supraphon a.s. on 15 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphonie No. 3 (Stereo Version)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Vaclav Smetacek
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Suite), Op. 71a: II. March [Digitally Remastered]
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jindřich Rohan
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 14 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphonie No. 4 (Stereo Version)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Václav Neumann
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Saint Ludmila, Op. 71 by Václav Smetáček (2023 Remastered, Prague 1963)
Vaclav Smetacek, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 29 Nov 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Classical - Released by Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. on 13 Feb 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Die Fledermaus (The Bat): Overture (Digitally Remastered)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Vaclav Smetacek
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 29 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tučapský: Violin & Viola Concertos
Vítezslav Kuzník, Pavel Perina, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Petr Vronský, Elli Jaffe
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on 1 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Heroes and Legends: Orchestral Masterpieces
Václav Neumann, Vaclav Smetacek, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Jube Classic on 27 Aug 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Classical - Released by Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. on 11 Apr 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: festival. Vltava, from bohemian fields and groves, the bartered bride
Jiří Bělohlávek , Prague Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by SUPRAPHON a.s. on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bohuslav Martinů; Frescoes of Piero della Francesca & Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Concertos - Released by PROFOUND on 20 Nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Tomáš Netopil
Classical - Released by ArcoDiva on 1 Sep 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Classical - Released by Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. on 15 Dec 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048
Classical - Released by Orange Leisure on 16 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Czech Classics (Live, New Year's Eve 2020)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Classical - Released by Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martin Turnovský. Great Czech Conductors
Martin Turnovsky, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by SUPRAPHON a.s. on 27 Apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Koželuch: Cantata for the Coronation of Leopold II
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Naxos on 13 Apr 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo