Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has held a prominent place in British music-making for more than seven decades. With a wide reach across Britain, in addition to its regular concerts in London's Cadogan Hall, including concerts in places where access to orchestral music is limited, the RPO can lay claim to the title of Britain's national orchestra. The RPO incorporates the pops-oriented Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the avant-garde Sharp Edge group, and RPO Resound, a community and educational outreach program.
The RPO's broad contemporary appeal, which has included appearances with popular music stars and on film, television, and video game soundtracks, would have been lauded by its founder and first conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, who set up the RPO in 1946 and helped lead a vital revival in the U.K.'s orchestral life after World War II. The new orchestra prospered, beginning a long summer residency at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1948 and touring the U.S. in 1950, becoming the first English orchestra to do so since 1912. Rudolf Kempe became principal conductor upon Beecham's death in 1961. The orchestra hit a rough patch in the early '60s under the leadership of Beecham's widow; Kempe departed (and then returned), and the orchestra temporarily lost the right to use the "royal" designation. That was restored by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966, and several strong conductors, Antal Doráti (1975-1978), André Previn (1985-1992), and Vladimir Ashkenazy (music director, 1987-1994), built the orchestra artistically. Later conductors have included Daniele Gatti, Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, and Vasily Petrenko, who began his tenure as music director in 2021.
The RPO is especially notable for the depth and variety of its recording program, which in the first few years of its existence had already topped 100 items; by the early 2020s decade, the orchestra had issued many hundreds of recordings, stretching from pop (disco enthusiasts will remember it as the orchestra featured on the Hooked on Classics recordings of the 1980s) to new avant-garde music. Among these was a 125-album contract with the Tring label. The orchestra's RPO Records, formed in 1986, is thought to have been the first recording label owned by a symphony orchestra; such an arrangement is now commonplace. The following year, the RPO launched the light music (or pops in the U.S.) companion group, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
In 1993, the RPO inaugurated an educational and community outreach program titled RPO Resound. This program provides musical experiences outside of traditional concert settings, such as schools, prisons, and hospitals. Among the key projects for this program is the stroke rehabilitation project STROKESTRA. The RPO is the resident music ensemble of Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, becoming the first London orchestra to have a permanent home, giving its first concert there in 2004. In 2019, the RPO released Animal Requiem by rocker Pete Townshend's collaborator and marital partner, Rachel Fuller. That year, the RPO was named the associate orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestra's 2022 albums are a recording of two Sibelius Symphonies and Air, featuring the music of Oliver Davis. The next year, they teamed with Joe Hisaishi for A Symphonic Celebration, which reimagined songs from beloved Studio Ghibli animated films.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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A Symphonic Celebration - Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki
Joe Hisaishi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jun 30, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Drastic Symphonies
Def Leppard, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rock - Released by UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) on May 19, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Pop - Released by A&M on Dec 7, 2018
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tubular Bells - 50th Anniversary Celebration
Classical - Released by Cleopatra Records on Oct 28, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Momentum [1]: Walton, Respighi
Liya Petrova, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Duncan Ward, Adam Laloum
Classical - Released by Mirare on May 19, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dreamweaver
Ola Gjeilo, The Choir of Royal Holloway, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rupert Gough
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 29, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Lost Birds
Christopher Tin, Voces8, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Barnaby Smith
Classical - Released by Universal Music Classics on Sep 30, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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If I Can Dream: Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Elvis Presley, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rock - Released by RCA - Legacy on Oct 21, 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Drop That Contained the Sea
Christopher Tin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Universal Music Classics on May 8, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
I Watch You Sleep
Claire Martin, Scott Dunn, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Jazz - Released by Stunt Records on Mar 29, 2023
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams, Elgar: The Lark Ascending...
Pinchas Zukerman, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Feb 26, 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
To Shiver the Sky
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Classical - Released by Universal Music Classics on Aug 21, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Symphonic Celebration - Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki
Joe Hisaishi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Universal Music LLC on Jun 30, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Merry-Go-Round of Life (from 'Howl’s Moving Castle')
Joe Hisaishi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Universal Music LLC on Mar 31, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Drop That Contained the Sea: Waloyo Yamoni
Christopher Tin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Soweto Gospel Choir, Angel City Chorale, Victor Makhathini, Refiloe Msebenzi
Classical - Released by Universal Music Classics on Mar 10, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Tina Turner, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Film Soundtracks - Released by Capitol Records on Aug 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Roy Orbison, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rock - Released by Legacy Recordings on Nov 3, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Carpenters With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Carpenters, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Pop - Released by A&M on Dec 7, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Maria João Pires, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Sep 17, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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Pop - Released by CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92) on Jun 8, 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo