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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Final Symphony II - Music from Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX and XIII
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Merregnon Records on Aug 4, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann, Saint-Saëns, Glière : Works for Horn & Orchestra
Markus Maskuniitty, Martin Schöpfer, Kristofer Öberg, Monica Berenguer Caro, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Concertos for wind instruments - Released by Ondine on Apr 12, 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tomasi, Jolivet & Others: French Trumpet Concertos
Håkan Hardenberger, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Roland Pöntinen, Fabien Gabel
Classical - Released by BIS on Jun 3, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen & Sibelius: Violin Concertos
Johan Dalene, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, John Storgårds
Classical - Released by BIS on Mar 4, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major & 21 Hungarian Dances
Baiba Skride, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Lauma Skride, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Jul 26, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pettersson: Symphonies No. 7 & No. 16
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonic Music - Released by NaxosSweden - Swedish Society on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Distant Light (Barber - Hillborg - Björk)
Renée Fleming, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 6, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
For A Better Day (Avicii Arena Version)
Ella Tiritiello, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Universal Music AB on May 18, 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: La valse, M. 72 & Other Works
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on Feb 4, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No 3 (Sinfonia dolorosa) (Remastered 2022)
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Artemis on Jan 1, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Romantic Violinist - A Celebration of Joseph Joachim
Daniel Hope, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonia
Tomas Ledin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Peter Nordahl
Pop - Released by Playground Music on Nov 11, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 / Dance Macabre / Bacchanale / 3 Rhapsodies
Hans Fagius, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, James Depreist
Classical - Released by BIS on Oct 31, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on Feb 3, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: The Golden Age
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Symphony No. 2, Excelsior!, Reveranza & 2 Songs
Anne Sofie von Otter, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: The Limpid Stream
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Symphonic Dances, Six Songs for Voice and Orchestra & Sigurd Jorsalfar Suite
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Solveig Kringelborn
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renée Fleming: Distant Light
Renée Fleming, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 6, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto pour piano n° 1
Mats Widlund, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Keyboard Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 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 Aug 7, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo