London Philharmonic Orchestra |

London Philharmonic Orchestra

One of the leading symphony groups in London. Founded by T. Beecham in 1932. The first open concert took place on October 7, 1932 at Queen’s Hall (London). In 1933-39, the orchestra regularly participated in concerts of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Royal Choral Society, in summer opera performances at Covent Garden, as well as in many festivals (Sheffield, Leeds, Norwich). Since the end of the 30s. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has become a self-governing organization, headed by a chairman and a group of directors elected from among the members of the orchestra.

From the 50s. the team has gained a reputation as one of the best orchestras in Europe. He performed under the direction of B. Walter, V. Furtwangler, E. Klaiber, E. Ansermet, C. Munsch, M. Sargent, G. Karajan, E. van Beinum and others. The activities of A. Boult, who led the team in 50 – early 60s. Under his leadership, the orchestra subsequently toured in many countries, including the USSR (1956). Since 1967, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has been led by B. Haitink for 12 years. The orchestra has not had such a long and fruitful collaboration since the departure of Beecham in 1939.

During this period, the orchestra played benefit concerts, which were attended by guests from outside the world of classical music, including Danny Kaye and Duke Ellington. Others who have also worked with the LFO include Tony Bennett, Victor Borge, Jack Benny and John Dankworth.

In the 70s the London Philharmonic Orchestra toured the USA, China and Western Europe. And also again in the USA and Russia. Guest conductors included Erich Leinsdorf, Carlo Maria Giulini and Sir Georg Solti, who became principal conductor of the orchestra in 1979.

In 1982 the orchestra celebrated its golden jubilee. A book published at the same time listed many famous musicians who had the opportunity to work with the London Philharmonic Orchestra over the past 50 years. In addition to those mentioned above, some of them were conductors: Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Eugen Jochum, Erich Klaiber, Sergei Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux, André Previn and Leopold Stokowski, others were soloists: Janet Baker, Dennis Brain, Alfred Brendel, Pablo Casals, Clifford Curzon, Victoria de los Angeles, Jacqueline du Pré, Kirsten Flagstad, Beniamino Gigli, Emil Gilels, Jascha Heifetz, Wilhelm Kempf, Fritz Kreisler, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, David Oistrakh, Luciano Pavarotti, Maurizio Pollini, Leontina Price, Arthur Rubinstein , Elisabeth Schumann, Rudolf Serkin, Joan Sutherland, Richard Tauber and Eva Turner.

In December 2001, Vladimir Yurovsky worked for the first time as a specially invited conductor with the orchestra. In 2003, he became the group’s principal guest conductor. He also conducted the orchestra in June 2007 at the reopening concerts of the Royal Festival Hall after renovations. In September 2007, Yurovsky became the 11th Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In November 2007, the London Philharmonic Orchestra announced Yannick Nézet-Séguin as their new Principal Guest Conductor, effective for the 2008–2009 season.

The current director and artistic director of the LPO is Timothy Walker. The London Philharmonic Orchestra began releasing CDs under its own label.

The orchestra works closely with The Metro Voices Choir, also based in London.

The playing of the orchestra is distinguished by ensemble coherence, brightness of colors, rhythmic clarity, and a subtle sense of style. The extensive repertoire reflects almost all world musical classics. The London Philharmonic Orchestra constantly promotes the work of English composers E. Elgar, G. Holst, R. Vaughan Williams, A. Bax, W. Walton, B. Britten and others. An important place in the programs is given to Russian symphonic music (P. I. Tchaikovsky , M. P. Mussorgsky, A. P. Borodin, S. V. Rakhmaninov), as well as works by Soviet composers (S. S. Prokofiev, D. D. Shostakovich, A. I. Khachaturian), in particular the London Philharmonic Orchestra was the first performer outside the USSR of the 7th symphony by S. S. Prokofiev (conducted by E. van Beinum).

Main conductors:

1932—1939 — Sir Thomas Beecham 1947-1950 – Eduard van Beinum 1950-1957 – Sir Adrian Boult 1958-1960 – William Steinberg 1962-1966 – Sir John Pritchard 1967-1979 – Bernard Haitink 1979-1983 – Sir Georg Solti 1983-1990 – Klaus Tennstedt 1990-1996 — Franz Velzer-Möst 2000-2007 – Kurt Masur Since 2007 — Vladimir Yurovsky