Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Also known as RPO
Origin London, England, UK
Genres Classical
Occupations Symphony orchestra
Years active 1946–present
Associated acts Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
Website www.rpo.co.uk
Members
Principal Conductor and Artistic Director
Charles Dutoit
Principal Guest Conductor
Leonard Slatkin
Principal Associate Conductor
Owain Arwel Hughes
Conductor Laureate
Yuri Temirkanov, Daniele Gatti
Past members
Founder
Sir Thomas Beecham

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra".

Contents

History

RPO logo

In 1946, Sir Thomas Beecham founded the RPO, which played its first concert in Croydon on September 15 of that year. Beecham was the RPO's music director until his death in 1961. Rudolf Kempe, who became assistant conductor in 1960, became principal conductor in 1961 and music director in 1962. The RPO gave him the title of Conductor for Life in 1970, and he stepped down from the orchestra in 1975. Subsequent music directors and principal conductors have been Antal Doráti, Walter Weller, André Previn, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Yuri Temirkanov. Daniele Gatti was music director from 1996 to 2009. Both Temirkanov and Gatti currently hold the title of RPO conductor laureate. In 2009, Charles Dutoit became artistic director and principal conductor of the RPO.[1]

The orchestra toured the United States in 1950, thus becoming the first British orchestra to visit America since the London Symphony Orchestra in 1912.

A Review of the orchestral scene of 1950 said of the RPO:

Leader David McCallum … Royal Philharmonic Society concerts (Beecham 4, Celibidache, Sargent). Number of concerts: 32 (approx)…. The Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic share a very serious disability: that neither is a permanently constituted orchestra. Both assemble and disperse more or less at random…there is no style which is distinctively RPO or Philharmonia.[2]

Later the orchestra began to develop its own character, particularly in the woodwind section, led by Jack Brymer (clarinet), Gwydion Brooke (bassoon), Terence McDonagh (oboe), and Gerald Jackson (flute), sometimes referred to as ‘The Royal Family’.[3]

After Beecham's death, the orchestra reorganised itself as a self-governing limited company. and soon encountered difficulties.[4] The Royal Philharmonic Society decided not to engage the RPO for its concerts in 1963, Glyndebourne engaged the London Philharmonic instead of the RPO from 1964 onwards and the management of the Royal Festival Hall also severed its connections with the orchestra. Some senior players left, and Kempe resigned as chief conductor, though he returned shortly afterwards. Helped by strong support from Sir Malcolm Sargent, the orchestra successfully mounted its own concerts at a cinema in the London inner suburb, Swiss Cottage. [5]

A further threat to the orchestra's existence came in 1984, when a review carried out on behalf of the Arts Council by the journalist William Rees-Mogg opined that England lacked 'a great eastern symphony orchestra': the suggestion was that the RPO should move to Nottingham. However, another Arts Council report of the same period recommended that the RPO should supplement the London Symphony Orchestra as resident orchestra at the Barbican Centre; neither proposal came to fruition.[6]

In 1992 the orchestra appointed Peter Maxwell Davies as associate conductor and composer. The same year, UEFA commissioned the orchestra to sing the UEFA Champions League Hymn. In July 2008, the RPO announced that it would continue its residency in Lowestoft for a fifth year, bringing four concerts a year to England's most easterly town.In the autumn of 2009 it was announced that the residency would continue for a record sixth year.

Recordings

From its earliest days to the end of Beecham's life, the RPO made numerous recordings for Columbia Records, RCA Victor, and EMI under his baton. Among their first stereophonic recordings was the 1955 performance of the symphonic poem Tapiola by Sibelius, recorded by EMI. Some of the more memorable recordings included:

In 1964, Igor Stravinsky recorded his opera The Rake's Progress with the RPO. From 1964 to 1979 the RPO was engaged by Decca Records to record the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.

In 1986, the orchestra launched RPO Records, claimed to be 'the world's first record label to be owned by a symphony orchestra.[7]

As well as performing works from the classical repertoire, the RPO has recorded a number of film scores, including those for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann.

An extensive collection of budget-priced CDs recorded by the RPO has been released by The International Music Company AG in Germany. These CDs are mainly available on the European market.

Music Directors and Principal Conductors

Non-classical work

Associated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, currently managed by Elli Appleby, which is devoted to playing lighter classics. It was formed in 1987, in succession to the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra.[7]

RPO players have been involved with many performances away from the classical repertory, including Yanni Live at the Acropolis, a concert held in Greece in 1993, conducted by Shardad Rohani; the Hooked on Classics series of records; orchestral arrangements of rock music by the likes of Pink Floyd, Elkie Brooks (on the album Amazing), Oasis, Queen, George Michael, R.E.M., U2, and ABBA; the song/album, Art of Life by Japanese rock band X Japan, composed by Yoshiki Hayashi; the official theme music of the UEFA Champions League; tracks on the British folk metal band Skyclad's 2004 album A Semblance of Normality; the Symphonic Rock: A Symphony of Hits 2004 album; and the BBC Grandstand Theme in 1982; Seotaiji Symphony, a concert held in Seoul in 2008, with South Korean rock star Seo Taiji, conducted by Tolga Kashif. The orchestra also recorded in 1998 the CD "Material Girl, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays the music of Madonna".

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra scored a #10 hit single in the United States in 1981-82 with the song, "Hooked On Classics."

The orchestra recorded the theme for Radio Mercury, who were also patrons of a number of concerts.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Martin Cullingford, "Charles Dutoit takes over Royal Philharmonic Orchestra". Gramophone, 20 April 2007.
  2. ↑ Hill, Ralph (ed) (1951). Music 1951. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books. OCLC 26147349. 
  3. ↑ Lyndon Jenkins (2000) (CD liner notes). Bizet: Symphony in C/L'Arlésienne Suites 1 & 2. 724356723122. EMI Classics. http://www.emiclassics.com/releasedetails.php?rid=23555. 
  4. ↑ Arts Council of Great Britain (1970). Report Orchestral Resources in Great Britain. London: The Arts Council. pp. 9. ISBN 011981062X. 
  5. ↑ Reid, Charles (1968). Malcolm Sargent a biography. London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd. pp. 429–434. ISBN 0800850807. 
  6. ↑ Morrison, Richard (2004). Orchestra. London: Faber. pp. 152. ISBN 057121584x. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Notes to CD TRP024 on the RPO Record label

External links

Official website

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Conductors

Thomas Beecham (1946) · Rudolf Kempe (1961) · Antal Doráti (1975) · Walter Weller (1980) · André Previn (1985) · Vladimir Ashkenazy (1987) · Yuri Temirkanov (1992) · Daniele Gatti (1996) · Charles Dutoit (2009)
Orchestras based in London, England

Academy of Ancient Music · Academy of St Martin in the Fields · BBC Concert Orchestra · BBC Symphony Orchestra · Camerata of London · City of London Sinfonia · Eden Sinfonia · English Chamber Orchestra · The English Concert · London Contemporary Orchestra · London Mozart Players · London Philharmonic Orchestra · London Shostakovich Orchestra · London Sinfonietta · London Symphony Orchestra · Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment · Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique · Philharmonia Orchestra · Royal Philharmonic Orchestra · Sound Collective