London Philharmonic Orchestra:

In the 2007/08 season, the London Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its seventy-fifth birthday, inaugurates Vladimir Jurowski as its new Principal Conductor and moves back into its splendidly restored home, Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on the River Thames in the heart of London’s cultural quarter.

Seventy-five years on from Sir Thomas Beecham’s establishment of the ensemble in October 1932, the London Philharmonic Orchestra is recognised as one of the world’s great orchestras. Following Beecham’s founding tenure the ensemble’s Principal Conductorship has been passed from one celebrated musician to another: amongst them Eduard van Beinum, Sir Adrian Boult, Sir John Pritchard, Sir Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is the only symphony orchestra in the UK to combine an annual subscription concert season with regular work in the opera house. Since 1992 it has been resident at the Royal Festival Hall, and since 1964 has performed each summer in the pit at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, also enjoying residencies in the nearby south coast towns of Brighton and Eastbourne. Annual London concert seasons not only attract some of the great instrumental and vocal soloists of our time, but also include a wide variety of performance formats and musical styles including regular Family and Schools’ Concerts and screenings of silent films with live orchestral accompaniment. A commitment to new music sees regular commissions and world-première performances, with a current focus on the work of Composer-in-Residence Mark-Anthony Turnage.

In 1965 the London Philharmonic Orchestra became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 visited China – the first ever visit to the country by a Western orchestra. Touring continues to form a significant part of the Orchestra’s performing schedule, and it regularly appears in North America, Europe and the Far East, often headlining at major festivals and concert-hall openings. As a counterpoint to its travels, the Orchestra’s membership has itself benefited from increased migratory freedoms, growing to include outstandingly talented musicians of varying world nationalities from Brazilian to Hungarian.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has long been embraced by the recording, broadcasting and film industries. It enjoys strong relationships with major record labels and in 2005 began releasing live, studio and archive recordings on its own label CDs which are distributed worldwide. The Orchestra has broadcast regularly on domestic and international television and radio from both the concert hall and the opera house, and has worked extensively with both Hollywood and the UK film industries, recording soundtracks for blockbuster motion pictures including the Oscar-winning score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and scores for Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission, East is East and In the Name of the Father. 

As it embarks upon its seventy-fifth season, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has an international reputation matched by a steadfast and unflinching commitment to the communities of its local London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. The Orchestra reaches thousands of Londoners through its varied and extensive programme of education work, both community and school-based, which includes the acclaimed offshoot ensembles Renga and the Open Ear Orchestra. Education activities also nurture budding excellence, and in 2005 the Orchestra launched its apprenticeship scheme for outstanding young instrumentalists, Future Firsts, who benefit from a year of mentoring and performance opportunities.

The ongoing exploration of new technologies, performance formats and dialogues with local and international audiences and communities will see thousands more given the opportunity to experience the Orchestra’s work in this anniversary year through both participatory music-making and live orchestral performances of the highest standards.