Philharmonia Orchestra
London's Philharmonia Orchestra is generally considered one of Britain's top symphonic ensembles and has sometimes been named as the very best. Formed by recording executive Walter Legge at the end of World War II, the orchestra benefited from the presence of several top Continental conductors in its first years and has generated an impressive recording catalog from the very beginning. Although London already boasted the world-class London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestras, Legge resolved to create an ensemble that would equal the best in the German-speaking musical sphere. To this end, he recruited top young musicians (some 60 percent of the players were still serving in the British armed forces at the beginning) and, after he was turned down by friend Thomas Beecham, a roster of star German conductors. These included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. At first, Legge avoided the appointment of a permanent conductor, and the players learned to produce superb results under several different kinds of artistic leadership.
Primarily a recording ensemble at first, the Philharmonia began giving concerts that were often innovative in content. The young Leonard Bernstein recorded Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the group, and the orchestra gave the world premiere of Strauss' Four Last Songs with soloist Kirsten Flagstad in 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall. In the mid-'50s, Furtwängler died and Karajan departed for Berlin; Legge appointed the 74-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's performances were often idiosyncratic but just as often brilliant, and many of his recordings with the Philharmonia remain in print. A complete cycle of Brahms symphonies under Klemperer was reissued by the firm Broken Audio in the 2010s.
The orchestra ran into trouble in the early 1960s as financial problems arose and several of its best musicians, including hornist Dennis Brain, met untimely deaths. Legge attempted to disband the group in 1964, but the players, encouraged by Klemperer, formed the New Philharmonia Orchestra and continued to perform. The orchestra performed at the Beethoven bicentennial in Bonn, West Germany, in 1970. That year, Lorin Maazel was appointed associate principal conductor to reduce the workload of the aging Klemperer, but he clashed with the orchestra members, who had maintained a self-governing structure. Instead, Riccardo Muti was appointed chief conductor in 1973. Four years later, the original name was restored.
Under Muti, the orchestra often recorded opera and entered upon what was widely regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, under conductor Kurt Sanderling, the Philharmonia made the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Muti was succeeded in 1984 by Giuseppe Sinopoli, whose performances of key British repertory such as the works of Elgar were criticized, but who extended the orchestra's reach in Italian opera. Christoph von Dohnányi ascended the podium in 1997 and took the orchestra on tours of continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, to a residency in New York. Bicontinental Finnish conducting star Esa-Pekka Salonen became chief conductor in 2008 and has continued to maintain the orchestra's high standards; his departure was announced for the year 2021, creating an opening at the very top level of English music-making. The Philharmonia continued to record for EMI after Legge's departure but moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli and has since recorded for a large variety of labels. In 2019, the Philharmonia backed innovative Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut release, with Salonen conducting.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 by György Cziffra
Gyorgy Cziffra, Andre Vandernoot, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 31.05.2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour piano No. 5, Op. 73, "L'empereur" (Remastered, Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera, Claudio Arrau
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Holst: The Planets & The Perfect Fool (Ballet Music)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Nimbus Records am 01.05.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Concerto pour piano No. 2 & 3 préludes (Stereo Version)
John Ogdon, Sir John Pritchard, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss : Till Eulenspiegel - Ein Heldenleben
Philharmonia Orchestra & Christoph von Dohnanyi
Klassik - Erschienen bei Signum Classics am 01.02.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double concerto pour violon et violoncelle, Op. 102 & Ouverture tragique, Op. 81 (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Pierre Fournier, David Oïstrakh
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.02.1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rubbra: Symphonies Nos. 6 and 8 - Soliloquy
Philharmonia Orchestra, Rohan de Saram, Norman Del Mar, London Symphony Orchestra, Vernon Handley
Klassik - Erschienen bei Lyrita am 01.01.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cinq Pièces pour orchestre - Concerto pour violoncelle - Quatuor pour piano
London Symphony Orchestra, Fred Sherry, Robert Craft, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Naxos am 30.10.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius & Stravinsky: Violin Concertos
Zhi-Jong Wang, Philharmonia Orchestra, Thomas Sanderling
Klassik - Erschienen bei Accentus Music am 27.04.2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Ludwig, Emil Gilels
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weber: Overtures
Neeme Järvi, Philharmonia Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.08.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubbra: Symphony No. 3 - Symphony No. 4 - A Tribute - Resurgam
Philharmonia Orchestra, Norman Del Mar
Klassik - Erschienen bei Lyrita am 01.09.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Karajan Conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra: Weber, Berlioz, Liszt, Tchaikovsky & Sibelius (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Respighi: Fontana di Roma, Pini di Roma & Feste Romane
Yan Pascal Tortelier, Philharmonia Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.08.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Le Carnaval des Animaux; Phaéton; Danse Macabre etc.
Pascal Rogé, Cristina Ortiz, London Sinfonietta, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre; Phaéton; Havanaise etc.
Kyung Wha Chung, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488 - Schumann: Piano Concerto, Op. 54
Walter Gieseking, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 09.12.2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Poème
Akiko Suwanai, Philharmonia Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 06.04.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis in D Major Op. 123
Herbert von Karajan, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Singverein
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 29.01.2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Le Barbier de Séville (Stereo Version)
Maria Callas, Luigi Alva, Philharmonia Orchestra, Alceo Galliera
Klassik - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Piano Concertos
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo