Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has held a prominent place in British music-making for more than seven decades. With a wide reach across Britain, in addition to its regular concerts in London's Cadogan Hall, including concerts in places where access to orchestral music is limited, the RPO can lay claim to the title of Britain's national orchestra. The RPO incorporates the pops-oriented Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the avant-garde Sharp Edge group, and RPO Resound, a community and educational outreach program.
The RPO's broad contemporary appeal, which has included appearances with popular music stars and on film, television, and video game soundtracks, would have been lauded by its founder and first conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, who set up the RPO in 1946 and helped lead a vital revival in the U.K.'s orchestral life after World War II. The new orchestra prospered, beginning a long summer residency at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1948 and touring the U.S. in 1950, becoming the first English orchestra to do so since 1912. Rudolf Kempe became principal conductor upon Beecham's death in 1961. The orchestra hit a rough patch in the early '60s under the leadership of Beecham's widow; Kempe departed (and then returned), and the orchestra temporarily lost the right to use the "royal" designation. That was restored by Queen Elizabeth II in 1966, and several strong conductors, Antal Doráti (1975-1978), André Previn (1985-1992), and Vladimir Ashkenazy (music director, 1987-1994), built the orchestra artistically. Later conductors have included Daniele Gatti, Yuri Temirkanov, Charles Dutoit, and Vasily Petrenko, who began his tenure as music director in 2021.
The RPO is especially notable for the depth and variety of its recording program, which in the first few years of its existence had already topped 100 items; by the early 2020s decade, the orchestra had issued many hundreds of recordings, stretching from pop (disco enthusiasts will remember it as the orchestra featured on the Hooked on Classics recordings of the 1980s) to new avant-garde music. Among these was a 125-album contract with the Tring label. The orchestra's RPO Records, formed in 1986, is thought to have been the first recording label owned by a symphony orchestra; such an arrangement is now commonplace. The following year, the RPO launched the light music (or pops in the U.S.) companion group, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
In 1993, the RPO inaugurated an educational and community outreach program titled RPO Resound. This program provides musical experiences outside of traditional concert settings, such as schools, prisons, and hospitals. Among the key projects for this program is the stroke rehabilitation project STROKESTRA. The RPO is the resident music ensemble of Cadogan Hall in Chelsea, becoming the first London orchestra to have a permanent home, giving its first concert there in 2004. In 2019, the RPO released Animal Requiem by rocker Pete Townshend's collaborator and marital partner, Rachel Fuller. That year, the RPO was named the associate orchestra of the Royal Albert Hall. Among the orchestra's 2022 albums are a recording of two Sibelius Symphonies and Air, featuring the music of Oliver Davis. The next year, they teamed with Joe Hisaishi for A Symphonic Celebration, which reimagined songs from beloved Studio Ghibli animated films.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Sibelius: Complete Symphonies
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 25 Mar 2022
Qobuzissime24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1988
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34, Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36 & Scheherazade, Op. 35
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 22 May 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35 / Don Juan, Op. 20 / Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisa Tuck
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No. 2, Op. 29 & Piano Concerto, Op. 20
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Gerstein, Vasily Petrenko
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 7 Sep 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 / Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 15 Apr 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 May 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Romeo and Juliet
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 24 Aug 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Alexander Scriabin: Symphony No. 1, Op. 26 / Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, Op. 60
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko, Kirill Gerstein
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 17 Sep 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52: I. Allegro moderato
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 18 Feb 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Violin Concerto; Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1
Janine Jansen, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - To be released on 7 Jun 2024 by Decca Music Group Ltd.
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 20 Dec 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Apr 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 / Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 17 Jan 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 & 5 Études-Tableaux
Leif Ove Andsnes, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 24 Nov 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 - Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 21
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 13 Nov 2020
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 - Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 27
Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 21 May 2021
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
W.A. Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra & Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds
Classical - Released by Lawo Classics on 18 Feb 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52: II. Andantino con moto, quasi allegretto
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Mäkelä
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 4 Mar 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Honegger: Pacific 231, Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 "Liturgique"
Mariss Jansons, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo