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
Diskografie
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Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56
Nicola Benedetti, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Benjamin Grosvenor, Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 31.05.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56
Nicola Benedetti, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Benjamin Grosvenor, Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 31.05.2024
Verfügbar in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Brahms: A German Requiem, Op. 45
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1991
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72
Christa Ludwig, Jon Vickers, Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1994
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 4 "Romantic" & 7
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 16.02.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Let You Break My Heart Again
Laufey, Philharmonia Orchestra
Jazz - Erschienen bei Laufey am 13.08.2021
Verfügbar in24-Bit/88 kHz Stereo -
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 by Otto Klemperer (2023 Remastered, London 1961)
Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 10.02.2022
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
W. A. Mozart: Symphonies 34, 35 and 36
Philharmonia Orchestra, Michael Collins
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 24.05.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
Otto Klemperer, Lucia Popp, Gundula Janowitz, Nicolai Gedda, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1964
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Santtu Conducts Stravinsky
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Klassik - Erschienen bei Signum Records am 22.03.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Britten & Bruch: Violin Concertos
Kerson Leong, Philharmonia Orchestra, Patrick Hahn
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alpha Classics am 05.05.2023
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceVerfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Santtu Conducts Shostakovich (Symphonies No. 6 & No. 9)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Klassik - Erschienen bei Signum Records am 01.11.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Piano Concerto N° 1 (High Definition Remaster 2022)
Maurizio Pollini, Paul Kletzki, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei NewConcept Classical Remasters am 04.11.2022
Verfügbar in24-Bit/88 kHz Stereo -
Elgar: Cello Concerto - Walton: Cello Concerto
Steven Isserlis, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassik - Erschienen bei Hyperion am 26.02.2016
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations (Arr. for Orchestra by Robin O'Neill)
Robin O'Neill, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 18.10.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Bach: St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 by Otto Klemperer (Remastered 2023, London 1961)
Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 04.03.2023
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Claudio Arrau, Philharmonia Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 15.03.2023
Verfügbar in24-Bit/192 kHz Stereo -
Rodrigo: Concierto di Aranjuez
Narciso Yepes, Philharmonia Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, García Navarro
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1985
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Santtu Conducts Sleeping Beauty (Arr. for Orchestra by Santtu-Matias Rouvali)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Klassik - Erschienen bei Signum Records am 29.11.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Love Letters (Tribute to Clara & Robert Schumann)
Christian-Pierre La Marca, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Philharmonia Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei naïve, a label of Believe Group am 25.10.2024
Verfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Strauss : Four Last Songs - Wagner : Arias from Tannhäuser
Lise Davidsen, Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Kunstlieder (Deutschland) - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 31.05.2019
QobuzissimeGramophone Editor's ChoiceVerfügbar in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo