Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagements including the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the concerts of the Royal Philharmonic Society. After Beecham's death in 1961, the RPO's fortunes declined steeply. The RPO battled for survival until the mid-1960s, when its future was secured after a report by the Arts Council of Great Britain recommended that it should receive public subsidy. A further crisis arose in the same era when it seemed that the orchestra's right to call itself "Royal" could be withdrawn.
In 2004, the RPO acquired its first permanent London base, at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea. The RPO also gives concerts at the Royal Festival Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and venues around the UK and other countries. Since the start of the 2021–2022 season, the orchestra's musical director has been Vasily Petrenko.
Non-classical work[edit]
As well as performing works from the classical repertoire, the RPO has recorded a number of film scores, including those for Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann. Other scores recorded by the RPO are Olivier's Richard III, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.[72]
With Tony Bremner, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra rerecorded symphonic suites from various episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. These recordings were released in 1985 under Label "X" in two volumes.[73][74]
In 1987, the RPO established a sister ensemble, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, which plays lighter classics. It succeeded a similar group, the Royal Philharmonic Pops Orchestra.[63] In 1989, the RPO recorded the flamenco album "Soy Gitano" (I am a gipsy man) with Camarón de la Isla.
RPO players have been involved with many performances away from the classical repertory. In the 1960s, they pioneered the "mixed media" concert, appearing with The Nice rock band.[75] Later non-classical ventures included Yanni Live at the Acropolis, a concert held in Greece in 1993, conducted by Shahrdad Rohani;[76] In 1992 UEFA commissioned the orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chorus to record the UEFA Champions League Hymn.[77] Jamaican reggae singers John Holt and Freddie McGregor performed with the Orchestra in 2003 at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.[78][79]