London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
The founders' ambition was to build an orchestra the equal of any European or American rival. Between 1932 and the Second World War the LPO was widely judged to have succeeded in this regard. After the outbreak of war, the orchestra's private backers withdrew and the players reconstituted the LPO as a self-governing cooperative. In the post-war years, the orchestra faced challenges from two new rivals; the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic, founded respectively in 1946 and 1947, achieved a quality of playing not matched by the older orchestras, including the LPO.
By the 1960s the LPO had regained its earlier standards, and in 1964 it secured a valuable engagement to play in the Glyndebourne Festival opera house during the summer months. In 1993 it was appointed resident orchestra of the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames, one of London's major concert venues. Since 1995 the residency has been jointly held with the Philharmonia. In addition to its work at the Festival Hall and Glyndebourne, the LPO performs regularly at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne and the Brighton Dome, and tours nationally and internationally.
Since Beecham, the orchestra has had ten principal conductors, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Vladimir Jurowski. The orchestra has been active in recording studios since its earliest days, and has played on hundreds of sets made by EMI, Decca and other companies. Since 2005 the LPO has had its own record label, issuing live recordings of concerts. The orchestra has played on numerous film soundtracks, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–03).
| Known For | Acting |
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| Most Rating | 0.0453 |
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| Also Known As | LPO, |
2006
Mahler Symphonies 1 & 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)
0/0
These recordings are with two different orchestras (Mahler 1st with the Chicago Symphony and the 8th with the London Philharmonic). Tennstedt's live p...
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Mahler Symphonies 1 & 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)
1994
Lisa Stansfield - Live At The Royal Albert Hall
0/0
Video version of Lisa Stansfield's performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, held in the fall of 1994 at The Royal Albert Hall as part of a...
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Lisa Stansfield - Live At The Royal Albert Hall
2012
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
0/0
In “a Wagner staging to treasure” (The Sunday Telegraph), the 2011 Glyndebourne Festival brings to life the legendary German composer’s Die Meistersin...
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Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
2011
The Turn of the Screw
0/0
A remote English country house, and old and faithful housekeeper, two young orphan children and an eager new governess sent down from London to look a...
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The Turn of the Screw
2011
Britten: Billy Budd
10/1
Captain Vere, an old man, is haunted by a moment in his life when he was tested and found wanting. Based on Herman Melville's novella of naval life i...
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Britten: Billy Budd
2011
The Rake's Progress
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The devil is hard at work in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress! The three-act opera was premiered at Venice’s La Fenice in 1951 and is whimsically stag...
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The Rake's Progress
2008
Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel
0/0
As bright and colorful as penny candy, this visually arresting production of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel und Gretel" puts a twist on the classic f...
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Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel
2004
Mozart - Idomeneo
0/0
Recorded live at The Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Idomeneo, King of Crete, has been away from home during the long years of the Trojan War. Idamante,...
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Mozart - Idomeneo
1974
Beethoven Piano Concertos 1-5
0/0
These recordings, filmed in March and April 1974 for the BBC, occurred at the tail end of the old performance era and the very start of the new. Vladi...
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Beethoven Piano Concertos 1-5
2015
Der Rosenkavalier
0/0
Comic romance with a philosophical twist? This popular opera combines it all to tell the story of a revoltingly greedy man who tries to get his hands...
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Der Rosenkavalier
1974
The Marriage of Figaro
5.25/2
Live performance of Mozart's opera buffa "Le nozze di Figaro" from the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1973, featuring Knut Skram, Ileana Cotrubas, Ben...
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The Marriage of Figaro
2024
RY X - Live at the Roundhouse with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
10/1
Ry X performs live at the Roundhouse with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
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RY X - Live at the Roundhouse with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
1992
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
4.5/4
A young woman, married to a wealthy man, but miserably lonely; trapped within a world ruled with an iron fist. Katerina is driven by a lust for life a...
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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
1999
Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne
9.5/2
The celebrated mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli joins Bryn Terfel for a recital of arias and duets recorded at Glyndebourne Opera House in 1999. The prog...
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Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne
2002
Leopold Stokowski - Classic Archive
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