Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
| Royal Liverpool Philharmonic | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | RLPO |
| Origin | 
Liverpool, England, UK |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Symphony orchestra |
| Years active | 1840-present |
| Associated acts |
Ensemble 10/10; RLP Choir |
| Website | www.liverpoolphil.com |
| Members | |
| Principal Conductors Vasily Petrenko Conductor Laureate Libor Pešek Conductor Emeritus Vernon Handley Chorusmaster Ian Tracey |
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| Former members | |
| Founder Sir Julius Benedict |
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The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra based in Liverpool, England, is one of the world's oldest established orchestras. It is part funded by the local authority, and is administered by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society (RPLS), a registered charity. It is the only orchestra in the United Kingdom to have its own hall, the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The hall has particularly fine acoustics, and has been used for many recordings with the orchestra.
History
The RPLS was founded in 1840. It is one of the oldest concert-giving organisations in the world, and the second oldest in Britain. It was granted the title ‘Royal’ in 1957. The orchestra was founded in the 1860s, led by Sir Julius Benedict. For three years (1880-1883) the composer Max Bruch was principal conductor of the orchestra. He composed his Kol Nidre for cello and orchestra while in Liverpool, dedicating it to the Jewish community of the city. Since then, some of the most distinguished principal conductors of the orchestra have included Sir Henry Wood, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir John Pritchard and Sir Charles Groves.
In 1989, the RLPS and Orchestra received an Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University, and in 1991 the RPLS was the first organisation to be granted the freedom of the City of Liverpool. A further honour of Meritorious Service was granted by the City of Liverpool in 1997. The RPLS also administers the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, Philharmonic Youth & Training Choirs, and the Community and Gospel Choir.
The orchestra has encountered fiscal troubles over the years, including a 2003 report of a pending large deficit.[1] Around the start of Gerard Schwarz's tenure as principal conductor, the RLPO had a subsidy of GB£135,000. In addition, there were reports in 2004 of tension between Schwarz and the orchestra, and his contract was not renewed.[2] In July 2005, the young Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko was named the RLPO's principal conductor.[3] Since his 2006 advent to the post, the orchestra's situation has improved and their subsidy is now reported at around GB£1.3 million.[4][5] In May 2007, the RLPO announced that Petrenko had extended his contract with the orchestra to 2012.[6]
In addition to Petrenko, the orchestra continues to work with Carl Davis, Libor Pešek as conductor laureate, and Vernon Handley as conductor emeritus.
Recordings and RPLO Live
As a recording orchestra the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has a varied and critically acclaimed discography. In particular, Libor Pešek made a number of acclaimed recordings with the RLPO of Czech composers, including music of Antonín Dvořák and Josef Suk. The RLPO's catalogue also includes works by Beethoven, Britten, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Smetana, Strauss, and Vaughan Williams. Several recordings feature the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir. A complete cycle of all six symphonies by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen, in a new edition, has been released by the RLPO and Douglas Bostock.
In 1998 the Orchestra launched its own recording label, RLPO Live. The initiative came from the musicians themselves, and each recording is made with the in-house recording company, Merseyside Sound Recordings. In January 2003, RLPO Live and Classico Records joined forces, and the RLPO's recordings are now able to reach international markets in a wide range of territories through Classico's distribution network.
Partnership with Classic FM
In November 2001, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Classic FM, a major classical music radio station in the UK, announced a new partnership which makes the RLPO Classic FM's "Orchestra in North West England". This relationship has been extended to 2009.
Principal conductors
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References
- ^ David Ward. "Troubled orchestra faces £1m fund gap", The Guardian, 14 March 2003. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ Pauline Fairclough. "RLPO/Schwarz", The Guardian, 26 April 2004. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ David Ward. "Orchestra's Russian choice", The Guardian, 12 July 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ Tim Ashley. "RLPO/Petrenko", The Guardian, 7 Feb 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ Andrew Clark. "The young ones", Financial Times, 12 Feb 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ Geoffrey Norris. "Vasily Petrenko: Why Liverpool is galvanised by the 'Petrenko effect'", Telegraph, 1 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
External links
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic official website
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Record label site
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at All Music Guide
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic at the Bach Cantatas Website
| Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Principal Conductors |
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Julius Benedict (1860s) • Max Bruch (1880) • Charles Hallé (1883) • Henry Wood • Louis Cohen (1930s) • Malcolm Sargent (1942) • Hugo Rignold (1948) • Paul Kletzki (1954) • Efrem Kurtz (1955) • John Pritchard (1957) • Charles Groves (1963) • Walter Weller (1977) • David Atherton (1980) • Marek Janowski (1983) • Libor Pešek (1987) • Petr Altrichter (1997) • Gerard Schwarz (2001) • Vasily Petrenko (2006) |
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