Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra

Dating from 1843, the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra occupies several central positions within Denmark’s musical landscape, and two of the nation’s most celebrated composers helped bring it into existence.

One of Denmark’s oldest and most respected symphonic ensembles, the orchestra answers to three distinct titles depending on its activity. When it appears at the Tivoli Gardens concert hall in Copenhagen it is billed as the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra (Danish: Tivolis Symfoniorkester); when it functions as the regional ensemble for the country’s largest island it is called the Zealand Symphony Orchestra (Danish: Sjællands Symfoniorkester); and for international tours and recordings it uses the name Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Waltz composer Hans Christian Lumbye founded the group after Tivoli Gardens impresario Georg Carstensen engaged him to supply music for the newly opened amusement park, and the musicians have played there every summer since. In 1846 the ensemble grew to thirty-three players and began presenting symphonic repertoire under the title Tivoli Orchestra. Two years afterward, composer Niels Gade incorporated many of those same musicians into a winter concert series he established in Copenhagen. Seeking year-round positions, the Tivoli Orchestra players were invited in 1965 to form the core of the newly created Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has maintained a continuous presence in the capital, performing for decades at the Tivoli Concert Hall and, since 2009, at the auditorium of the Royal Danish Academy of Music (formerly the Denmark Radio Concert Hall).

Seventy-four musicians currently make up the ensemble, which has been led by a succession of distinguished conductors drawn largely from abroad: Heinrich Schiff (1996–2000), Giordano Bellincampi (2000–2005), Lan Shui (2007–2015), and, since 2016, Toshiyuki Kamioka. Recording activity has grown steadily since the beginning of the century, chiefly for the Orchid Classics label; under Lan Shui the orchestra issued a complete Beethoven symphony cycle between 2015 and 2017. In 2019 it moved to PentaTone Classics to document early Schubert symphonies and theater music with guest conductor Lawrence Foster.