Philharmonia Orchestra

London's Philharmonia Orchestra ranks among Britain's leading symphonic groups and has at times been judged the finest of them all. Walter Legge, a recording executive, assembled the ensemble as World War II drew to a close. Several distinguished Continental conductors shaped its early seasons, and the group assembled a distinguished discography almost at once. Although the capital already possessed the London Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra, Legge set out to match the foremost ensembles of the German-speaking world. He therefore engaged the most gifted young players available—roughly sixty percent of whom were still on active duty with the British forces at the outset—and, after his friend Thomas Beecham declined the invitation, assembled a roster of eminent German conductors that included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. For several years Legge refrained from naming a permanent music director, allowing the musicians to develop their collective excellence under a succession of contrasting artistic approaches.

At the beginning the Philharmonia functioned chiefly as a recording orchestra, yet it also mounted concerts whose programming was frequently adventurous. Leonard Bernstein, still early in his career, made a recording of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the ensemble, and in 1950 the orchestra presented the world premiere of Strauss's Four Last Songs at the Royal Albert Hall with Kirsten Flagstad as soloist. Following Furtwängler's death and Karajan's move to Berlin in the mid-1950s, Legge named the seventy-four-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's interpretations could be highly personal yet frequently revelatory, and numerous recordings he made with the Philharmonia remain available; Broken Audio reissued his complete Brahms symphony cycle during the 2010s.

Financial pressures and the premature deaths of several leading players, among them hornist Dennis Brain, placed the orchestra in difficulty during the early 1960s. When Legge attempted to dissolve the group in 1964, the musicians, supported by Klemperer, reconstituted themselves as the New Philharmonia Orchestra and maintained an independent existence. In 1970 the orchestra took part in the Beethoven bicentennial celebrations in Bonn. That same year Lorin Maazel was named associate principal conductor to lighten Klemperer's workload, yet artistic differences soon arose with the self-governing players. Riccardo Muti therefore became chief conductor in 1973, and four years later the original name Philharmonia Orchestra was reinstated.

Under Muti the ensemble recorded extensively in opera and entered what many observers regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, with Kurt Sanderling conducting, the Philharmonia produced the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Giuseppe Sinopoli succeeded Muti in 1984; although his readings of Elgar drew criticism, he broadened the orchestra's Italian-opera repertoire. Christoph von Dohnányi assumed the podium in 1997 and led the Philharmonia on tours across continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, on a residency in New York. Esa-Pekka Salonen was appointed chief conductor in 2008, sustaining the ensemble's exacting standards until his departure, announced for 2021, left a prominent vacancy in British musical life. After Legge's era the orchestra continued to record for EMI, moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli, and has subsequently worked with numerous other labels. In 2019 the Philharmonia accompanied Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut album, conducted by Salonen.