The Royal Northern Sinfonia stands among the most celebrated chamber orchestras, presenting an expansive catalogue that stretches from Baroque masterpieces through contemporary scores and specially commissioned pieces. While the group has earned particular recognition for its interpretations of British composers such as Britten, Elgar, and Vaughan Williams, it has also received widespread acclaim for performances of Mozart, Schubert, Stravinsky, and numerous additional figures. Appearances across the United Kingdom and at prominent international halls and festivals have complemented a discography exceeding one hundred releases. Its principal series takes place at the Sage Gateshead, with frequent airings on Classic FM.
Michael Hall established the ensemble in 1958 and guided it as conductor and artistic director without ever receiving those formal designations. Its first program occurred on September 24, 1958, at Newcastle City Hall, the orchestra’s primary venue until 2004. Originally titled the Sinfonia Orchestra, the group adopted the name Northern Sinfonia in 1959. Hall also created a youth orchestra that began as the Junior Philharmonic and now operates as the Young Sinfonia.
Rudolf Schwarz followed as artistic director from 1964 to 1973, although Boris Brott shared podium duties for regular concerts. In 1973 the Northern Sinfonia Chorus was founded by principal timpanist Alan Fearon. During Christopher Seaman’s leadership, spanning 1973 to 1979, the orchestra began attracting attention beyond Britain. Early commercial successes included the 1976 EMI LP The Lighter Elgar under Neville Marriner and the 1977 Enigma Records LP of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 4, 5, and 6 conducted by George Malcolm.
Tamás Vasáry and Iván Fischer served as co-directors from 1979 until 1982. The ensemble reached wider international prominence during and after Richard Hickox’s tenure from 1982 to 1990; Hickox ultimately produced more than twenty recordings with the orchestra, many completed after his departure, among them the 1993 Chandos release of Walton’s opera The Bear. Heinrich Schiff held the artistic directorship from 1990 to 1996. As a cellist he secured critical praise both live and on disc, notably with the 1993 Virgin Classics recording of Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 29 and 40 together with Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Jean-Bernard Pommier’s period from 1996 to 1999 featured distinguished accounts of French repertoire by Fauré, Debussy, and Ravel. Thomas Zehetmair served as music director from 2002 until 2014; one of his significant releases was the 2011 Avie recording pairing Schubert’s Ninth Symphony with Hans Gál’s Second Symphony.
The orchestra moved to Gateshead in 2004 and adopted the newly built Sage Gateshead Centre as its home. In 2013 Queen Elizabeth II granted the ensemble the designation “Royal,” and Lars Vogt assumed the role of music director in 2015. That same year Zehetmair was named conductor laureate while Julian Rachlin became principal guest conductor. Vogt remained music director until 2020, when he received the title principal artistic partner. After several guest engagements in 2020, Dinis Sousa was appointed principal conductor in 2021.
