The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the world's great orchestras. Acknowledged as Britain's foremost musical pioneer, with an extraordinary recording legacy, the Philharmonia leads the field for its quality of playing, and for its innovative approach to audience development, residencies, music education and the use of new technologies in reaching a global audience. Together with its relationships with the world's most sought-after artists, most importantly its Principal Conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, the Philharmonia Orchestra is at the heart of British musical life. Today, the Philharmonia has the greatest claim of any orchestra to be Britain's National Orchestra. It is committed to presenting the same quality, live music-making in venues throughout the country as it brings to London and the great concert halls of the world.
2005 marked not only the Orchestra's Sixtieth Anniversary, but also the Tenth Anniversary of its much admired British and International Residency Programme, which began in 1995 with the launch of its residencies at the Bedford Corn Exchange and London's South Bank Centre. Now the Orchestra is celebrating its ninth year as Resident Orchestra of De Montfort Hall in Leicester, its sixth year as Orchestra in Partnership at the Anvil in Basingstoke and the third year of its relationship in Bristol with Colston Hall, St George's Bristol and Watershed.
The Orchestra's extensive touring schedule also includes appearances at its prestigious European residency venues, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Concertgebouw in Bruges, as well as at more than twenty of the finest international concert halls. Throughout its sixty-year history, the Philharmonia Orchestra has been committed to finding new ways to bring its top quality live performance to audiences worldwide, and to using new technologies to achieve this.
Many millions of people since 1945 have enjoyed their first experience of classical music through a Philharmonia recording, and now audiences can engage with the Orchestra through webcasts, podcasts, downloads, computer games and film scores as well as through its unique interactive music education website launched in 2005, The Sound Exchange. In 2005 the Philharmonia became the first ever classical music organisation to be shortlisted for a BT Digital Music Award, and in the same year the Orchestra presented both the first ever fully interactive webcast and the first podcast by a British orchestra. In September 2005 computer games with Philharmonia scores were at No. 1 and No. 2 in the national charts, while the Orchestra's scores for the last two Harry Potter computer games have both been nominated for BAFTA Awards. CD recording and live broadcasting both also continue to play a significant part in the Orchestra's activities: since 2003 the Philharmonia has enjoyed a major partnership with Classic FM, as The Classic FM Orchestra on Tour, as well as continuing to broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
For further information, please visit www.philharmonia.co.uk
Photo courtesy of Richard Haughton
