What does an orchestra do when it's not on stage? Since its inception, the Philharmonia has been renowned for its work as a recording orchestra. We can regularly be found in the studio recording for film and video games, as well as recording concert works. Join Patrick Bailey to explore the off-stage work of the orchestra, featuring music by composer Jessica Curry. --- We’re in this together. As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals like you to support the work we do through succes...
Jul 23, 2020•13 min
How do 60 individual violins, violas, cellos and basses transform into the lush sound of an orchestral string section? Who do they follow? What makes them all move together? Find out all of their secrets in this film. And subscribe to our YouTube channel to be alerted when our brand new series on the sections of the orchestra continues with the woodwind section. Keep the Philharmonia Playing: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/donate...
Jul 20, 2020•21 min
Mahler’s The Song of the Earth is an hour-long, soul-searching journey in the company of a composer examining his own mortality and love for life from all angles. --- While we can't perform it for you tonight, conductor Xian Zhang spoke to us about the challenges of conducting the piece, as well as her time learning her craft under the tuition of Lorin Maazel. Like many performing arts organisations, the Philharmonia is facing significant disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to thank...
Apr 30, 2020•5 min
Last, but certainly not least. Join presenter Paul Rissmann to discover the final symphony from the remarkably prolific composer, Joseph Haydn. You’ll learn the importance of symmetry within the work, Haydn’s creative use of tiny motifs, and the importance of silence.
Mar 27, 2020•16 min
“If after this concert you don’t fall in love with classical music, you never will.” – Pablo Heras-Casado Meet Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado ahead of his concerts of Russian classics this April. Maestro Heras-Casado shares his appreciation of the Philharmonia, his thoughts on the accessibility of classical music, and chats about Mussorgsky’s colourful classic, Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged by composer Maurice Ravel. Concerts: 1 April, Leicester: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/2...
Mar 10, 2020•4 min
Perfectionism... Swans... Finland... What do these all have to do with music? Discover the story behind Jean Sibelius’s famous 5th Symphony as described by presenter Paul Rissmann. You’ll learn what to listen out for and how this masterful work was written. Featuring extracts played in the studio by Philharmonia musicians. Catch Sibelius Symphony No. 5 live in concert on 21 May 2020 in London at Royal Festival Hall, conducted by our Principal Conductor Designate, Santtu-Matias Rouvali: https://p...
Feb 27, 2020•15 min
The Virtual Orchestra travelled to our UK residencies in 2018 and 2019, offering audiences the chance to experience a symphony orchestra from the inside. We worked with local partners including community centres, charities, arts organisations and councils to bring orchestral music to new audiences. Check out this film to find out more about the project or head to the website to read our new report that shares our highlights, challenges, and outcomes from the project. https://philharmonia.co.uk/i...
Feb 26, 2020•4 min
“The moment Lise sang the first phrase, everybody’s jaw dropped in the orchestra. I have never seen this kind of thing before.” – Esa-Pekka Salonen Hear Lise Davidsen and Esa-Pekka Salonen in concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra on 19 March 2020 at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/200319-esa-pekka-salonen-mahler-and-schumann/ Link to the recording of Lise Davidsen with the Philharmonia Orchestra on Decca: https://decca.lnk.to/LiseDavidsen0F Th...
Feb 20, 2020•2 min
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, chats about how composer Gustav Mahler used and re-used vocal music. Music from his song cycles can later be heard in his symphonies. Discover more in this film and join us for in London for our concert series, Mahler: Songs of Life, throughout our 2019/20 season: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/?date=all&location=all&type=all&event-group=1562 The Mahler: Songs of Life concerts are supported by members of the Mahler Syn...
Feb 20, 2020•5 min
“Everything was just a disaster. Most likely, people who survived it, when they walked out of there, they were completely confused and bewildered. There is something really attractive about the total excess of it.” – Esa-Pekka Salonen Listen to Esa-Pekka Salonen, our Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, talk about why he’s reconstructing one of the most famous concerts ever: Beethoven’s legendary 1808 concert in Vienna. The concert was plagued by mishaps and ran for four hours, but those wh...
Jan 30, 2020•8 min
Vienna, 22 December 1808. Franz and Katarina are on their way to hear a concert that the famous composer and pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven, is putting on at the Teater an der Wien. They are in for a night they will never forget. Discover the story behind one of the most famous concerts of all time in our animated film. You can join us for a reconstruction of this concert in March 2020, conducted by our Principal Conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen. 14 March 2020, The Anvil, Basingstoke: https://www.phi...
Jan 30, 2020•2 min
In 2020 we mark 75 years since the Philharmonia Orchestra was founded - three quarters of a century of brilliant live music-making, definitive recordings, technological innovation and artistic adventure. Our Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, reflects on the founding ethos of the Philharmonia and how it has continued to attract the finest musicians to play in its ranks. Discover our concert series here: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/POat75 Watch more films about our sto...
Jan 07, 2020•5 min
Seasons Greetings from everyone at the Philharmonia Orchestra! Enjoy our 2019 Christmas Card, filmed in the ancient church of St Bartholomew the Great in London, with the Philharmonia’s four horns – Nigel Black, Kira Doherty, Diego Incertis Sánchez and Carsten Williams. In Dulci Jubilo was arranged by Philharmonia No. 3 Cello, Richard Birchall. Hear more from our fantastic horn section in Horn Calls , featuring Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel , Thu 16 Jan, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall, London...
Dec 09, 2019•4 min
Meet Tom Blomfield , Principal Oboe of the Philharmonia Orchestra , to learn more about what it’s like to be an oboist and to discover the fascinating story behind the Strauss Oboe Concerto . Created in the aftermath of World War II, this nostalgic piece is one of the few opportunities an oboe soloist gets to stand in front of a symphony orchestra. The concerto also forms a part of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s great recording legacy – the Philharmonia made the first recording of the piece in 194...
Dec 06, 2019•12 min
Philharmonia No. 2 Horn, Kira Doherty, meets up with Richard Watkins, Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1985-1996, at the Museum of the Royal Academy of Music in London to dive into the legacy of the first Principal Horn of the Philharmonia, Dennis Brain. This is a rare opportunity to hear the instrument Brain played in the 1950s before his early death. The Philharmonia Orchestra celebrates 75 years in 2020. On 16 January 2020, Richard Watkins performs the Serenade for Horn, Teno...
Nov 26, 2019•5 min
Meet Richard Watkins, Principal Horn of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1985-1996, as he chats with composer and friend, Mark-Anthony Turnage at the Philharmonia offices in London. Turnage has composed a new piece for horn and orchestra called 'Towards Alba', which he wrote for Richard Watkins. The piece was commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra with support from John and Carol Wates as part of the Orchestra's 75th birthday celebrations in 2020. Find out all about this new piece and how the...
Nov 15, 2019•26 min
By popular demand, we present a full-length guide to the bass clarinet, presented by Philharmonia Orchestra Principal Bass Clarinet, Laurent Ben Slimane. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro 00:48 – What is a bass clarinet? 01:13 – How do you put it together? 02:33 – How does the sound get created? 03:55 – How does the pitch get changed? 04:43 – What is a transposing instrument? 05:08 – How did you get started on the bass clarinet? 05:50 – What are the keys like? 06:36 – How do you hold your instrument? 08:35 ...
Oct 11, 2019•24 min
The Philharmonia Orchestra and Raze Collective present a queer extravaganza of contemporary cabaret on Mon 23 Sept in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, Southbank Centre, London, at 8:45pm. This free show is inspired by the cabaret scene of Weimar Berlin and is a collaboration between Philharmonia players and London-based performance artists. Our documentary goes behind-the-scenes on the rehearsals: meet the artists and hear what they have been working on! Cabaret artists: Bourgeois & Maurice S...
Sep 10, 2019•14 min
The Weimar Republic was a time of great social and artistic advances, but shaky politics and a disastrous economy made it ripe for the rise of National Socialism – the Nazis. Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, which brought an end to the Weimar Republic. As part of his swift project of cultural eradication, books were burned and people contrary to the regime, or who simply did not fit the Nazi’s ideal of the “Aryan” race, were arrested, murdered or forced to flee Germany. In our ...
Aug 31, 2019•14 min
Cabaret was hugely important during the Weimar Republic as a form of social protest and social critique. Its influence went beyond bars and music halls – film and theatre quickly adopted its rougher aesthetic and its subject matter. One of the most prominent collaborations of the day was between composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht, who created The Threepenny Opera, which was later turned into a film. This period also launched the career of legendary singer and actor Marlene Dietric...
Aug 29, 2019•12 min
In 1919, not only was the Weimar Republic founded, but Walter Gropius, the architect, also founded what would become a game-changing art school – the Bauhaus. In this film we travel to Weimar and Dessau to uncover what it was like to be a student at the Bauhaus, especially as a woman. Historian Philipp Blom and writer Theresia Enzensberger explain the parallels to our own time, and how technology and art intersected to create a new, utopian vision for life and design. Series Advisor, Gavin Pluml...
Aug 27, 2019•14 min
In January 2019, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Soft Touch Arts (Leicester, UK) embarked upon another season of Symphonize, a pioneering creative partnership enabling young people from across Leicester to work alongside producers and musicians to create, compose, produce and perform their own original tracks and video art. Following a series of taster workshops and an intensive week-long project, the project culminated in a concert at Sue Townsend Theatre in Leicester on Saturday 12 January. New...
Jul 05, 2019•4 min
Berlin. An epicentre. A capital city. A playground. The city of Berlin was the Weimar Republic’s hub, transforming itself into a multicultural melting pot where rules could be bent and new ways of being were more accepted. However, people questioned this modern way of living and were sceptical of the rise of technology and a more relaxed approach to gender norms. Cabaret, theatre and film all contributed to a critique of society while the rise of Fascism inevitably marched forward. Observers lik...
Jun 07, 2019•14 min
The composers of the Weimar Republic provided a soundtrack for the events that unfolded in Germany between 1919 and 1933. During this tumultuous, exciting time, composers such as Kurt Weill, Paul Hindemith and Alban Berg thrived and produced works that still thrill us today. The sounds of cabaret and jazz infused Weill’s Threepenny Opera while Paul Hindemith and Alban Berg took a more objective approach, creating music to “reach out beyond political boundaries.” The influence of Weimar was so in...
Jun 05, 2019•15 min
Join cultural historian Gavin Plumley and the Philharmonia on a journey around Germany and discover the sights and sounds of the Weimar Republic in the first of a series of six films. Following World War I, Germany was in tatters. What emerged from the ashes was a new republic, founded in Weimar with the aim for a more progressive, modern Germany. What followed was just over a decade of extraordinary cultural and artistic experimentation. Dietrich, Weill, Brecht, Gropius and Dix – just a few of ...
Jun 03, 2019•12 min
“He was born into the wrong time” The greatest composer you’ve never heard of: our Principal Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša guides you through the inspiring musical life and heartbreaking story, of Miloslav Kabeláč. Explore his revelatory music on 22 November, when we follow The Mystery of Time with Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances and Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/2120/jakub_hrusa_dvorak_and_shostakovich...
Nov 01, 2018•6 min
“It doesn’t belong just to the Chinese, it’s kind of a present for all the people.” Go beyond Western traditions and discover the ancient Chinese sheng, as acclaimed artist Wu Wei reveals his instrument's secrets in conversation with bassist Mike Fuller in our brand new film. Hear Wu Wei perform live with us on 5 April, in a concert showcasing the sheng's full musical range: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/2160/music_of_today_wu_wei_artist_portrait
Oct 19, 2018•16 min
“Just be there and Bruckner takes care of you” Esa-Pekka Salonen introduces his love of Bruckner’s music ahead of our 2018/19 London Season opening concerts. Hear him conducts Bruckner’s Sixth (27 Sep) and Seventh (30 Sep) symphonies live at Southbank Centre: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1819opening
Sep 07, 2018•2 min
"The link is Wagner, tying everything together." Esa-Pekka Salonen introduces his programmes - of Bruckner, Schoenberg & Wagner - to open our 2018/19 London Season at Southbank Centre on 27 and 30 September 2018: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1819opening
Aug 31, 2018•1 min
In this film, Nigel Woodhouse introduces the banjo. The banjo is a rare visitor to the orchestra, but has been used by composers in the 20th century onward to evoke American folk music and jazz especially. All of our instrument films: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqR22EoucCyccs5J639SCefaM7mD9dMSz
Jul 13, 2018•9 min
