London Philharmonic Orchestra

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The London Philharmonic Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LPO), based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. It is based in the Royal Festival Hall.

It was formed in 1932 by Thomas Beecham, and played its first concert on October 7 of that year. In 1939 it became self-governing, with members of the orchestra themselves taking decisions on the organisation's affairs. During the Second World War the Orchestra was particularly active in touring the country and bringing orchestral music to places where it was not usually available. The LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

Other principal conductors of the orchestra have included Adrian Boult (1950-57), Bernard Haitink (1967-79) and Georg Solti (1979-83). In 2000, Kurt Masur was appointed to the post. In 2007, Vladimir Jurowski, currently the LPO's Principal Guest Conductor, will become its new Principal Conductor.

As well as giving many classical concerts, the LPO has made several film soundtracks, including Lawrence of Arabia, Philadelphia, The Mission and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as well as some CD albums of the music from the video game series Dragon Quest, and the soundtrack for Xenosaga Episode I. The orchestra also occasionally plays on popular music records, like Chick Corea's album Corea Concerto or Nightwish's Once for example. In the mid-1990s the LPO even released tribute albums to rock bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin with covers of the bands' songs, including an infamous rendition of “Kashmir”.

[edit] Principal Conductors

Thomas Beecham (1932–1939)
Eduard van Beinum (1947–1950)
Sir Adrian Boult (1950–1957)
William Steinberg (1958–1960)
John Pritchard (1962–1966)
Bernard Haitink (1967–1979)
Sir Georg Solti (1979–1983)
Klaus Tennstedt (1983–1990)
Franz Welser-Möst (1990–1996)
Kurt Masur (2000–2007)
Vladimir Jurowski (designate, from 2007)

[edit] External links

Orchestras based in London, England
Academy of Ancient Music · Academy of St. Martin in the Fields · BBC Concert Orchestra · BBC Symphony Orchestra · Camerata of London · City of London Sinfonia · English Chamber Orchestra · London Philharmonic Orchestra · London Sinfonietta · London Symphony Orchestra · Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment · Philharmonia · Royal Philharmonic Orchestra