National Philharmonic Orchestra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The National Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by Sidney Sax. Such conductors as Leopold Stokowski, Richard Bonynge, and Charles Gerhardt have made recordings with it. Bonynge recorded all three of Tchaikovsky's ballets with it for Decca, and Gerhardt made a series of stereo recordings of Hollywood film music with it for RCA Victor. The orchestra has been featured on the soundtrack of many films, and, with Kenneth Schermerhorn conducting, it provided the music for Mikhail Baryshnikov's production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker.

There is also a National Philharmonic based in Washington, D.C., and it is currently being conducted by Piotr Gajewski at the Music Center at Strathmore.(website: [[1]]) It was formerly known as the National Chamber Orchestra.

And there is, of course, the National Symphony Orchestra, which, under the leadership of such musicians as Mstislav Rostropovich and Erich Kunzel, gives a televised concert every Memorial Day and every Fourth of July, in addition to playing on other occasions.