BBC Symphony Orchestra

The BBC Symphony Orchestra's logo The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The BBC SO is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The orchestra was originally conceived in 1928 as a joint enterprise by the BBC and the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, but the latter withdrew the next year and the task of assembling and training the orchestra fell to the BBC's director of music, Adrian Boult. Among its guest conductors in its first years was Arturo Toscanini, who judged it the finest orchestra he had ever conducted. During and after the Second World War, Boult strove to maintain standards, but the senior management of the post-war BBC did not allocate the orchestra the resources to meet competition from new and well-funded rivals.

After Boult's retirement from the BBC in 1950, the orchestra went through a fallow period. Boult's successor, Sir Malcolm Sargent, was popular with the public but had poor rapport with his players, and orchestral morale dropped. Sargent's successor, Rudolf Schwarz, made relatively little impact, and although the BBC appointed high-profile chief conductors in the 1960s and 1970s – Antal Doráti, Colin Davis, Pierre Boulez and Gennady Rozhdestvensky – the BBC SO remained underfunded. However, because it was the sole symphony orchestra in London that offered its players full-time contracts, players of high repute, including Alan Civil (horn) and John Wilbraham (trumpet), enrolled as regular members.

As a result of initiatives begun in the 1960s by the BBC controller of music William Glock, performing standards rose appreciably. Under Andrew Davis in the 1990s and Jiří Bělohlávek in the 2000s, the orchestra prospered. By the second decade of the 21st century, the BBC SO was regarded by critics as of first-class status. From the outset, the orchestra has been known for pioneering new music, and it continues to do so, at the Proms, in concerts at the Barbican Centre, and in studio concerts from its base at BBC Maida Vale studios. Provided by Wikipedia
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  1. 1

    Autumnal by Knussen, Oliver

    [London, England] : NMC Records, 2012
    “…(BBC Symphony Orchestra ; Oliver Knussen, conductor)…”
    Format: Audio


  2. 2

    Orchestral works by Delius, Frederick, 1862-1934

    [London, England?] : Apex/Warner Classics/Teldec, 2001
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  3. 3

    Violin concertos

    Perivale, Middx : Signum Classics, 2016
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  4. 4

    Symphonies 5 & 6 by Dvořák, Antonín, 1841-1904

    England : Warner Classics, 2006
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  5. 5

    Sinfonia intrepida by Whettam, Graham

    London : Redcliffe Recordings, 2000
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  6. 6

    Siècle.

    [London, England] : Onyx, 2017
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  7. 7

    Arturo Toscanini the HMV recordings. by Toscanini, Arturo, 1867-1957

    [S.l.] : EMI Records, 2013
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  8. 8

    A young person's guide to music by Ardley, Neil

    New York : Dorling Kindersley Pub., 1995
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Book


  9. 9

    Piano concerto, op. 31 by Wood, Hugh

    [England] : Collins Classics, 1993
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  10. 10

    Verklärte Nacht

    Colchester, Essex, England : Chandos, 2021
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  11. 11

    Complete piano concertos by Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827

    Arles: Harmonia Mundi, 2010
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  12. 12

    Symphony no. 2 in E flat ; Funeral march (Chopin ; orch. Elgar) ; The dream of Gerontius : prelude ; Sospiri ; Imperial march / Elgar by Elgar, Edward, 1857-1934

    Hayes, Middlesex, England : EMI, 1990
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  13. 13

    Violin concerto ; Three orchestral pieces ; Piano sonata ; Passacaglia by Berg, Alban, 1885-1935

    Essex : Chandos, 2022
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  14. 14

    The young person's guide to the orchestra by Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976

    [London, England?] : Apex/Warner Classics/Teldec, 2001
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  15. 15

    In memoriam ; Suite from "The tempset", op. 1 ; Symphony in E major, "Irish" by Sullivan, Arthur, 1842-1900

    Colchester, Essex, England : Chandos, 2000
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  16. 16

    Violin concertos by Foerster, Josef Bohuslav, 1859-1951

    Prague, Czech Republic : Supraphon, 2008
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  17. 17

    A violin for all seasons

    Colchester, Essex, England : Chandos, 2016
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  18. 18

    Falstaff : Froissart ; Romance for bassoon and orchestra ; Grania and Diarmid : incidental music & funeral march by Elgar, Edward, 1857-1934

    [Place of publication not identified] : Apex, 2005
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio


  19. 19

    A young person's guide to music by Ardley, Neil

    London ; New York : Dorling Kindersley Pub., 1995
    1st American ed.
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Book


  20. 20

    Konzert für Klavier und Orchester = Piano concerto = Concerto pour piano ; Chain 3 ; Novelette by Lutosławski, Witold, 1913-1994

    Hamburg : Deutsche Grammophon, 1992
    “…BBC Symphony Orchestra…”
    Format: Audio