Philharmonia Orchestra
Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia Orchestra has always been dedicated to bringing orchestral music of the very highest quality to the widest possible audience.
Originally created as a recording orchestra for the growing home audio market by EMI producer Walter Legge, the 80-strong Philharmonia has become established as one of the country’s leading live orchestras.
Since their inception they have worked with a who’s who of 20th and 21st century music, including Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini and Riccardo Muti. They have premiered works by Richard Strauss, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Errollyn Wallen, Kaija Saariaho and many others. And, true to their roots, they have always pioneered the use of technology to take orchestral music to a broader audience.
The current Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia is Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who took over the baton from Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2021. Rouvali is only the sixth person to hold this position in the orchestra’s history, with Klemperer, Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Christoph von Dohnányi preceding Salonen.
One of our six Resident Orchestras, the Philharmonia has called our Royal Festival Hall home since 1995.
Upcoming events
Fire in My Mouth
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
London Voices
RSNO Youth Chorus
Farnham Youth Choir
Repertoire
Julia Wolfe: Fire in my mouth (London premiere)
Santtu & Sol Gabetta
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Sol Gabetta cello
Repertoire
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Interval
Dvořák: Symphony No.9 (From the New World)
Bruckner 4 with Esa-Pekka Salonen
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor *
Leif Ove Andsnes piano, *
Repertoire
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.3 *
Interval
Bruckner: Symphony No.4 (Romantic) *
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto with Seong-Jin Cho
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor
Seong-Jin Cho piano
Repertoire
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1
Interval
Shostakovich: Symphony No.11 in G minor (The Year 1905)
Dvořák Violin Concerto with James Ehnes
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Kevin John Edusei conductor
James Ehnes violin
Repertoire
Pejačević: Overture in D minor for large orchestra, Op.49
Dvořák: Violin Concerto
Interval
Suk: Fantastic Scherzo, Op.25
Janáček: Sinfonietta
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Benedetti
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Jakub Hrůša conductor
Nicola Benedetti violin
Repertoire
Smetana: Overture, The Two Widows
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Interval
Schumann: Symphony No.3 in E flat (Rhenish), Op.97
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2 with Nobuyuki Tsujii
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Xian Zhang conductor
Nobuyuki Tsujii piano
Repertoire
Nokuthula Ngwenyama: Primal Message
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No.2
Interval
Prokofiev: Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet
Manfred Honeck & Emanuel Ax
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Manfred Honeck conductor
Emanuel Ax piano
Repertoire
J Strauss II: Overture, Die Fledermaus
Mozart: Piano Concerto No.25 in C, K.503
Interval
Strauss: Elektra Suite arr. Honeck & Ille
Mahler 6 with Marin Alsop
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Marin Alsop conductor
Esther Yoo violin
Repertoire
Bernstein: Serenade after Plato's Symposium for violin, strings & percussion
Interval
Mahler: Symphony No.6
Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Alan Pierson conductor
Taylor Mac artist
A German Requiem: Diana Damrau & Gerald Finley
Performers
Philharmonia Orchestra
Simone Young conductor
Diana Damrau soprano
Gerald Finley baritone
Philharmonia Chorus
Repertoire
Strauss: Intermezzo (Moonlight Music) from Capriccio; Das Rosenband, Op.36 No.1; Ständchen, Op.17 No.2; Freundliche Vision, Op.48 No.1; Zueignung, Op.10 No.1
Interval
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem