1 CD
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€ 19.95
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Label Signum Classics |
UPC 0635212041123 |
Catalogue number SIGCD 411 |
Release date 10 April 2015 |
Formed in 1904 by a group of 46 musicians who had resigned from London's Queen's Hall Orchestra because of change in policy, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is an ensemble of "firsts." It was the first orchestra in England to set up a self-governing administrative structure, the first to tour North America, and the first to accept commercial sponsorship. Known as one of England's most gifted and versatile ensembles, it is the resident orchestra at London's famous Barbican Centre. This and the fact that the LSO tours extensively; has provided music for countless films, radio broadcasts, and television productions; and records prolifically has helped to consolidate the group's reputation as one of the world's leading orchestras.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, London musicians worked on a strictly freelance basis, finding work where they could for the highest possible fee. In 1904, Henry Wood, conductor of the Queen's Hall Orchestra, decided that he could no longer tolerate the chaos of the situation and hired players as full-time employees with a small but guaranteed wage for about 100 scheduled performances a year. Many of the best musicians, who were in great demand and who stood to lose a significant portion of their earnings through this restriction, resigned from Wood's ensemble and formed their own, self-governing orchestra.
Soon after its creation, the LSO invited Hans Richter to be its first conductor. He accepted the position on the condition that the orchestra increase its number to at least 100 players. Although Richter conducted a great many of the orchestra's concerts during his eight-year tenure, the group also attracted numerous other distinguished conductors to the podium. These included Nikisch, Steinbach, and Elgar. In so doing, the LSO promoted the idea of guest conductors in English musical society.
Two years after its foundation, the orchestra played its first concerts outside England; two concerts in Paris. Under the direction of Nikisch in 1912, the LSO became the first British orchestra to tour North America, presenting 28 concerts in 21 days, beginning and ending with performances in New York's Carnegie Hall.
Over the next 50 years, the LSO was lead by a number of gifted and distinguished conductors including Sir Thomas Beecham, Albert Coates , Sir Hamilton Harty, Josef Krips, Pierre Monteux, Istvan Kertesz, André Previn, and Claudio Abbado. All of these men, in addition to the many guest conductors and artists invited to work with the LSO, left their marks on the orchestra; shaping and honing the virtuosity of its players into an ensemble of great sensitivity and versatility.
The orchestra's association with the film industry began in 1922 when Walter Wanger, head of United Artists, hired the LSO to play for the presentation of silent films at Covent Garden's Opera House. Since then, the ensemble has provided music for numerous films including the Star Wars series for which the LSO won a platinum disc.
The LSO's connection with the BBC goes back to 1924 when Ralph Vaughan Williams conducted the orchestra in the premiere broadcast performance of his Pastoral Symphony. The LSO was the unofficial orchestra in residence for the BBC until the formation of the BBC Symphony in 1930 and has continued to broadcast concerts and provide background music for many BBC productions.
When Michael Tilson Thomas replaced Abbado in 1987, he set about securing the organization's financial as well as musical future by encouraging the LSO to accept corporate sponsorship. Conducted by Sir Colin Davis from 1995 to 2006, who was succeeded by Valery Gergiev in 2007, the London Symphony Orchestra has long enjoyed its well-deserved reputation as a pioneer in several areas of British orchestral history and is a highly versatile and distinguished world-class ensemble.
Oliver Davis graduated from the Royal Academy of
Music in 1994 and has since composed numerous
concertos, ballet scores, albums, soundtracks and
television scores working with many of the major
London orchestras.
Davis’ debut album Flight, recorded by the London
Symphony Orchestra with soloist Kerenza Peacock,
was released in March 2015 and quickly rose to
number 2 in the UK Specialist Classical Charts with
5 star reviews in both the UK and US. In addition
it was chosen as Featured Album of the Week on
Classic FM and was broadcast daily on the station.
Several pieces from the album Flight have been
used for a ballet choreographed by Ma Cong for
the Tulsa Ballet Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
After the release of Flight came Davis’ second
album Seasons in October 2015. This album
featured his work Anno, a contemporary take
on Vivaldi’s Quattro Stagioni. This album also
charted in the UK top 10 and was Album of the
Week on Classic FM and in the Mail on Sunday.
Following this release came Dance, recorded by
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road
studios and released in September 2016. This
too became Classic FM’s Album of the Week and featured in their ‘Best of 2016’ show. Various
pieces from Dance and Flight were used to create
the ballet Dance Odyssey, choreographed by
Peter Walker and performed by New York City
Ballet. Following the ballet’s premiere in January
2018, The New York Times described the music
as ‘charming, lyrical, Arcadian’.
Davis’ fourth album, Liberty, was released in
February 2018. This reached number 1 in the
iTunes Classical Charts and was also Classic
FM’s Album of the Week. Pieces from Liberty formed a new ballet Bacchus, choreographed
by Matthew Neenan for Pacific Northwest Ballet
and premiered in March 2019. Davis’ next
album, Arcadia, featured a piano piece of the
same name, which on its release achieved over
a million streams on Apple Music. The album
reached number 1 in the iTunes Classical Charts,
number 4 in the UK Classical Charts and 15 in the
US Billboard Charts. September 2019 saw the
premiere of Edwaard Liang’s Lineage, set to music
by Davis, at New York City Ballet’s prestigious
Fall Fashion Gala. The ballet featured costumes
designed by fashion icon Anna Sui.
Solace was released in 2021. It was a lockdown
album which saw performers record remotely
all around the world. It entered the US Billboard
Charts at no.12 and was both Classic FM’s and
Scala Radio’s Album of the Week. Interviews on
both BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio followed, with
the title piece being selected by Sidra Bell for her
choreographic debut at New York City Ballet’s
Fall Fashion Gala 2021. The following year saw
the release of the seventh album, Air. Its multi
genre style included songs performed by Grace
Davidson and Jeremy Budd, in addition to violin
concertos performed by Kerenza Peacock and
Benjamin Baker. Both violinists performed on the
ballet The Veil Between Worlds, which was written for Edwaard Liang and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Air was Classic FM’s Album of the Week and Scala
Radio’s Album of the Weekend. Several pieces
from the album have now formed new ballets that
have premiered in the US.
In April 2023 Davis collaborated with Celine
Gettins, Principal with Birmingham Royal Ballet,
to create Jubilate, a new ballet celebrating the
coronation of King Charles III.