Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only Gramophone Classical Music Award decided by public vote. The 10 orchestras nominated this year are: Academy of Ancient Music, Accademia Bizantina, Bamberger Symphoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, The Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Philharmonia Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.

This week, we focus on the Philharmonia Orchestra ...

Introduction

Founded by the producer Walter Legge primarily to make recordings for EMI, the Philharmonia has a long and distinguished history in front of the microphones. As one Finnish chief heads off to San Francisco, another takes over, and the dynamic young Santtu-Matias Rouvali has been making waves in London at his concert appearances. Both of his recordings with his new orchestra – made live – had our critics impressed by the detail (if not by the generosity of the albums’ lengths). It’s a relationship that will be fascinating to watch develop and deepen as conductor and orchestra get to know each better, preferably in a hall full of people.  

Recommended Albums

Tchaikovsky Swan Lake – excerpts

Philharmonia / Rouvali

‘Rouvali has an acute sense of bodily movement in these extracts and more importantly knows how to counterbalance classical poise and romantic abandon ...’ (Edward Seckerson)

Read the review in the Reviews Database

Prokofiev Symphony No 5

Philharmonia / Rouvali

‘Rouvali goes on to marshal darker currents with aplomb, as the music (or is it the state?) makes a frenzied effort to maintain its heroic facade ...’ (David Gutman)

Read the review in the Reviews Database

Philharmonia Orchestra Playlist

Enjoy recent highlights from the Philharmonia Orchestra in our exclusive Apple Music playlist.

Apple Music offers a three-month free trial to new subscribers and with its vast catalogue of recordings – plus the addition of lossless audio and Spatial Audio, offering an immersive audio experience from 44.1kHz/16-bit (CD quality) up to 192kHz/24-bit – it is the perfect music streaming platform for anyone who loves classical music. Find out more and start your free trial here: Apple Music 

Listen to all of the Orchestra of the Year playlists on Apple Music: Orchestra of the Year 2021

Vote for the Philharmonia Orchestra

You can cast your vote for Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2021 either using the voting form below or by following this link: 2021 Orchestra of the Year Vote

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