Sir Simon Rattle continues his wonderful career with the London Symphony Orchestra

Sir Simon Rattle became the Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2017. He had previously recorded with the orchestra.  This was after his successful run as the lead conductor of the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra. Despite being awarded a Knighthood by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to music in 1994 his career after that year is most popular. Especially that work with the London Symphony Orchestra. His prolific career extends to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He was also for a few years Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras.  In September 2002 Sir Simon became Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he remained until June 2018. His long and rich history with the orchestra however goes back to 1987. His conducting debut was a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. He then returned to the UK to take charge of the London Symphony Orchestra after a wonderful 15 year tenor at the German orchestra. It was in March 2015 that it was announced he would lead the LSO. The initial season of his contract was the 2017-2018 season.

As we are avid enthusiasts of classical music in surround sound we definitely love the LSO on Pure Audio Blu-ray. Especially Sir Simon Rattle himself. He has two releases with the LSO that are available on Pure Audio Blu-ray with surround sound capabilities.

He has two releases that are available on Pure Audio Blu-ray with surround sound capabilities. The first of these is Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri. In his debut recording on LSO Live, Sir Simon Rattle conducts a stunning performance of Schumann’s rarely recorded Das Paradies und die Peri featuring a superb line-up of soloists.

...It was a playground for composers and the piece was extraordinary.’

Photo: Sebastian Hanel

Sir Simon says of the piece, ‘It’s the great masterpiece you’ve never heard, and there aren’t many of those now…. This is just something else, a complete anomaly if you think about it. In Schumann’s life it was the most popular piece he ever wrote, it was performed endlessly. Every composer loved it. Wagner wrote how jealous he was that Schumann had done it and he’d stolen this subject that he wanted to do and how extraordinary it was… It was a playground for composers and the piece was extraordinary.’

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri

The second release was Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande. It was captured in January 2016 during performances of an innovative collaboration between Rattle and Peter Sellars, two of the boldest creative minds in music and theatre today. The plot, a love triangle between Prince Golaud, his wife Mélisande and his brother Pelléas, is shrouded in mystery and full of gripping twists and emotion-filled turns, ultimately ending in Pelléas’ untimely death. The sensuous score contains some of Debussy’s most exquisite music and perfectly crystalises the atmosphere of Maeterlinck’s original play. Debussy´s only completed opera, Pelléas et Mélisande is widely considered to be one of the 20th century´s greatest.

“Pelléas et Mélisande is one of the saddest and most upsetting operas ever written. If you love the opera as I do, then you love it to pieces, obsessively. It is the first thing Peter and I ever did together, in Amsterdam in 1993. If I don’t do it every five to 10 years, I’m miserable. Look beyond the beauty of the music and you see incredibly damaged people. Our new production has the right singers for every single one of them. When I persuaded Christian Gerhaher to sing Pelléas, he sent me a text saying he was so thrilled he couldn’t sleep.”- Sir Simon Rattle

To purchase London Symphony Orchestra titles on Pure Audio Blu-ray please click here

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Mendelssohn: Symphony No 5 ‘Reformation’
24,90€
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LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri
26,90€
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LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Nielsen: Symphonies Nos 1-6
39,90€
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LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Mendelssohn: Symphony No 3 ‘Scottish’
24,90€
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The London Symphony Orchestra and it´s Prestigious History

The London Symphony Orchestra started in 1904. It was the first British orchestra to play outside England in 1906. That concert happened in Paris.  Six years later the orchestra was poised to play in New York and sort to travel there with the RMS Titanic. Luckily, the orchestra rebooked their journey at the last minute. Probably sparing most or all of their lives. They were however the first British orchestra to tour the USA in that same year.  The orchestra later visited Japan in 1963 and South Africa in 1956.

Their first gramophone recording was in 1920. It has made many records since. Today it has more recordings to its name than any other orchestra in the world. The orchestra also had its own television series. In the 1990s alone the orchestra recorded over 100 albums. In 1914, ten years after its inception, the war broke out. At the time the orchestra had been prospering well. As the bleak moment in the worlds era began over thirty members of the Orchestra served in the Forces during World War I.

The orchestra boast some of the best conductors over the past century:  Hans Richter (1904–1911), Sir Edward Elgar (1911–1912), Artur Nikisch (1912–1914), Sir Thomas Beecham (1915–1917), Albert Coates (1919–1922), Willem Mengelberg (1930–1931), Sir Hamilton Harty (1932–1935), Josef Krips (1951–1954), Pierre Monteux (1961–1964), André Previn (1968–1979), Claudio Abbado (1979–1987), Michael Tilson Thomas (1987–1995), and Sir Colin Davis (1995–present).

In 1975 the LSO Trust, together with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, restored Holy Trinity Church in Southwark, turning it into a rehearsal and recording hall. Some years later the LSO raised the funds, with assistance from UBS, to convert the abandoned church, St Luke’s in Old Street, into their community and education centre.

The orchestra brought in many new fans after they performed the score for Star Wars (1977) and its sequels composed by John Williams.

The biggest audience that the Orchestra has performed to was in 2012 when it appeared in a sketch with Rowan Atkinson at the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. The global audience was estimated at 900 million.

Header photo by Ranald Mackechnie.

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Mendelssohn: Symphony No 5 ‘Reformation’
24,90€
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LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri
26,90€
Add to cart
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Nielsen: Symphonies Nos 1-6
39,90€
Add to cart
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – Mendelssohn: Symphony No 3 ‘Scottish’
24,90€
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To explore some of The London Symphony Orchestra´s Pure Audio Blu-ray titles click here

Becky Lees, the head of the LSO Live tells us what we didn´t know about the London Symphony Orchestra.

Becky Lees has worked within the classical music industry for over fifteen years. Initially working for an independent recording label, Becky has gone on to work at the Royal Opera House and LSO, where at both arts organisations she specialised in media and digital strategy. Becky Lees has been Head of LSO Live since 2012 where she oversees the multi-award winning record label, LSO Live, as well as the orchestra’s international broadcasts and overall digital strategy. 

Her work in developing these strands is designed to both attract new audiences and promote the LSO internationally.  Prior to this, Becky was with the Royal Opera House where her responsibilities included strategic planning and business development. Becky is a member of the BPI Classical Committee and a lecturer for IMZ Academy.

With the introduction of streaming music into our everyday lives labels are faced with many challenges as they attempt to adapt. As most classical and orchestral music this is no different. Some of the orchestras and labels have been coming up with unique ways to keep up revenue streams with the introduction of the likes of Spotify and Apple music. Subscriptions services affect the artists bottom-line. What effects music production the most today? The London Symphony Orchestra has always been interested in high quality music reproduction. However also expanding their reproductive expanse as far as possible.

What differentiates the LSO from other orchestras?

“The LSO was established in 1904 and has a unique ethos. As a musical collective, it is built on artistic ownership and partnership.”

How do you choose a studio for a recording?

“With the formation of its own recording label LSO Live in 1999 the LSO pioneered a revolution in recording live orchestral music, rather than in the studio.  This gives the energy and emotion of the live performance.”

The London Symphony Orchestra is most popular for their live performances. They tour yearly and are known to go to some great locations not only in Europe but also the rest of the world. It is always interesting to know where they are touring and what they think about some of the great locations that they have and will play.

What are the LSO’s favourite concert locations?

“The LSO is resident at London’s Barbican Centre, but performs over 70 concerts around the world each year.  It’s always a pleasure to visit new places, as it’s part of the orchestra’s DNA.  We visited Latin America for the first time in May 2019, and it was wonderful to hear the reaction from audiences.”

How important is the quality of sound in classical music?

“The sound is incredibly important to musician and audience alike.  It’s why it’s so vital to have high quality acoustics in classical venues.”

We are always interested to know what artists and orchestras think about Pure Audio Blu-ray. The London Symphony Orchestra has some of the most popular releases on Pure Audio Blu-ray. The wonderful format gives the enthusiast; audiophile and everyday fan the opportunity to hear the orchestra at home in this great high definition quality format with surround sound. Most attractive in classical music because it is able to replicate the sound effects of a classical venue with surround sound.

“LSO Live seeks to record at the highest quality possible, and future-proof for the advancement in bandwidth. Consumers will always seek the greatest sound quality if they can access it easily.”

Why did you choose to release your albums on Pure Audio Blu-Ray?

“High-resolution audio is important to the orchestra, but reaching as many people as possible is also a key mission of the organisation.  By, utilising BD players, the format gives a greater potential to reach more households around the world.”

What are people’s reactions to Pure Audio Blu-Ray?

“Consumers have praised the quality of presentation and audio offered by the format.”

How do you see the future of sound quality?

“LSO Live seeks to record at the highest quality possible, and future-proof for the advancement in bandwidth.  Consumers will always seek the greatest sound quality if they can access it easily.”

To see some great London Sympthony Orchestra titles on sale please click here

The London Symphony Orchestra 2019/20 Season has been Announced

Sir Simon Rattle will begin his third season with the acclaimed orchestra on September 14 2019.

There will be solo ensembles from some of the fine alumni of the LSO and boasts a 120 musician orchestra in some of the conductors work. The running theme will include aspirations of the late twentieth century. It will include pieces from Tilson Thomas, Auerbach and many others.

In early 2020 the LSO, in conjunction with the Barbican, will pay homage to Beethoven with his Symphony No 7. This special performance will take place on Beethoven´s 250th anniversary.  It will also include the Ninth Symphony and Christ on the Mount of Olives. Furthermore with respect to Beethoven, acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Violin Concerto in May 2020.

For a five day period the orchestra will celebrate the 50th anniversary with conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas. He conducts Berlioz’ drama-in-music Romeo and Juliet. On the 13th of November he will present his first Half Six Fix concert with Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. He will also include Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and an original composition of his own.

Possibly the most anticipated part of this season is its new music. The three new works will be composed by alumni of the LSO Panufnik Composers Scheme. The Barbican commissioned Emily Howard for the opening of the season. A piece by Sophya Polevaya will have its premiere on 19 December. Then on 27th of February Elim Chan conducts a new work by James Hoyle. In 2020 the LSO and François-Xavier Roth will perform new work by eight artists. This will hopefully provide in the future new media content for the home as well.