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SEPTEMBER 29TH - OCTOBER 8TH 2000 |
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organised by  (ISCM Luxembourg Section) Information: info@worldmusicdays.com |
BBC Symphony Orchestra London
(Photo: Wing/Tate)
The BBC Symphony Orchestra was founded under Sir Adrian Boult in 1930 as London's first
permanent orchestra. The orchestra's reputation as a pioneer of new music and large-scale
Romantic and 20th-century works is long standing, and this commitment continues undiminished
today. In its long history it has given the first performances of well over a thousand pieces,
many of which were commissioned by the BBC and have now become twentieth-century classics.
As the flagship Orchestra of the BBC, it provides the backbone of the world-renowned BBC
Proms, with more than a dozen appearances each summer, including the famous Last Night
which is enjoyed by audiences in London's Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Centre,
Invitation Concerts and studio recordings at its home in the BBC Maida Vale Studios and
regional UK concerts all broadcast on BBC Radio 3 alongside international tours and
an increasing number of commercial recordings.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra's chief conductors have included Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin
Davis, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and John Pritchard. This season marks Sir Andrew Davis'
tenth anniversary with the Orchestra. In 2000 he will become the orchestra's first-ever
Conductor Laureate when the American conductor Leonard Slatkin takes up his post as Chief
Conductor. In 1995 the Czech conductor Jiri Belohlavek was appointed Principal Guest Conductor.
Past guest conductors have included Toscanini, Weingartner, Koussevitzky, Scherchen,
Maazel and Haitink. The orchestra has also worked closely with many of the great composers
of the twentieth-century, including Bartok, Berio, Henze, Lutoslawski, Part, Prokofiev,
Schoenberg, Stockhausen, Strauss and Stravinsky.
Every January, the Orchestra celebrates the work of a 20th-century composer with a weekend
festival; recent festivals have focused on Berg, Janacek, Tavener, Hindemith, Ives,
Lutoslawski, Martinu, and in 1999, Olivier Messiaen.
Highlights of recent seasons have included a televised concert from St Paul's Cathedral
celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the BBC, and the highly acclaimed premiere and
award-winning CD recording of Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches to Elgar's Third
Symphony. This summer the BBC Symphony Orchestra is featured in Masterworks: Six Pieces
of Britain, a series of programmes for the BBC 2 television, exploring six great 20th
century works, from Vaughan Williams to Mark-Anthony Turnage.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra has a busy touring schedule, including recent visits to Japan
and Korea, and forthcoming engagements in Spain, Germany and the USA. It regularly appears
at international festivals including Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Bad Kissingen and Lucerne.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra's reputation for promoting the work of contemporary
composers whilst embracing established masterpieces is thriving. It plans for an
increasingly adventurous future, continuing its position as one of the country's leading
orchestras and fulfilling a key role in British cultural life.