Great British Orchestras
Anne-Marie Minhall travels the UK to celebrate the nation's greatest orchestras in a 10 part series on Classic FM.
From the Philharmonia to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, via the London Symphony Orchestra and Northern Sinfonia, Anne-Marie will be shining the spotlight on a different orchestra each week and telling the stories behind the music.
To find out everything, from which orchestra was the first to admit women players to the name of the ensemble that has appeared on The Simpsons, tune in to Classic FM every Saturday evening from 9-10pm.
Saturday 27 March
This week Anne-Marie features the only symphony orchestra in the UK to combine an annual concert season with regular work in the opera house... the London Philharmonic Orchestra .
Saturday 20 March
Anne-Marie features The Ulster Orchestra , who are based in Belfast, and regularly tour throughout Europe and America.
Read more about the Ulster Orchestra >
Saturday 13 March
This week, it’s The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra . Since 1893, the Orchestra has been a champion of British music. Anne-Marie plays some of their greatest recordings and looks to an exciting future with their new young ‘superstar’ Principal Conductor.
Read about The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra >
Saturday 6 March
Anne-Marie features the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra this week. Read all about the RLPO here >
Anne-Marie visits Liverpool to meet the conductor Vasily Petrenko and some of the players of the RLPO for the April issue of Classic FM Magazine - out on Monday 8 March. Discover more about their roles here >
Saturday 27 February
This week’s featured orchestra is Classic FM’s Orchestra in Scotland, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra . Formed in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is one of Europe's leading orchestras and has played an important part in Scotland's musical life. The Orchestra performs across Scotland and internationally and has a very busy schedule of recordings, education and community programmes.
Read more about the RSNO here >
Saturday 20 February
Birmingham is the next stop on our tour of Great British Orchestras. Edward Elgar conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural concert in 1920; since then they’ve been associated with some of the word’s greatest conductors, including Simon Rattle, who began his career with the orchestra. Join Anne-Marie for a guide to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and hear some of their finest recordings.
Read more about the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras >
Saturday 13 February
This week’s featured orchestra, from the North West of England, was named after its founder, Sir Charles Hallé. The Hallé has been performing in Manchester – and throughout the world – for more than 150 years. Join Anne-Marie to hear some of their greatest recordings, and find out what makes them one of Britain’s premier orchestras.
Read more about the Hallé Orchestra here >
Saturday 6 February
Anne-Marie Minhall celebrates Classic FM’s Orchestra in the City of London, The London Symphony Orchestra. Their home is London’s Barbican, but they also regularly give performances throughout the world; you may also have heard their music at the cinema because they’ve provided the soundtrack for many blockbuster films.
Read more about The London Symphony Orchestra here >
Saturday 30 January
This week it’s the turn of the orchestra who celebrated their 50th birthday last year, Classic FM’s orchestra in the North East of England, the Northern Sinfonia.
Read more about Northern Sinfonia here >
Saturday 23 January
The first Great British Orchestras programme features Classic FM's Orchestra on Tour, the Philharmonia . Anne-Marie will look at the orchestra's highlights - from its formation in 1945 to its pioneering work online, plus she'll be playing some of the Philharmonia's greatest recordings.
Find out more about the Philharmonia Orchestra here >
[if !supportLists]· [endif]This week’s featured orchestra is from the North West of England, was named after it’s founder, Sir Charles Halle. The Halle has been performing in Manchester – and throughout the world – for more than 150 years. Join Anne-Marie to hear some of their greatest recordings, and find out what makes them one of Britain’s premier orchestras.
Featured Orchestras
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Hallé OrchestraThe Hallé takes its name from Sir Charles Hallé, who founded the orchestra in Manchester in 1858.
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Philharmonia OrchestraAll next week, we'll be celebrating Classic FM’s partnership with the Philharmonia Orchestra – our Orchestra on Tour.
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London Symphony OrchestraClassic FM and LSO, bringing London's live music to life.
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Northern SinfoniaFind out more about Classic FM's orchestra in the North East and their upcoming season.
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City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraSince 2008, Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons has been Music Director of the 90-strong City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
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Royal Scottish National OrchestraThe Royal Scottish National Orchestra is Classic FM's Orchestra in Scotland.
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Royal Liverpool Philharmonic OrchestraClassic FM's Orchestra in North West England. Find out about their 2009/2010 concert season.
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Bournemouth Symphony OrchestraYoung Ukrainian Kirill Karabits has been Principal Conductor of the BSO since the beginning of the 2009/10 season.
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Ulster OrchestraThe Ulster Orchestra, formed in 1966, is the only professional symphony orchestra in Northern Ireland.
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London Philharmonic OrchestraSince 2007, the LPO has appointed two new, young conductors, Vladimir Jurowski and Yannick Nézet-Ségun.
