Perfectionism... Swans... Finland... What do these all have to do with music? Discover the story behind Jean Sibelius’s famous 5th Symphony as described by presenter Paul Rissmann. You’ll learn what to listen out for and how this masterful work was written. Featuring extracts played in the studio by Philharmonia musicians.

Catch Sibelius Symphony No. 5 live in concert on 21 May 2020 in London at Royal Festival Hall, conducted by our Principal Conductor Designate, Santtu-Matias Rouvali: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/philharmonia-21-05-20/

The Virtual Orchestra travelled to our UK residencies in 2018 and 2019, offering audiences the chance to experience a symphony orchestra from the inside. We worked with local partners including community centres, charities, arts organisations and councils to bring orchestral music to new audiences. Check out this film to find out more about the project or head to the website to read our new report that shares our highlights, challenges, and outcomes from the project. https://philharmonia.co.uk/initial-report-into-the-virtual-orchestra

“The moment Lise sang the first phrase, everybody’s jaw dropped in the orchestra. I have never seen this kind of thing before.” – Esa-Pekka Salonen

Hear Lise Davidsen and Esa-Pekka Salonen in concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra on 19 March 2020 at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/200319-esa-pekka-salonen-mahler-and-schumann/

Link to the recording of Lise Davidsen with the Philharmonia Orchestra on Decca: https://decca.lnk.to/LiseDavidsen0F

The Mahler: Songs of Life concerts are supported by members of the Mahler Syndicate: Naomi and Christophe Kasolowsky, Caroline Tate, Marina Vaizey, John and Carol Wates, and others who wish to remain anonymous.

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, chats about how composer Gustav Mahler used and re-used vocal music. Music from his song cycles can later be heard in his symphonies.

Discover more in this film and join us for in London for our concert series, Mahler: Songs of Life, throughout our 2019/20 season: https://philharmonia.co.uk/whats-on/?date=all&location=all&type=all&event-group=1562

The Mahler: Songs of Life concerts are supported by members of the Mahler Syndicate: Naomi and Christophe Kasolowsky, Caroline Tate, Marina Vaizey, John and Carol Wates, and others who wish to remain anonymous.

The Weimar Republic was a time of great social and artistic advances, but shaky politics and a disastrous economy made it ripe for the rise of National Socialism – the Nazis. Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, which brought an end to the Weimar Republic. As part of his swift project of cultural eradication, books were burned and people contrary to the regime, or who simply did not fit the Nazi’s ideal of the “Aryan” race, were arrested, murdered or forced to flee Germany. In our last film we explore the effects of the rise of the Nazis, and Weimar’s legacy.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which returns 23 September 2019 at Southbank Centre, London: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/82/weimar_berlin_bittersweet_metropolis

Cabaret was hugely important during the Weimar Republic as a form of social protest and social critique. Its influence went beyond bars and music halls – film and theatre quickly adopted its rougher aesthetic and its subject matter. One of the most prominent collaborations of the day was between composer Kurt Weill and playwright Bertolt Brecht, who created The Threepenny Opera, which was later turned into a film. This period also launched the career of legendary singer and actor Marlene Dietrich, famous for her role in film The Blue Angel.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which continues 23 September 2019 at Southbank Centre, London: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/82/weimar_berlin_bittersweet_metropolis

In 1919, not only was the Weimar Republic founded, but Walter Gropius, the architect, also founded what would become a game-changing art school – the Bauhaus. In this film we travel to Weimar and Dessau to uncover what it was like to be a student at the Bauhaus, especially as a woman. Historian Philipp Blom and writer Theresia Enzensberger explain the parallels to our own time, and how technology and art intersected to create a new, utopian vision for life and design. Series Advisor, Gavin Plumley, also shares Walter Gropius’s curious connection to the world of music.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which continues 23 September 2019 at Southbank Centre, London: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/82/weimar_berlin_bittersweet_metropolis

In January 2019, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Soft Touch Arts (Leicester, UK) embarked upon another season of Symphonize, a pioneering creative partnership enabling young people from across Leicester to work alongside producers and musicians to create, compose, produce and perform their own original tracks and video art. Following a series of taster workshops and an intensive week-long project, the project culminated in a concert at Sue Townsend Theatre in Leicester on Saturday 12 January.

New for 2019 was a documentary that was shown before the live performance to give insight into the creative process, which drew inspiration from Britten’s Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. This film is presented by one of the participants.

Find out more about Symphonize here: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/education/schools_and_young_people/symphonize

Berlin. An epicentre. A capital city. A playground.

The city of Berlin was the Weimar Republic’s hub, transforming itself into a multicultural melting pot where rules could be bent and new ways of being were more accepted. However, people questioned this modern way of living and were sceptical of the rise of technology and a more relaxed approach to gender norms. Cabaret, theatre and film all contributed to a critique of society while the rise of Fascism inevitably marched forward. Observers like writer Christopher Isherwood recorded this remarkable period in his Berlin novels, including Goodbye to Berlin. Learn more about this exciting metropolis in The City Electric.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which opens 9 June at Southbank Centre, London: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/82/weimar_berlin_bittersweet_metropolis

The composers of the Weimar Republic provided a soundtrack for the events that unfolded in Germany between 1919 and 1933. During this tumultuous, exciting time, composers such as Kurt Weill, Paul Hindemith and Alban Berg thrived and produced works that still thrill us today. The sounds of cabaret and jazz infused Weill’s Threepenny Opera while Paul Hindemith and Alban Berg took a more objective approach, creating music to “reach out beyond political boundaries.” The influence of Weimar was so infectious that a young Shostakovich, based in Russia, enriched his own music with its sounds, as heard in his jazzy ballet, A Golden Age.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which opens 9 June at Southbank Centre, London: www.philharmonia.co.uk/weimar_berlin

Join cultural historian Gavin Plumley and the Philharmonia on a journey around Germany and discover the sights and sounds of the Weimar Republic in the first of a series of six films. Following World War I, Germany was in tatters. What emerged from the ashes was a new republic, founded in Weimar with the aim for a more progressive, modern Germany. What followed was just over a decade of extraordinary cultural and artistic experimentation. Dietrich, Weill, Brecht, Gropius and Dix – just a few of the many cultural figures during this remarkable period. In these films, the Philharmonia Orchestra will take you to Berlin, Weimar, Dessau and Buchenwald while experts dig into the history, music, art, films and theatre of the period.

These six films form the introduction to the Philharmonia’s concert series Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis, which opens 9 June at Southbank Centre, London: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/82/weimar_berlin_bittersweet_metropolis

In this film, Nigel Woodhouse introduces the mandolin. The mandolin has been used by many composers across the centuries to give special colour to the orchestra, often evoking folk music.

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

00:00 Orchestral Extract: Mozart, Don Giovanni, Deh, vieni, alla finestra

00:46 Composers who wrote for the mandolin

01:08 The Neopolitan mandolin

02:00 The origins of the mandolin

03:05 Mandolin vs Violin – Similarities and Differences

04:33 Playing the mandolin – The Frets

05:19 Playing the mandolin – Chords

05:55 Playing the mandolin – The Plectrum

06:18 Playing the mandolin – Sustaining the Sound

06:46 Orchestral extract: Antonio Vivaldi, Mandolin Concerto in C major

07:53 Development of string materials, from gut to metal

08:48 Tremolo Technique

09:56 Orchestral extract: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 7

10:44 The Duo Style

11:47 Development of the mandolin – Extending the range

12:04 Orchestral extract: Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet, Aubade

12:39 Orchestral extract: Stravinsky, Agon, Galliarde

13:28 Orchestral extract: Webern, Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10

14:11 Orchestral extract: Ottorino Respighi, Roman Festivals

15:13 The American Mandolin

16:57 Musical example: Kesh Jig – trad. Irish

18:07 Bluegrass style

18:51 How the mandolin got its name

19:12 Harmonics

19:56 String tension and finger maintenance

20:24 How Nigel started playing the mandolin

20:55 Tips for getting started on the mandolin

Learn all about the instruments of the orchestra in our Instruments playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqR22EoucCyccs5J639SCefaM7mD9dMSz

"What is an orchestra for, in our world as it is today?"

Find out, in our new season - on sale now: philharmonia.co.uk/london1819

(Soundtrack: Ottorino Respighi, Pines of the Villa Borghese from Pines of Rome. Hear it in concert on 28 Feb 2019: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/seasons/74/1819_london_season)

In the summer of 2017, the Philharmonia Orchestra embarked on a new creative partnership to span five years with Garsington Opera. In this first season the Philharmonia performed Debussy’s only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, conducted by Jac van Steen. Philharmonia Principal Harp, Heidi Krutzen, gives us an introduction to Garsington and the beautiful Wormsley Estate where the opera festival is located. In 2018, the Orchestra performs Verdi’s Falstaff.http://garsingtonopera.org

Symphonize Kingston is a collaboration between Kingston Music Service and the Philharmonia Orchestra bringing together skilled urban and classical musicians to deliver intensive, skills-enhancing creative activities to young people in Kingston, tapping into their passion for popular music and technology whilst offering an opportunity to explore different musical styles and approaches. Led by Jason Rowland, young people from Anstee Bridge and Malden Oaks PRU have worked creatively with dub artist I-mitri CounterAction, spoken word artist Leah Vee and Studio Engineer Zayn Goetzee and players from the Philharmonia to compose, produce, and perform their own tracks inspired by Gustav Holst’s The Planets. The project was generously supported by Youth Music.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SYMPHONIZE: philharmonia.co.uk/education/schools_and_young_people/symphonize

“Of all the string instruments, I guess it’s the greatest compromise…it shouldn’t really exist” – watch Lawrence Power, one of the world's leading violists, reveal the secrets of the viola in our brand new film.

Lawrence Power performs Esa-Pekka Salonen's Pentatonic Étude for solo viola ahead of the Bartók Viola Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra on Thursday 1 June 2017 at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre. Tickets are still available. Gustavo Gimeno conducts, with Mahler Symphony No. 1 in the second half. Click here to book: https://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1622

"I would do this every day if I could."

Symphonize is a pioneering creative partnership between Leicester-based Soft Touch Arts and the Philharmonia Orchestra, resident at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. After the rousing success of a pilot project in 2015 and a number of taster sessions, young people from The Lancaster School and Fullhurst Community College have worked creatively with producers from Soft Touch Arts and players from the Philharmonia to compose, produce, and perform their own tracks on an intensive week-long project.

Symphonize aims to empower young people through intensive, collaborative working which taps into their passion for popular music and technology whilst offering an opportunity to explore different musical styles and approaches. Longer term, it is hoped that participation will contribute to equipping young people with practical, creative and social skills that are transferable to everyday life, and boost self-esteem and ambition.

http://www.soft-touch.org.uk
http://www.philharmonia.co.uk

British composer, Tansy Davies, has been commissioned by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra to compose a concerto for four horns, to premiere as part of the Philharmonia's "Inspirations" series in late February 2017. We travelled with Tansy to Bedgebury Pinetum in Kent, one of the locations that inspired her new concerto, "Forest". "Forest" explores how we, as humans, can search for a dialogue with nature as we move further and further apart in our modern world. Using the theme of the hunt and inspired by the hunting horn's roots in the forests of France, this new concerto promises to be a thrilling musical experience.

The Philharmonia Orchestra will perform "Forest":

21 February 2017, The Anvil, Basingstoke: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1480/basingstoke/the_anvil/21_february_2017/salonen_conducts_strauss
23 February, Royal Festival Hall, London: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1390/london/royal_festival_hall/23_february_2017/inspirations_strauss_and_beethoven
24 February, Auditorio Nacional Madrid: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1650/madrid/auditorio_nacional_madrid/24_february_2017/madrid_salonen_conducts_ravel

Tansy Davies’s Forest – A Concerto for Four Horns has been jointly commissioned by
Esa-Pekka Salonen for the Philharmonia Orchestra's 70th Anniversary
New York Philharmonic: Alan Gilbert, Music Director
International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn’s 60th Anniversary

Throughout 2011 Esa-Pekka Salonen's major exploration of Bartók's life, influences and music travels throughout the UK and Europe. To kick off the project this January, Esa-Pekka Salonen discusses why he finds Bartók's works fascinating, challenging and inspiring.