Philharmonia Orchestra

“the orchestra paced out its patiently descending circular tread (…) Rapture and sublime calmness were beautifully combined.”
The Telegraph

Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the world’s great orchestras. Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali took up the baton as Principal Conductor in 2021, and Marin Alsop joined him as Principal Guest Conductor in 2023. They follow in illustrious footsteps: Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Ricardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Esa-Pekka Salonen are some of the key figures who have honed the renowned Philharmonia sound over eight decades.

The Orchestra is made up of 80 outstanding musicians. It has premiered works by Richard Strauss, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Errolyn Wallen, Laufey and many others, and performs with many of the world’s most admired soloists.

The Philharmonia thrives on creative collaborations: in the 2024/25 season, violinist Nemanja Radulović is Featured Artist, and dance artist Vidya Patel is Artist in Residence. Previous Featured Artists have included violinists Pekka Kuusisto and Nicola Benedetti, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and singer Julia Bullock. Multidisciplinary collective House of Absolute, Clean Bandit founder and climate activist Love Ssega, and sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta, have all been Artists in Residence.

The Philharmonia is resident at the Southbank Centre in the heart of London and also holds residencies in Basingstoke, Bedford, Canterbury and Leicester, at Garsington Opera and at the Three Choirs Festival. In each of these residencies, the Orchestra is deeply embedded in the community, empowering people to engage with and participate in orchestral music. Projects with primary and secondary schools, children in foster care, people living with dementia and their carers, young people learning instruments, and adults who face barriers to experiencing the arts, all testify to the many ways music enriches our lives.

The Orchestra tours extensively throughout Europe and has performed in China, Colombia, Japan, Mauritius and the USA. In the 2024/25 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali takes the Orchestra to Estonia, Finland, Spain and Japan, and Marin Alsop leads a tour across mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali © Philharmonia Orchestra / catherinegarciastudio

The Philharmonia is known for embracing innovative technology. The Orchestra’s recordings include benchmark LPs, more than 150 film and videogame soundtracks and streamed performances. Its recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 is travelling through interstellar space on board the Voyager spacecraft, and its immersive installations and virtual reality (VR) experiences have introduced many thousands of people to orchestral music.

The Philharmonia Records label was established in 2023. The Orchestra has released live recordings of major works by Strauss, Mahler and Stravinsky, with Santtu at the helm.

The Philharmonia’s Emerging Artists Programme nurtures and develops the next generation of instrumentalists and composers, with a focus on increasing diversity within the classical music industry.

The Philharmonia is a registered charity. It is proud to be supported by Arts Council England and grateful to the many generous individuals, businesses, trusts and foundations who make up its family of supporters.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, ‘Pathétique’ © Philharmonia Orchestra

Sunrise: Santtu conducts Strauss © Philharmonia Orchestra

“The adagio was eloquent and tastefully shaped, the fizz of high violins and pizzicato violas in the final movement as sharp as sherbet.”

The Telegraph, October 2017

“The trombonists blazed gloriously and the timpanists dealt out every blow as though it was their last. So the climaxes simply roared, but this wasn’t noise-making for its own sake. (…) There was a glow to the nostalgic second movement, thanks to the strings’ soft-grained playing.”

Financial Times, October 2017

“Sometimes it’s hard to realise how eerie this fairytale really is, but with the Philharmonia strings kept hushed to allow woodwind to cut through, Heras-Casado shaped a sinuously paced, pungently vivid and satisfyingly strange performance. The clangorous trumpets in the balcony acclaiming the triumph of Kaschei the Immortal — and, later, his utter downfall — were a highlight.”

The Sunday Times, March 2017

“Yet this time, Ashkenazy’s passion and the orchestra’s commitment made objections pointless. This was a top-notch, utterly gripping account, and I loved every hectic bar.”

The Times, November 2016