Philharmonia Orchestra

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

HarrisonParrott is delighted to have a long and distinguished history of arranging tours and projects throughout the world for the exceptional Philharmonia Orchestra with Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, its Honorary Conductor for Life, Christoph von Dohnányi, Conductor Laureate, Vladimir Ashkenazy as well as Lorin Maazel, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Founded in 1945, Philharmonia is a team of 80 musicians of 16 different nationalities. They are Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre in the heart of London, and also have residencies throughout the UK, at Garsington Opera and at the Three Choirs Festival. They tour all over Europe, and to the USA, Japan and China, and their online performances are enjoyed by listeners from Fiji, Sudan and Indonesia to high above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

Philharmonia make recordings, play for movie and video soundtracks, and create groundbreaking Virtual Reality experiences. Their Learning and Engagement projects, films and pioneering use of technology enable more people to experience world-class music-making, and they’re committed to nurturing the next generation of orchestral musicians and composers.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali © Philharmonia Orchestra / catherinegarciastudio

Santtu-Matias Rouvali : Principal Conductor

“He is the real thing: music unmistakably flows from him” (The Sunday Times).

Santtu-Matias Rouvali first conducted the Philharmonia in 2013, aged 27, and made quite an impression on our players. They elected him Principal Conductor from September 2021. He is just the sixth person to hold the title since 1945.

He has already conducted a wide range of music with the Philharmonia, from blockbusters by Strauss and Tchaikovsky to works by his compatriots Sibelius and Lindberg.

During the pandemic, he conducted music by Aaron Copland and Florence Price in one of our Live from Southbank Centre streamed concerts, and played with our percussion section in Steve Reich’s Music for Pieces of Wood.

When he’s not conducting, Santtu loves to spend time meditating, foraging and hunting in the forests around his home near Tampere.

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