BBC Symphony Orchestra

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The BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Center , 2012

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the main orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and one of the most important British orchestras. The orchestra plays an essential role in the annual concert series The Proms in the Royal Albert Hall and plays the opening and closing concerts .

History of the orchestra

The orchestra was founded in 1930, and Adrian Boult became the first chief conductor (Principal Conductor). Boult was replaced in 1950 by Malcolm Sargent , who held this position until 1957. Other chief conductors included Antal Doráti , Colin Davis , Pierre Boulez , Gennadi Roschdestwenski , Andrew Davis and Leonard Slatkin (whose last concert with the BBC SO was the " Last Night of the Proms " in 2004). At the beginning of 2005, the Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek was appointed chief conductor; his conducting began with the "First Night of the Proms" in 2006.

In addition, numerous well-known guest conductors worked with the orchestra, including Arturo Toscanini . The Principal Guest Conductors included Bělohlávek and Günter Wand (1982–2002), to whom a "Günter Wand Conducting Chair" was set up in honor. More Principal Guest Conductor were Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2002-2005) and David Robertson (2005-2012). Dalia Stasevska currently holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor.

The current owner of the "Günter Wand Conducting Chair" is Semyon Bychkov .

In 2000, the orchestra named Mark-Anthony Turnage as its first associate composer . In June 2003, John Adams was named Artist in Association .

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is particularly dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The orchestra premiered numerous works that resulted from composition commissions from the BBC, including the "Earth Dances" by Harrison Birtwistle , "Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna" by Pierre Boulez or "The Protecting Veil" by John Tavener . In 2006 the orchestra performed compositions by the oudist Rabih Abou-Khalil .

The BBC also includes the BBC Philharmonic , the BBC National Orchestra of Wales , the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra .

Overview of the chief conductors

Web links

Commons : BBC Symphony Orchestra  - collection of images, videos and audio files