Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra proudly claims to be the oldest surviving orchestra in the UK, and among the oldest in the world—which is probably true given that its origins date back to a concert society founded in 1840 to promote the "science and practice of music". Through succeeding decades the society’s fortunes had a roller-coaster profile, up and down, but managed to attract star soloists like Clara Schumann and Rachmaninoff, as well as star conductors like Max Bruch. And during World War II, when other orchestras were retrenching or disbanding altogether, the RLPO made the brave decision to do the opposite—taking its pick from the sudden glut of available players, enlarging its activities and becoming a permanent body with Malcolm Sargent as chief conductor. By 1945, it was arguably the best orchestra in Britain, comfortably established in its own Art Deco hall (with good acoustics and an engaging sense of closeness between audience and artists), ready to build an impressive postwar future. Under conductors like John Pritchard, Charles Groves, Vernon Handley and more recently Vasily Petrenko, the RLPO has amassed a fine discography of complete symphonies by Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. And a unique relationship with its home town has generated projects like the premiere of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio (1991), which drew international attention. Since 2021, its chief conductor has been the Venezuelan Domingo Hindoyan.