The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) today announces a new recording partnership with the harmonia mundi record label, which will see the Orchestra and its Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, release a new recordings of the great symphonic repertoire.
The first recording, planned for release this autumn, will feature Elgar’s symphonic study ‘Falstaff’ and Rachmaninov’s choral symphony ‘The Bells.’ Future planned releases include the music of Strauss, Bartok and Stravinsky.
Following the RPO announcing its 2025/6 London concert season yesterday, the Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko are excited to be embarking on a new chapter in their respective recording histories. The RPO’s rich recording legacy includes collaborations with the likes of Sir Thomas Beecham, André Previn, Sir Charles Mackerras, Yehudi Menuhin, Antal Dorati, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov – and, more recently, Joe Hisaishi (RPO Composer-in-Association).
The RPO and Petrenko’s shared desire to make new recordings comes at a time when recorded music is an increasingly important aspect of people’s appetite for music discovery. Recent RPO research revealed that 20% of orchestral music fans want to expand their music collection (CD or vinyl) and that this was integral to their exploration and enjoyment of music. Other positive influences include going to concerts (39%) and listening to orchestral playlists on streaming sites (40%).
Vasily Petrenko, Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra comments: “When you have the privilege to conduct a great orchestra, you get used to thinking big. Naturally, I do my best to aim high: to share with our audience the finest melodies, the strongest emotions, the most magnificent sounds. But for me, there’s another side to music-making and that is the ability to capture moments of shared magic in recorded form, allowing them to live in people’s hearts in r perpetuity. I have always enjoyed the creative process of recording music and I’m delighted to start a new chapter with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – and for our music to have the opportunity to be heard and enjoyed far beyond the concert hall.”
Huw Davies, Deputy Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra adds: “The dynamics of the music industry today mean that, across all genres, there is a strong focus on live music and this is, arguably, the best way to experience orchestral repertoire. That said, recorded music has always played a crucial part in firing the imagination and signposting people to the concert hall. We are delighted to be working with a new record label that has such pedigree and whose international audience reach is a natural fit for the RPO, following our recent performances in Germany, Vienna, Greece, Eastern Europe, USA, Dubai, India, China, and Saudi Arabia. We look forward to capturing the magic of our work with Vasily in recordings that people will be able to enjoy for years to come – and we are enormously grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the RPO’s President who has enabled us to embark on this exciting project”
Christian Girardin, head of the label harmonia mundi said: “Welcoming a symphony orchestra of the stature of the Royal Philharmonic is obviously one of the dreams of any record producer; with this new collaboration we are proud to develop a repertoire that has long been far removed from the label’s image. This is not simply a desire for diversification, but an artistic convergence linked to what is the alpha and omega of the label: a passion for excellence, this way of exploring the repertoire as if it were a contemporary creation, with a fresh eye, absolute artistic standards and a love of the works we tackle. I clearly felt all this in Vasily, as in all the musicians of the harmonia mundi label. We thank him for his confidence, and look forward to starting this collaboration with absolute masterpieces by Bartók, Stravinsky, Strauss and Rachmaninoff.”
RPO’s unique position in the orchestral world is powered by its mission to enrich lives through orchestral experiences that are uncompromising in their excellence, wide-ranging in their appeal and inclusive in their delivery. Performing approximately 200 concerts each season and with a worldwide live and online audience in excess of 60 million people, the RPO acts as a cultural ambassador for the UK on the world stage and enhances the social and cultural fabric of local communities at home through a wide range of community, education, inclusion and wellbeing programmes. For more information, visit https://www.rpo.co.uk