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Philharmonia Chorus at the Proms
On Thursday 8 August the Philharmonia Chorus will appear at the BBC Proms in performances of Rachmaninov's The Bells and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances. The Chorus will join soprano Natalya Romaniw, tenor Oleg Dolgov, the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The performance will be conducted by Tadaaki Otaka.
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Mahler's Third Symphony in Lille and Amiens
On Wednesday 3 April the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Mahler's Third Symphony, with mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, the Choeur Maîtrisien du Conservatoire de Wasquehal, and the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Alexandre Bloch. This performance can be seen on You Tube here.
The concert was repeated on Thursday 4 April in the Maison de la Culture, Amiens.
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Verdi Requiem in King's College, Cambridge
On Good Friday 19 April, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Verdi's Messa da Requiem in the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge conducted by the Director Music in King's College, Stephen Cleobury. The Chorus joined soprano Gweneth Ann Rand, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, tenor Brenden Gunnell, bass James Platt and the BBC Concert Orchestra.
The concert formed part of the 2019 Easter at King's Festival, and was be broadcast live by BBC Radio 3. It can be heard on BBC Sounds until 19 May.
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Mahler's Second Symphony in Lille
On Thursday February 28 the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' in Lille's Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle. Soprano Kate Royal, mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, the Philharmonia Chorus and the Orchestre National de Lille were conducted by Alexandre Bloch. The concert formed part the Orchestre National de Lille's current Mahler cycle, and was broadcast live on the orchestra's You Tube channel here.
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Berlioz Requiem in St Paul's Cathedral
On Friday 8 March the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a concert to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Hector Berlioz, with a performance of his Grande messe des morts in St Paul's Cathedral, with tenor Michael Spyres, the London Philharmonic Choir and the Philharmonia Orchestra. The performance was conducted by renowned American conductor and Berlioz expert John Nelson, and was streamed live on the internet by Mezzo.
Berlioz's Requiem was written in 1830 for the French soldiers killed in war, and the composer treasured the work, declaring: "If I were threatened with the destruction of the whole of my works save one, I should crave mercy for the Messe des morts."
The concert can now be seen on Medici TV.
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Handel Masterclass with Ann Murray
The 2018 Philharmonia Chorus Masterclass took place from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday 1 December at the Bridewell Hall, St Bride Foundation, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 8EQ. The Masterclass was be devoted to the music of Handel, and members of the Philharmonia Chorus Student Scheme took part.
Ann Murray DBE is one of the world's most accomplished mezzo-sopranos. She has appeared at all the world's leading opera houses, and established close links with English National Opera (for whom she sang the the title roles in Handel's Xerxes and Ariodante), and with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She has appeared all over the world as both a concert and recital singer, and was a founder member of Graham Johnson's The Songmaker's Almanac. In the 2002 Golden Jubilee Queen's Birthday Honours she was appointed an honorary Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Members of the Philharmonia Chorus Student Scheme taking part were soprano Inguna Morozova, mezzo-sopranos Ema Nikolovska, Katey Rylands and Annabella Ellis, and baritones Samuel Lom and Jack Lee.
Concerts & Recordings
Rachmaninov - The Bells
Borodin - Polovtsian Dances
Natalya Romaniw - soprano
Oleg Dolgov - tenor
BBC National Chorus of Wales
Chorus Master - Adrian Partington
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
conducted by Tadaaki Otaka
BBC Prom Concert
BBC Radio 3 live relay
Royal Albert Hall, London
Handel - Messiah
Soloists TBC
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Orchestra TBC
conducted by Christoph Altstaedt
Royal Albert Hall, London
Handel - Messiah
Soloists - TBC
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Orchestra TBC
conducted by Christoph Altstaedt
Royal Albert Hall, London
Mahler - Symphony No.2 'Resurrection'
Joélle Harvey - soprano
Jennifer Johnston - mezzo-soprano
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Philharmonia Orchestra
conducted by Jakub Hrůša
Royal Festival Hall, London
Recent Reviews
Handel - Messiah
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maxim EmelyanychevRoyal Albert Hall, London, 21 December 2018
The most engaging music-making of the evening came from the Philharmonia Chorus, over a hundred-strong, offering an unfailingly solid sound that rose to the acoustic challenges presented by the venue. With precise, clipped diction and lots of articulation the chorus brought bags of energy to the big numbers: "And with his stripes" had contrapuntal intensity, and "He trusted in God" bristled and burned. "Surely he hath borne our griefs" and "Since by man came death" had expressive range and striking emotional colouring.
Benjamin Poore, https://bachtrack.com, 23 December 2018
Amadeus Live!
Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Ludwig WickiRoyal Albert Hall, London, 2 November 2018
The Philharmonia Chorus was on top form with a well-judged mixture of power and pathos. In particular, the heartbreaking Lachrimosa from the 'Requiem' was both haunting and sublimely beautiful.
Alija Al-Hassan, www.broadwayworld.com, 3 November 2018
Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Karl-Heinz Steffens
Royal Festival Hall, London, 25 March 2018
The Philharmonia Chorus had been superbly prepared by Gavin Carr and delivered a clear, lean sound with faultless intonation. There wasn't a hint of strain to the heftier contrapuntal passages and the text was projected with admirable directness.
Peter Reed, www.classicalsource.com, 26 March 2018
First and foremost, my praise goes to the chorus – and chorus master Gavin Carr – for their outstanding singing. It was one of the best choral singing of the Brahms Requiem I've heard. They sang with a perfect balance of compassion, warmth and clarity of text, and the fugal sections were executed with precision and conviction. Stefan Bevier would have been very proud. Five stars.
Nahoko Gotoh, https//bachtrack.com, 29 March 2018
Walton - Belshazzar's Feast
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner
Royal Festival Hall, London, 5 November 2017
The surtitles were not entirely necessary, as virtually every word could be heard from this wonderful body of singers.
Robert Matthew-Walker, www.classicalsource.com, 6 November 2017
The Chorus is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this season: the original 1957 body of singers set new standards in its day, and on this evidence standards are again very high under the leadership of the current Chorus Master Stefan Bevier. The quality of singing in Belshazzar's Feast was in fact wonderfully high, both technically and in terms of tone quality.
Alan Sanders, www.seenandheard-international.com, 6 November 2017
The choir rewarded Gardner with with singing as poetic in By the Waters of Babylon as it was punchy in the terrifying cry of 'Slain'.
Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, 19 November 2017
Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius
Symphoniker Hamburg conducted by Paul McCreesh
Kloster Eberbach, Eltville, 2 September 2017
The Philharmonia Chorus was the star of the evening. The chorus of around a hundred men's and women's voices pulled out all the stops, sounding now celestially transported, now devilishly sinister. The top symphony chorus from London, guests for the first time at the Rheingau Music Festival, gave us goose pimples with their piano and their forte had powerfully resonating energy. Together with the orchestra they created an unparalleled apotheosis of sound. Long, refreshing applause from the enthusiastic audience.
Manfred Mertz, Gießener Allgemeine Zeitung, 3 September 2017
Supremely good were the Symphoniker Hamburg and the powerful Philharmonia Chorus from London.
Bernhard Uske, Frankfurter Rundschau, 9 September 2017
Music from the English Musical Renaissance
Marktkirche, Wiesbaden, 31 August 2017
'...Vaughan Williams' Te Deum set the direction towards total vocal magnificence'.
Axel Zibulski, Wiesbaden Kurier, 2 September 2017