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Marin Alsop conducts Bernstein's Chichester Psalms
On Thursday 24 April, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms at the Royal Festival Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop. The solos were performed by treble Hugo Walkom, and four members of the Chorus - soprano Jocelyn Coates, mezzo-soprano Rhian Davies, tenor James Hutchings and baritone Christian Andreas.
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Christmas Classics at the Royal Festival Hall
On Sunday 14 December, the Philharmonia Chorus will be celebrating Christmas at the Royal Festival Hall in a magical concert of festive cheer and with your favourite seasonal songs at this heart-warming celebration. The Chorus will join presenter YolanDa Brown, London Youth Choirs and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance will be conducted by Michael England. Tickets can be obtained here.
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Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with Vasily Petrenko
On Tuesday 21 October, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms at the Royal Albert Hall. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Vasily Petrenko. The solos were performed by treble Edward Scholes, and four members of the Chorus - soprano Elen Lloyd Roberts, mezzo-soprano Rhian Davies, tenor James Hutchings and baritone Christian Andreas.
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World Première of Max Richter's Cosmology
On Thursday 15 May, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in the world première of Max Richter's Cosmology for chorus, organ and orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. The Chorus joined organist Anna Lapwood, the Pembroke College Girls' Choir, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. The Chorus also took part in performances of Hans Zimmer's Chevaliers de Sangreal from The Da Vinci Code and the Interstellar Suite.
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Philharmonia Chorus performs Joe Hisaishi at the BBC Proms
On Thursday 14 August, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Joe Hisaishi's The End of the World in the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2025 BBC Prom season. The Chorus joined counter-tenor John Holiday, the BBC Singers and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance was conducted by Joe Hisaishi himself, and like all the BBC Proms, was relayed live on BBC Radio 3.The whole concert can be heard on BBC Sounds until 12 October.
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Schoenberg and Shostakovich in Lille and Paris
On Sunday 16 March the basses of the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw and Shostakovich's Symphony No.13 'Babi Yar' in the Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle in Lille. The Chorus joined the Orchestre National de Lille, narrator Lambert Wilson, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy. The performance was conducted by Joshua Weilerstein, and can be viewed on You Tube.
The concert was repeated on Monday 17 March in the Philharmonie de Paris, and was relayed live by Radio France. It was the Chorus's debut in the Philharmonie de Paris.
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Ein deutsches Requiem in the Chapel of King's College Cambridge
On Good Friday 18 April, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem in the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge. The Chorus joined soprano Sophie Bevan, baritone Gareth Brynmor John, and the BBC Concert Orchestra. The performance was conducted by Daniel Hyde, and was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
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Riccardo Muti conducts Verdi's Messa da Requiem
On Thursday 27 March, the Philharmonia Chorus took part in a performance of Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The Chorus joined soprano Marie Lys, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, tenor Piotr Beczała and bass William Thomas, and the performance was conducted by Riccardo Muti.
Riccardo Muti is acknowledged as one of the world's leading interpreters of Verdi, and one of the great conductors of our time. As the Philharmonia prepared to celebrate its 80th anniversary, his much-anticipated return of their former musical director is one of the highlights of London's musical calendar. A short video from the performance can be seen here.
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Messiah at Christmas
On Friday 12 December, the Philharmonia Chorus will take part in a performance of Handel's Messiah with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. The Chorus will join soprano Rowan Pierce, mezzo-soprano Jess Dandy, tenor Robert Murray, and bass-baritone Dingle Yandell. The performance will be conducted by Eamonn Dougan.
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Gladiator Live
The original 2000 sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator returned to the Royal Albert Hall for a special 25th anniversary screening with live orchestra. The Philharmonia Chorus took part in four showings on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April of the legendary and five-time Academy Award-winning film on the big screen, with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Timothy Henty, performing Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's Golden Globe-winning score live on stage.
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The Rest is History: Mozart and Beethoven with live orchestra
On Friday 18 October, the world's most popular history podcast, The Rest Is History, came to the Royal Albert Hall on stage with a full orchestra and chorus. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook took a deep dive into the lives and times of two of history's greatest composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
From the spectre of the French Revolution looming over Mozart's final years, to the Napoleonic wars, which served as great inspiration to Beethoven, Tom and Dominic brought to life the stories of these two musical geniuses. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the Philharmonia Chorus were conducted by Oliver Zeffman.
The concert can now be heard as two podcasts - Podcast No.526, Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy and Podcast No.527, Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War, is available here.
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Recording of Rachmaninov's The Bells now issued by Harmonia Mundi
The recording of the performance of Rachmaninov's The Bells on 11 April 2024 in the Royal Festival Hall in which the Philharmonia Chorus took part has now been issued on the Harmonia Mundi label. The Chorus joined soprano Mirjam Mesak, tenor Pavel Petrov, bass Andrii Kymach, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The performance was conducted by Vasily Petrenko, who can be heard talking about the recording here.
The recording can be obtained here.
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La Bohème in Lille
Concerts
Handel - Messiah
Rowan Pierce - soprano
Jess Dandy - contralto
Robert Murray - tenor
Dingle Yandell - bass-baritone
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
conducted by Eamonn Dougan
Royal Festival Hall, London
Christmas Classics
YolanDa Brown - presenter
London Youth Choirs
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Harry Bradford
London Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Michael England
Royal Festival Hall, London
Hildegard of Bingen - O vis aeternitatis
Mahler - Symphony No.2 'Resurrection'
Jane Archibald - soprano
Christina Bock - mezzo-soprano
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Philharmonia Orchestra
conducted by Kent Nagano
Royal Festival Hall, London
Taneyev - John of Damascus
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Vasily Petrenko
Royal Festival Hall, London
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
conducted by Justin Freer
Royal Albert Hall, London
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
conducted by Justin Freer
Royal Albert Hall, London
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
conducted by Justin Freer
Royal Albert Hall, London
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
conducted by Justin Freer
Royal Albert Hall, London
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Concert
Philharmonia Chorus
Chorus Master - Gavin Carr
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
conducted by Justin Freer
Royal Albert Hall, London
Recent Reviews
Rachmaninov - The Bells - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko - Harmonia Mundi recording
Recording engineers Tom Lewington and Mike Hatch ensure the choir has tremendous presence, and kudos too to Gavin Carr's work as Chorus Master diction, balance, color, and tuning are exemplary. In the opening movement, we are immediately drawn in by light sparkle (mimicking sleigh bells) of the playing, and the dramatic weight of the choir's first entrance (1'48"). The reading build to a climax of refulgent colours (4'55"). Mirjam Mesak's solo in the second movement is lovely, and both she and Petrenko (who adopts a quick tempo only Rattle in Berlin/Warner Classics is faster) keep the music from becoming maudlin. Yet the performance never feels rushed, so that Rachmaninoff's luscious harmonies really depict the languid glow of love and marriage.
When I saw a timing of 8'30" for "The Loud Alarm Bells," I expected to be disappointed. Other excellent performances of this movement (Kondrashin and Rattle) are significantly faster. But Petrenko builds tension masterfully, making the percussion-laden climax (7'30") terrifying. The full-throated singing of the Philharmonia Chorus is thrillingly incisive. The final movement is again on the faster side, less dirge than anguished lament, a feeling heightened by Andril Kymach's impassioned solo. Once again, choir and orchestra build great waves of sound that make the text's grief and sorrow palpable, the gorgeous string playing in the Coda is the first signal of sadness turning to resignation and acceptance.
David A McConnell - The Classic Review, 24 November 2025
Petrenko is in his element here - and so too is the Philharmonia Chorus, particularly electrifying when unleashed at full tilt in the 'Alarm Bells' movement.
Rebecca Franks, BBC Music Magazine, December 2025
Bernstein - Chichester Psalms - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko
Last night's concert from the Royal Philharmonic certainly drew a healthy crowd, and it had one sure-fire blockbuster in the shape of Mahler's first Symphony. But the main piece alongside it Bernstein's Chichester Psalms so often intimate and delicate in sound, unexpectedly stole the show. The combination of Broadway sassiness, neo-classical austerity and delicate inwardness can feel strained. Yet, under the sensitive direction of conductor Vasily Petrenko, it seemed a proper masterpiece.
What made it so was partly the singing of the Philharmonia Chorus. "Awake, psaltery and harp, I will rouse the dawn," says the opening lines of Psalm 108, and the chorus's fierce almost-harsh sound was exactly right for that sentiment. The orchestra was also on wonderful form. In their hands, Psalm 100 danced along like a number from a forgotten musical, the percussion and pizzicato strings touching in their irregular rhythms without over-emphasis. To call it restrained wouldn't be right because that sounds dull, and this was anything but. It was more a sense that Bernstein's dancing rhythms should always be infused with reverence, a feeling Petrenko and the performers caught beautifully.
Then came that moment in Psalm 23, when a boy treble lends a pearly innocence to the lines "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." On this occasion, treble Edward Scholes gave those lines something more, a trembling expressivity which was deeply touching. After a brief moment of anger against ungodly rulers, the piece calmed to a reflective tone, the final chorus hushed but glowing with inner heat. It was altogether wonderful.
Ivan Hewett - The Telegraph, 22 October 2025
Joe Hisaishi - The End of the World - Royal Philharmonic Ochestra conducted by Joe Hisaishi
There were hints of Stravinsky, strictly atonal lyricism and big band jazz alongside symphonic landscaping that marshalled the RPO, BBC Singers and Philharmonia Chorus into sweeping waves of sound, all colourful post-minimalism topped by frothing strings.
Flora Willson, The Guardian, 15 August 2025
Max Richter - Cosmology - Philharmonia Ochestra conducted by André de Ridder
....and the women of the Philharmonia Chorus cutting through the instrumental mush to float an ethereal descant based on Bach's chorale Wachet auf.
Richard Morrison, The Times, 16 May 2025
Zimmer/Gerrard - Gladiator Live
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Timothy Henty
The Philharmonia Chorus add depth and atmosphere that re-enforces the innate the mood of the film's ancient Roman setting, providing a sense of grandeur and majesty.
Aliya Al-Hassan, Broadway World, 26 April 2025
....as you witness the Philharmonia Chorus standing up and down at points to sing the glorious and riveting score, see the percussion section move back and forth in between the dozens (yes, dozens!) of different instruments, ranging from the tambor-tom-beck, tombo (a much richer bass drum), and classic drum-kit, as well as witness the first cellist play the all-too well-known and one of my all time favourite cello themes, you do realize that this is much more than simply a movie with some live music - it is a production of epic proportions. It never ceases to amaze me how in sync the musicians and vocalists are with the film, never missing a beat during the whole two and a half hour screen-time. At some points, you forget that you are even listening to a live concert - your brain reverts back to thinking the music is simply a recording.
esandin15, ayoungishperspective.co.uk, 28 April 2025
Bernstein - Chichester Psalms
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop
Royal Festival Hall, London
The Philharmonia Chorus blended beautifully in Bernstein's plush polyphony
Mark Pullinger,
Bachtrack, 25 April 2025
The Philharmonia Chorus sounded like professionals as they launched into their "Urah, hanevel"s
David Nice,
The Arts Desk, 26 April 2025
It took off with panache and the Philharmonia Chorus found electrifying precision in the cross rhythms. Moreover the Philharmonia Chorus solists did a grand job as did the cello quartet. It was, overall, a powerful performance of a splendid work.
Susan Elkin, susanelkin.co.uk, 26 April 2025