Philharmonia Orchestra

Founded in 1945, the Philharmonia Orchestra has always been dedicated to bringing orchestral music of the very highest quality to the widest possible audience.

Originally created as a recording orchestra for the growing home audio market by EMI producer Walter Legge, the 80-strong Philharmonia has become established as one of the country’s leading live orchestras.

Since their inception they have worked with a who’s who of 20th and 21st century music, including Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini and Riccardo Muti. They have premiered works by Richard Strauss, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Errollyn Wallen, Kaija Saariaho and many others. And, true to their roots, they have always pioneered the use of technology to take orchestral music to a broader audience.

The current Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia is Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who took over the baton from Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2021. Rouvali is only the sixth person to hold this position in the orchestra’s history, with Klemperer, Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Christoph von Dohnányi  preceding Salonen.

One of our six Resident Orchestras, the Philharmonia has called our Royal Festival Hall home since 1995.