Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) enriches musical life in Great Britain and worldwide with approximately 200 concerts a year and a broad repertoire that ranges from Classical and Romantic masterpieces to film music and collaborations with pop stars. The orchestra was founded in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham, who held the principal position until 1961. He was followed by Rudolf Kempe, Antal Dorati, André Previn, Daniele Gatti, and Charles Dutoit, among others. Vassily Petrenko has helmed the RPO as Music Director since 2021; in the 2025-26 season, he will be joined by Kevin John Edusei as Conductor-in-Residence. For more than 20 years, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has been the resident orchestra at London’s Cadogan Hall; additional concerts are held at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and St Paul’s Cathedral. In the coming season, the RPO will perform three Mahler symphonies, Shostakovich’s Tenth, and Scriabin’s Third, among other works; the Best of Broadway and The Music of Bond projects attract a wide audience. The orchestra regularly tours Europe, the USA, and Asian countries. It has evolved an innovative community and education program called RPO Resound since 1993 and, in 1986, became the first British orchestra to establish its own record label; the RPO’s concerts are today also offered digitally on the internet, talking more than 50 million streams annually. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is under the patronage of King Charles III and also performed at the monarch’s coronation ceremony in 2023.

Lucerne Festival (IMF) debut on 6 September 1980 in a program of works by Haydn, Szymanowski, and Brahms under Antal Dorati.

April 2025