London Symphony Orchestra
On the 9th of June 1904, Hans Richter stood on a platform at Queen's Hall to conduct the first concert of a new ensemble. A hundred musicians had gathered there after leaving Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra over a dispute about exclusive contracts. Robert Newman, the hall manager, had declared that no more deputies would be allowed in rehearsals or concerts. This decision cut off the secondary income many players relied upon from other engagements. Three horn players named Adolf Borsdorf, Thomas Busby, and Henri van der Meerschen led the rebellion alongside trumpeter John Solomon. They formed a group called the London Symphony Orchestra with a constitution designed to give them independence. The members worked without fee during the season, receiving their pay only as a share of profits at the end of each year. Busby served as chief executive while a management committee elected him and four others ran the organization. The orchestra played Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and music by Bach, Mozart, Elgar, and Liszt for its debut audience. Critics noted that forty-nine members were rebels against the deputy rule while thirty-two had left Wood's orchestra earlier.
During the First World War, thirty-three LSO members went away on active service while seven died between 1939 and 1945. Sir Thomas Beecham provided large donations to keep the orchestra alive when private patronage was all that remained. He took over the role of chief conductor though he never held the title officially. By 1917 the board agreed to promote no more concerts until peace returned. After the Second World War broke out, the BBC evacuated its own orchestra from London and abandoned the Proms. The LSO stepped in to play those concerts under Henry Wood. A third of pre-war players were lost to military service or death. The Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts offered public subsidy but demanded the abandonment of profit-sharing principles. Players rejected this condition and declined the money initially. In 1948 they finally accepted salaries instead of shared profits to survive financially. Josef Krips arrived as conductor in December 1948 to raise standards after years of decline. The orchestra recorded extensively for Decca during the early 1950s while playing fewer than one hundred concerts per season compared to rivals like the Philharmonia.
Pierre Monteux signed a twenty-five-year contract with the LSO at age eighty-six in 1961. He lived only three more years yet transformed the ensemble into an international orchestra according to member Neville Marriner. Fleischmann persuaded Monteux to accept the chief conductorship despite his advanced age. The orchestra also worked frequently with Antal Doráti and Colin Davis during these years. André Previn held the post for eleven years starting in 1968, marking the longest tenure ever. By the Previn era critics described the LSO as the finest of London's orchestras. A reviewer noted that Elgar symphonies deserved the LSO at its peak when other orchestras faltered. Sir Adrian Boult refused to continue recording Elgar when five leading principals absented themselves from sessions. EMI took Boult's side and the orchestra apologized publicly. John Culshaw commissioned "André Previn's Music Night" in 1971 bringing classical music to television audiences. Members wore casual sweaters or shirts instead of formal evening clothes on camera. More British people heard the LSO play in one week than in sixty-five years of concerts combined. The program attracted unprecedented viewing figures for classical music broadcasts.
In 1982 the LSO moved into the Barbican Centre in the City of London. Financial disaster nearly struck during those first years due to over-ambitious programming and poor ticket sales. Six nights a week featured Tippett, Berlioz, Webern, and Stockhausen designed to attract new audiences. Instead the old audience fled while critics urged more modern music. Private Eye magazine ran defamatory articles about the orchestra causing serious damage to morale. Peter Hemmings resigned as managing director in August 1984 allowing Clive Gillinson to take over. A cellist by trade, Gillinson negotiated what Morrison called a dazzling series of mega-projects. Each project centered around the personal enthusiasm of star conductors like Michael Tilson Thomas. Sell-out houses followed when Mahler festivals and Bernstein celebrations filled every seat. The orchestra adopted an education policy including "LSO Discovery" offering involvement from babies through adults. Baroness O'Cathain threatened to dismiss both the LSO and Royal Shakespeare Company in 1994. Public reaction forced her resignation after failing to gain confidence votes from musicians. John Tusa succeeded her steeped in culture rather than economics.
The LSO has recorded film scores for more than two hundred movies since 1935. Muir Mathieson served as musical director at Korda Studios and described the orchestra as perfect for cinema work. His documentary Instruments of the Orchestra captured the vibrancy of post-war British orchestral life. In 1977 John Williams's score for Star Wars became a milestone consolidating film music activity. The orchestra also recorded Superman: The Movie and Raiders of the Lost Ark alongside six Harry Potter films. Since 2000 they have published commercial recordings on their own label LSO Live edited in post-production. Gergiev's version of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet won BBC Music Magazine's Disc of the Year in 2011. Davis's discs of Berlioz Symphonie fantastique received top recommendations from BBC Radio 3 listeners. Fred Gaisberg supervised early acoustic sessions calling the playing unique at that time. Holst's The Planets received its premiere recording conducted by the composer himself while Strauss's Don Juan followed shortly after. Decca produced Sibelius symphony cycles with Anthony Collins and French music under Monteux before EMI took over later decades.
For many years the LSO maintained a reputation as an almost exclusively male ensemble excepting female harpists. Evelyn Rothwell joined as oboist in the 1930s but found herself regarded as an outsider by colleagues. She was not admitted to full membership until Renata Scheffel-Stein became the first woman elected in 1975. By 2004 about twenty percent of members were women according to orchestra records. Some musicians like Colin Davis judged this improved both playing standards and behavior overall. Others including Maurice Murphy felt technical improvement came at the cost of lost machismo quality. The strings had improved so much that playing became fantastic yet gung-ho qualities diminished. The orchestra of the 1960s tormented conductors it disliked even notorious martinets like George Szell. Civilities were maintained by the twenty-first century though such aggression disappeared completely. Now players simply never re-engaged conductors they took against rather than causing public scenes. Barbara Hannigan joined as Associate Artist for three years starting in February 2022 while John Harte takes over managing directorship in August 2026.
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Common questions
When was the London Symphony Orchestra founded and by whom?
The London Symphony Orchestra was founded on the 9th of June 1904 when Hans Richter conducted its first concert at Queen's Hall. A hundred musicians formed the ensemble after leaving Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orchestra due to disputes over exclusive contracts.
Why did members of the London Symphony Orchestra reject profit sharing in 1948?
Members rejected profit sharing because the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts demanded they abandon these principles before offering public subsidy. The orchestra finally accepted salaries instead of shared profits in 1948 to survive financially.
Who served as the longest tenured chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra?
André Previn held the post of chief conductor for eleven years starting in 1968, marking the longest tenure ever. Critics described the LSO as the finest of London's orchestras during his era.
Where does the London Symphony Orchestra perform and since what year?
The London Symphony Orchestra moved into the Barbican Centre in the City of London in 1982. Financial disaster nearly struck during those first years due to over-ambitious programming and poor ticket sales.
When was the first woman elected as a full member of the London Symphony Orchestra?
Renata Scheffel-Stein became the first woman elected as a full member of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1975. Evelyn Rothwell had joined as an oboist in the 1930s but was not admitted to full membership until that time.