For more than seven decades the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has been at the forefront of music making in the United Kingdom. The orchestra’s regular performances at its London home Cadogan Hall are complemented by a distinguished series at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, a popular series at the Royal Albert Hall, and frequent visits to its seven principal residencies across the UK. With a wider reach than any other UK large ensemble, the RPO has truly become Britain’s national orchestra.

International touring is also vital to the orchestra’s work, taking it to many prestigious destinations worldwide. Across its busy schedule, the RPO works with artists of the highest caliber, including Principal Guest Conductor Pinchas Zukerman, Principal Associate Conductor Alexander Shelley, and Permanent Associate Conductor Grzegorz Nowak. The orchestra looks forward to appointing its next Artistic Director and Principal Conductor shortly. 

In 2018, RPO Resound, the orchestra’s community and education program, marks its twenty-fifth anniversary. Throughout its history it has thrived on taking music into the heart of the regions that the orchestra serves, working with a variety of participants in a range of settings including working with young people, the homeless, and recovering stroke patients.

In 2017 the RPO teamed up with the concert-enhancing app, EnCue by Octava, becoming the first orchestra in Europe to offer its audiences real-time program notes delivered to their mobile or tablet devices for select performances. The Orchestra has become increasingly active on social media platforms, inviting audiences to engage informally on Facebook and Twitter (@rpoonline) and to enjoy behind-the-scenes insights on the RPO website (rpo.co.uk), YouTube (RPOOnline), and Instagram (@RPOOnline).

Although the RPO embraces twenty-first-century opportunities, including appearances with pop stars and in video game, film, and television soundtracks, its artistic priority remains paramount: the making of great music at the highest level for the widest possible audience. As the RPO proudly looks to its future, its versatility and high standards mark it as one of today’s most open-minded, forward-thinking symphony orchestras.

(January 2018)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He is especially known for his diverse interests beyond the classical world—in addition to his many forays into jazz and opera, he has collaborated with film, fashion, and visual art. He is a devoted educator and the first-ever artist in residence at the Colburn School, which awards several scholarships in his name.

This season, Thibaudet performs with the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Seatle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Royal Philharmonic Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra Zurich, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Munich Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, National Symphony of Taiwan, and Macao Orchestra.

Thibaudet has appeared on more than 70 albums and six film scores; his extensive catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, two Echo Awards, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards. Recent recordings include Gershwin Rhapsody with Michael Feinstein; Night After Night, a celebration of James Newton Howard’s scores for the films of M. Night Shyamalan; and Carte Blanche, a collection of deeply personal solo piano pieces.

He was soloist on Aaron Zigman’s score for Wakefield, Dario Marianelli’s scores for the films Atonement (which won an Oscar for Best Original Score) and Pride and Prejudice, as well as Alexandre Desplat’s soundtracks for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. He had a cameo in Bruce Beresford’s film on Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, and his playing is showcased throughout.

Thibaudet was born in Lyon, where he began his piano studies at age five, and entered the Paris Conservatory at 12. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 1994, and last year soloed in a multisensory performance of Scriabin’s Prometheus in collaboration with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Cartier. Among his awards are the Victoire d’Honneur, induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and being named an Officier by the French Ministry of Culture.

Thierry Fischer has served as Music Director of the Utah Symphony since 2009 and Principal Guest Conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic since January 2017. He started out as principal flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera. His conducting career began in his thirties when he directed his first few concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe where he was principal flute under Claudio Abbado. He spent his apprentice years in Holland, and became principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Ulster Orchestra from 2001 to 2006. He was chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic from 2008 to 2011, and now serves that orchestra as Honorary Guest Conductor. Mr. Fischer served as principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 2006 to 2012.

Highlights of his tenure in Utah include a multi-season Haydn symphony cycle; Mahler, Beethoven, and Nielsen cycles; and a tour of Utah’s five national parks. In celebration of its 75th anniversary season in 2016, the orchestra appeared at Carnegie Hall and released an album of newly commissioned works by Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, and Augusta Read Thomas on Reference Recordings. Following a disc of Mahler’s First Symphony, they recently released a recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Mr. Fischer has guest conducted with many leading orchestras, most recently the Boston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Detroit symphonies and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra (New York) in the US, and the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Firenze, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romandein Europe. In 2016 he visited South America for the first time to conduct the São Paulo Philharmonic. In recent seasons he has also conducted the Scottish, Swedish, and Munich chamber orchestras, London Sinfonietta, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This season he conducts the Ensemble Intercontemporain for the first time. These performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra mark his first appearance under San Francisco Symphony auspices.

Mr. Fischer has made many recordings, including works of Honegger, d’Indy, and Florent Schmitt for the Hyperion label and Stravinsky for Signum and Orfeo. His Hyperion recording of Frank Martin’s opera Der Sturm with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Chorus won the International Classical Music Award in 2012 (opera category). In 2014 he released a Beethoven disc with the London Philharmonic on the Aparte label. 

(January 2018)