BBC - Concert Orchestra

"...marvellous to recall the operatic celebration of my 70 years, with a superb group of musicians"
SIR YEHUDI MENUHIN

After the War
1956 saw the appointment of Vilem Tausky as Principal Conductor, an association that was to last ten years and see the orchestra's commitments continue to grow. Marcus Dods took over from 1966 to 1970; Ashley Lawrence from 1970 to 1989; with Barry Wordsworth, the current Principal Conductor appointed in 1989. The Orchestra has also benefited from long and fruitful relationships with the great names of light music, including Robin Boyle, Stanley Black, Sidney Torch, Robert Farnon, Robert Docker, Gordon Langford, Ronald Binge, Malcolm Williamson and Eric Coates, many of whom wrote compositions and arrangements for the Orchestra which are still in use today. In 1972, the orchestra moved into its new permanent home, The Hippodrome in Golders Green, North London, from its previous base at the Camden Theatre; and in 2004, began a move out to west London in preparation for the BBC's new Music Centre which is being built in White City.

The Present
Today the Orchestra still very much has the same brief and aims as it did when it first began, albeit with a much wider scope. As Barry Wordsworth says "The Orchestra is made up of musicians all of whom enjoy crossing the musical boundaries. It is a unit of people with incredibly wide-ranging tastes. It plays as broad a repertoire as possible in as stylish a fashion as possible." As well as continuing to appear every week on Friday Night is Music Night and in seasons of Melodies for You on BBC Radio 2, it performs regularly on various BBC Radio 3 programmes, and has carved itself something of a niche on BBC Television, appearing on many shows including the Proms. They can also be heard providing the soundtracks to various BBC Television programmes, including The Blue Planet, Walking with Dinosaurs, The Key, Wild Down Under and Peter Ackroyd's London.

"I was delighted to accept the invitation to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra and it was a pleasure to work with this responsive and cooperative body of players "
SIR WILLIAM WALTON

Its diversity is also on display in its public concerts, the majority of which take place at the Royal Festival Hall in London, but also around the country in places such as Croydon, Buxton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Brighton, Llandudno, Falkirk, Blackpool, Manchester, Bexhill on Sea and Huddersfield. A new relationship with the Chichester Festival Theatre was begun in 2004. It continues to tour abroad to places such as Cyprus, Belgium, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Greece and Turkey; the USA and Japan.

The Orchestra's repertoire has grown from providing light music, ballet and opera into performing full-scale musicals such as Guys and Dolls, Carousel, On the Town, Pal Joey and On Your Toes; fully staged operas including Madame Butterfly, Aida and Carmen; and concerts based on the music of ABBA, with jazz legend Ornette Coleman and with film composer Michael Nyman. Over the years it has performed with artists ranging from Dudley Moore, Shirley Bassey, Dionne Warwick, Tony Bennett, Jools Holland and The Corrs, to Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Andre Previn, Jose Carreras, Monseratt Caballe, Placido Domingo, Maurice Jarre and Julian Lloyd Webber. The Orchestra is also continuing to commission and premiere new music - Composer in Association Anne Dudley has written four works for the Orchestra during her three year tenure, and devised Club Classical, arrangements of chill out club themes for orchestra. Jonny Greenwood has recently been appointed to take over Anne's role at the beginning of 2005 and will compose at least three new works for the orchestra. The Orchestra has also premiered new works by Dave Heath, Mike Westbrook, Paul Patterson and Errollyn Wallen, amongst others.

Back to History Part One

History of the Concert Orchestra