19th century The organisation has its origins in a group of music amateurs in the early 19th century. They had met during the 1830s in St Martin's Church under the leadership of William Sudlow, a stockbroker and organist; their main interest was choral music. The Liverpool Philharmonic Society was established on 10 January 1840 with the object of promoting "the Science and Practice of Music"; its orchestra consisted largely of amateur players. The society was the second of its kind to be established, the first being the London-based
Royal Philharmonic Society whose orchestra was disbanded in 1932. Its first concert was given on 12 March 1840 in a room at the back of a dance academy in Great Richmond Street and was conducted by John Russell with William Sudlow as organist. The programme consisted of 13 short orchestral and choral pieces, including works by
Auber,
Rossini,
Spohr,
Henry Bishop, and
George Onslow, and
madrigals by
Thomas Morley and
John Wilbye. The society outgrew this room and gave its performances in the hall of the
Collegiate Institution in Shaw Street. In 1843 the society appointed its first principal conductor, the Swiss-born
J. Zeugheer Herrmann, who continued in this role until his death in 1865. In 1844 the society appointed the Liverpool architect John Cunningham to prepare plans for a concert hall to be situated at the junction of
Hope Street and Myrtle Street. It was to contain an audience of 2,100 and an orchestra of 250. To raise money for its building, shares were issued and members of Liverpool society were invited to buy seats in the boxes to be included in the hall. The
foundation stone was laid in 1846 and construction began the following year. In 1847 the society invited
Felix Mendelssohn to compose a
cantata based on words from
Milton's Comus to celebrate the opening of the hall. Mendelssohn died before this could be carried out. The hall cost £30,000 (£ as of ) and was formally opened on 27 August 1849. The first concert was performed by an orchestra of 96 and a choir of over 200; performers at the concert included three future conductors of the orchestra,
Alfred Mellon,
Julius Benedict and
Charles Hallé. The organist was
W. T. Best. The hall was not full for the first performance; this was attributed to two factors, the high price of admission, and the fear that the building, without central supporting pillars, was unsafe. Problems soon arose. In 1850 the choir formed the Liverpool Philharmonic Auxiliary Society and were in conflict with their conductor. Herrmann offered his resignation, which was not accepted. By 1852 the financial problems of the society were deteriorating. Membership was exclusive and not all the seats on offer had been taken up. Suggestions that the conditions for membership should be relaxed were refused. In 1852 the society widened its activities from music by arranging theatrical performances, including
Charles Dickens's company and an appearance by
William Makepeace Thackeray. In 1855 it was discovered that William Sudlow, the Honorary Secretary had been stealing money from the society; an amount of more than £2,424 (£ as of ) had been embezzled. Sudlow resigned from the society. He was replaced by a paid secretary; the post was given to Henry Sudlow, a distant relative of William. Henry was to serve the society for some 30 years with no similar problem. Prominent performers appearing for the society in 1856 were
Jenny Lind,
Clara Schumann and Charles Hallé. Dickens returned in 1858 and during that year the society was able to pay off the mortgage on the hall. This did not continue during the tenure of the next principal conductor, despite his later fame.
Max Bruch was appointed on 23 February 1880 and served for less than three years. During this time he experienced conflict with the committee of the society and complained about the behaviour of the audience. He resigned in January 1883 at which time the standards of the orchestra and the choir had deteriorated, and members of the committee were disagreeing with each other. The person appointed to sort this out was Charles Hallé who had by this time established the
Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Hallé continued as principal conductor until his death in 1895. During this time the orchestra and choir flourished. Those who appeared with the society during this time included
Paderewski,
Hubert Parry,
Nellie Melba, and
Clara Butt. In 1883 the secretary, Henry Sudlow, died; he was replaced by George Broadbent.
1900–1939 The next principal conductor was
Frederic Cowen who remained in post until 1913. During this time more
Romantic music was played, including works by
Elgar, and this was not always popular with the audiences. Although the society continued to be exclusive, there was criticism about the behaviour of its members during concerts. Performers who appeared during this time were
Fritz Kreisler, and
Rachmaninoff, the latter playing his
Third Piano Concerto and conducting other works at a concert in 1911. After the resignation of Frederic Cowen, the society did not appoint another principal conductor until 1942. and the teenage prodigy
Yehudi Menuhin, 1931 During this period the orchestra was conducted by a series of guest conductors, who included
Wilhelm Furtwängler,
George Szell,
Pierre Monteux,
Serge Koussevitzky, and
Bruno Walter. Soloists included
Pablo Casals,
John McCormack,
Elisabeth Schumann,
Yehudi Menuhin (his first appearance was at the age of 15),
Solomon,
Benno Moiseiwitsch, and
Maggie Teyte. The British conductors to have a major influence on the orchestra during this time were
Sir Henry Wood and
Sir Thomas Beecham. During the early 1930s there was concern about the deteriorating financial situation of the society. There was a problem in filling seats and it was suggested that the rule of wearing evening dress at concerts should be relaxed; this was turned down. Disaster struck the society on 5 July 1933 when the Philharmonic Hall was destroyed by fire. Concerts were mainly held in the
Central Hall until a new hall could be built; larger scale works were performed in
St George's Hall. Considerable discussion took place about the financing and the design of the new hall. It was decided that the society would pay for it without help from the City Corporation.
Herbert J. Rowse was appointed as architect and he designed to hall in art deco style; it cost a little over £120,000 (£ as of ). Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the opening concert on 20 June 1939. Incorporated in the hall is an organ built by
Rushworth and Dreaper, the pipework being hidden behind decorative grilles either side of the orchestra platform. The organ console rises from beneath, and was originally built on a turntable, allowing the organist to face the audience and conductor, or the choir. The console is now fitted with wheels and can be played anywhere on the platform. A Walturdaw rising cinema screen is also housed under the platform, the last such screen in the world still in working order.
Second World War After the outbreak of the Second World War there was pressure to suspend the orchestra's concerts. The chairman of the management committee,
David Webster, strongly resisted it, insisting that music was an essential morale-booster. He set up low-priced concerts for factory workers and members of the armed forces. Guest conductors included Sir Henry Wood and
Charles Münch. Wartime disbanding of other orchestras - most notably that of the all-star
BBC Salon Orchestra on 11 July 1942 after a month's notice - enabled Webster and Sargent to recruit leading players such as
Anthony Pini and
Reginald Kell, with the result that for a few years the Liverpool Philharmonic had a strong claim to be the finest orchestra in the country. During Webster's period as chairman, the orchestra increased its concerts from 32 a year to 148 and, in 1942, became a permanent body for the first time. The Hallé, which operated on a similar
ad hoc basis, followed Liverpool's example the following year and became a permanent ensemble for the first time, under
John Barbirolli. The financial situation of the society improved in 1942 when the local authority, Liverpool City Corporation, bought the freehold of the hall for £35,000; the corporation undertook to pay the society an annuity of £4,000 and to allow it free use of the hall provided that it gave an agreed number of concerts each year, and maintained a permanent orchestra. The society agreed to promote musical education in and around Liverpool. In Sargent's first season, the orchestra made its first recording, its first broadcast, and gave its first school children's concert. Under him there was a "spectacular explosion" in the number of concerts and recording sessions performed. In 1944 the orchestra made its first appearance in London, performing at the
Royal Albert Hall.
The Times commented, "If Liverpool felt any qualms about letting its orchestra, accustomed as it is to the perfect acoustics of its own hall, try its fortunes in the rough and tumble of the Albert Hall, they will have been silenced, for what was immediately apparent was … an ensemble and congruity of tone-colouring that London in its less fortunate conditions can only envy". Sargent and the orchestra gave the British premieres of
Tippett's
First Symphony, and
Bartók's
Concerto for Orchestra and, in October 1946, the concert première of
Britten's ''
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra''. Guest conductors in the immediate postwar years included Beecham,
Sir Adrian Boult, the young
Charles Groves, and
Karl Rankl, who made so good an impression that he was appointed musical director of the
Covent Garden Opera Company.
Late 1940s–1960s In 1948 Sargent resigned as principal conductor. On 2 October 1949
Yehudi Menuhin and the Liverpool Philharmonic (conducted by Sargent) played at
Belle Vue, Manchester. Sargent's successor,
Hugo Rignold, initially had a difficult time, partly because of his background as a
jazz and dance band player. From 1955 the society had joint principal conductors,
John Pritchard and
Efrem Kurtz. The latter resigned in 1957 and Pritchard continued as sole principal conductor until 1963. In August 1956, the orchestra, conducted by Basil Cameron, made its
Prom debut with an all Beethoven programme, consisting of the
Fidelio overture, the violin concerto with
Campoli as soloist, and Symphony No.5. In 1957 the society and orchestra were granted "Royal" status and were authorised to include this word in their title. The following year the
queen became the patron of the orchestra. In 1958 the society instigated a competition for young conductors. The first winner was
Zubin Mehta. Under Pritchard's successor the competition became a seminar for young conductors, in which participants included
Andrew Davis,
Mark Elder,
John Eliot Gardiner,
James Judd and
Barry Wordsworth. Pritchard was a champion of contemporary music and with the help of
David Lloyd-Jones he introduced a series of concerts known as
Musica Viva showcasing new compositions. During Pritchard's time, the society commissioned
Walton to write his
Second Symphony, which received its première at the
Edinburgh Festival in 1960. Pritchard was succeeded by Charles Groves, who served as principal conductor for 14 years until he resigned in 1977. Groves helped to maintain the high standards of the orchestra and also encouraged the work of modern composers. He was the first English conductor to direct a full cycle of
Mahler's symphonies. The orchestra undertook its first overseas tour in 1966, playing in Germany and Switzerland. In 1968 Groves conducted a performance of
Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony, in the presence of the composer, with Messiaen's wife, Yvonne Loriod, playing the
concertante piano part.
1970s–present day After Groves's fourteen-year tenure as principal conductor, each of his three successors remained in post for much shorter periods;
Walter Weller from 1977 to 1980,
David Atherton from 1980 to 1983 and
Marek Janowski from 1983 to 1987. In 1983
Edward Cowie was made Composer in Residence, the first such appointment to a major British orchestra. Musically the society was also entering a period of greater security with the appointment in 1987 of
Libor Pešek as principal conductor. Pešek remained in post for ten years and during this time the standards and popularity of the orchestra improved. In Pešek's first season, the director of the society, Stephen Gray, retired after 23 years in the post. The occasion was marked by a concert at which Groves, Weller, Atherton, Janowski, Pešek and a former associate conductor,
Simon Rattle, all conducted. In 1990 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation. In the 1990–91 season, among the works performed that were new to the society was
Paul McCartney's
Liverpool Oratorio, conducted in
Liverpool Cathedral by
Carl Davis. In 1992, a rear extension was added to the hall. The hall was refurbished in 1995 at a cost of £10.3 million; during this time concerts were performed in Liverpool Cathedral. As part of this refurbishment, the curving interior, which had originally been constructed in
fibrous plaster, was replaced with concrete. In 1997, Libor Pešek stood down as principal conductor and was given the title of conductor laureate.
Petr Altrichter was the next chief conductor, from 1997 to 2001.
Gerard Schwarz succeeded Altrichter, from 2001 to 2006. In 2006,
Vasily Petrenko became chief conductor, at age 29 the youngest conductor to have held the post. As a result of this partnership, concerts of more "popular and accessible" pieces from the classical repertoire are played, and the radio station broadcasts some of these concerts. By the start of 2008, the station had broadcast 25 concerts, and the contract for the partnership has been extended to 2012. In 2008 Liverpool was a
European Capital of Culture and the society played a major role in the events performed as part of this celebration. In 2009, Petrenko's title was changed from principal conductor to chief conductor, and he extended his contract with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra until 2015. In July 2018, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announced that Petrenko would conclude his chief conductorship at the close of the 2020–2021 season, and then become the orchestra's conductor laureate. In June 2019,
Domingo Hindoyan first guest-conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In June 2020, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra announced the appointment of Hindoyan as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021–2022 season. In July 2023, the RLPO announced the extension of Hindoyan's contract as chief conductor through July 2028. ==Associated organisations==