London Symphony Orchestra

Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The London Symphony Orchestra was named by Gramophone as one of the top five orchestras in the world. 

A world-leader in recording music for film, television, and events, it was the official orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, memorably performing Chariots of Fire on stage in the opening ceremony, conducted by Simon Rattle and with Rowan Atkinson. The LSO has also recorded music for films including Philomena, The Monuments Men, four of the Harry Potter movies including The Deathly Hallows Parts I and II, The Queen, The Ides of March, Star Wars Episodes I–VI, Superman, Nanny McPhee, and hundreds more.

The LSO is set apart from other international orchestras by the depth of its commitment to music education, reaching over 65,000 people each year. Their Discovery program enables the orchestra to offer people of all ages opportunities to get involved in music-making and to enter the extraordinary sound world of the orchestra.

Recent projects include LSO On Track, a long-standing venture involving young musicians from across East London, which has given a platform to talented teenagers to appear in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, at outdoor concerts in Trafalgar Square, on Abbey Road recordings side-by-side with LSO musicians, and LSO Sing, a program of singing activities designed to draw in singers of all ages and abilities.

With long-standing relationships with some of the leading musicians in the world — Bernard Haitink, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mitsuko Uchida and Maria João Pires, amongst others — the orchestra is self-governing and made up of nearly a hundred talented players who also perform regularly as soloists and in chamber groups at LSO St Luke’s.

News

March 30, 2023

Artist Roundtable: The Composers of LONDON CELLO CONNECTION

Albums

Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 1

Release Date: May 10, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6627
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
Orchestra
Violin
The violin concerto is a challenging setup to write for: it beckons with promises of both might and fragility. Composer Christopher Alan Schmitz is well-versed in both the theoretical and practical aspects of composition: his resulting VIOLIN CONCERTO AND SYMPHONY NO. 1 gets the balance just right. The tonal language is reminiscent of Bruckner and Mahler, as raw emotion mixes with splendor. The ultimate success of this precarious, heady concoction rests on the shoulders of conductor Stefan Sanderling and particularly, violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, member of the acclaimed Ehnes Quartet. Stirringly written and performed to perfection, a success it is.

Transmutation

Release Date: October 27, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6559
21st Century
Chamber
Vocal Music
Orchestra
Piano Trio
Voice
Transmutation: “to change or alter in form, appearance, or nature, especially to a higher form.” Joanna Estelle embodies this definition in her deeply personal and profound compositions on TRANSMUTATION, a communal effort featuring various talented performers coming together to transmute their message to you. With music as vulnerable and exposed as the stories it tells, TRANSMUTATION is a reflection on the patterns of life through periods of both rain and shine, and the constants that keep us grounded through the changes that they bring. Estelle’s message is clear: to allow for change is to allow for healing.

Symphonic Chronicles Vol I

Release Date: April 28, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6519
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Piano
Violin
SYMPHONIC CHRONICLES VOL I from Navona Records features the works of celebrated living composers from a wide variety of backgrounds and influences. Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the music touches on topics ranging from jazz to the COVID pandemic, racial injustice, and more. Steve Law’s melodic and rhythmic Piano Concerto draws inspiration from Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev while assimilating the influences of jazz, pop, and minimalism. In Barbara Jazwinski’s Fantasy on Jazz, the composer meditates on the complex and ever-evolving music of New Orleans. Simon Andrews’ Interlude No. 3 from “The Scars On His Back” recounts the story of legendary Native American freedom fighter Po’pay, and the revolt against the Spanish colonists he helped inspire. These examples are just a taste of the evocative works found on SYMPHONIC CHRONICLES VOL I.

London Cello Connection

Release Date: March 10, 2023
Catalog Number: NV6514
21st Century
Orchestral
Cello
Orchestra
Eight exceptional composers, eight premiere recordings with a legendary orchestra, and one spectacular soloist: LONDON CELLO CONNECTION is a captivating compendium of contemporary compositions by celebrated cellist Ovidiu Marinescu and the London Symphony Orchestra with conductor Miran Vaupotić. Marinescu’s emotive, lush sound and superb technical command provides the continuous thread throughout the program, from the elegant “Sarabande” by Marvin Lamb to Arthur Gottschalk’s regal “Brunetti Meditations” to the shimmering, pulsing “Soul Dance” of Diane Jones, connecting and contrasting each of these works and others by John Robertson, Katherine Price, Joanna Estelle, L Peter Deutsch, and Keith Kramer. Recorded in June 2022 at the LSO’s St. Luke’s Church, the historic site on London’s Old Street which dates to 1733 and was restored to become home to the orchestra’s recording, community, and music education programs.

Pleter

Release Date: December 2, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6480
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestra
Piano
Dynamic pianistic playfulness and impressive orchestral sonority shine in PLETER from Croatian pianist and composer Matej Meštrović. The composer’s personal signature can be heard throughout the piece, equal parts majestic and jubilant with subtly suspenseful moments that cascade into grandiose beauty. An eclectic and versatile composer, Meštrović joins the acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra on this recording, unearthing immeasurable melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic opulence as both the composer and the featured pianist.

Sparks: Eye of London

Release Date: October 28, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6454
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Navona Records presents SPARKS: THE EYE OF LONDON, an assembly of original fanfares performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Drawing from the compositional strengths of today’s composers, the orchestra navigates chaos and order, isolation, and ascension towards triumph through passionate orchestral writing reminiscent of the fire that burns within us. A collection spanning thought-provoking narratives, scenic synesthesia, soothing passages, and the whimsically abstract, the London Symphony Orchestra explores a vast musical landscape of emotions, tackling each with precision and verve.

Source Ground

Release Date: September 23, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6452
21st Century
Orchestral
Solo Instrumental
Orchestra
Organ
Piano
On SOURCE GROUND, Hans Bakker’s second full-length release on Navona Records, the composer once again probes music’s ability to, as Leonard Bernstein said, “name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.” Rhythmically rigorous pieces for solo piano, organ works that fill every nook and cranny of the aural spectrum, powerful orchestral works, and pieces for the rare and haunting lame-sonore draw listeners towards a sense of infinite oneness connected by music.

Symphony No. 3

Release Date: October 11, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6250
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra

Quite surprisingly, Symphony No. 3 had humble beginnings. Back in the late 2000s, composer John A. Carollo connected on MySpace (!) with English soprano Sharon Selman, who was deeply involved in the preservation of trees and forests. She suggested that Carollo use the poetry of William Blake as a starting point to create a piece about nature. Carollo didn't think twice; and a song cycle named Awake Humanity to Nature’s Beauty! was composed, then reworked, resulting in two different instrumentations.

Centuria S-Quark

Release Date: January 25, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6200
21st Century
Orchestral
Orchestra
Composer Stas Namin has been recognized throughout his lifetime for using art to critique society and stand up against injustice, and his latest work with the London Symphony Orchestra is certainly no exception. CENTURIA S-QUARK, Namin’s symphony, is the composer’s prediction of a strange, material world to come in which humanity functions less as a community and instead favors individual interests. Using the sonata form as a base, Namin builds from multiple themes to create the symphony — after all, life itself is so complex that the human experience does not build from just a couple themes.

Tchaikovsky

Release Date: February 10, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6079
Romantic
Orchestral
Orchestra
Violin
While speaking on Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Op.21, Pyotr Tchaikovsky posited that his colleague “does not strive after profundity, but carefully avoids routine, seeks out new forms, and thinks about musical beauty more than observing established traditions.” Acclaimed violinist Moonkyung Lee endeavors to emulate this approach on her Navona debut TCHAIKOVSKY – WORKS FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA, in which she presents several performances of beloved Tchaikovsky alongside the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Miran Vaupotić.

Darkness To Light

Release Date: October 14, 2014
Catalog Number: NV5974
21st Century
Chamber
Orchestral
Orchestra
String Quartet
Occasionally, moments of happiness and comfort can rise from experiences of anxiety and doubt, during which we learn about ourselves and our limits. Composer and pianist Jeffrey Jacob depicts the experiences of struggle and pain, and of triumph and joy on his debut Navona Records release DARKNESS TO LIGHT.

Pacific Ridge

Release Date: January 1, 2013
Catalog Number: NV5898
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
Orchestra
Percussion
Piano
Santa Barbara-based composer Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927) is a fixture in the Californian classical music community, having received commissions and performances from orchestras and ensembles throughout the state and worked throughout her career to advance the musical community.