Philharmonia launches label

Florence Lockheart
Monday, February 13, 2023

Philharmonia Records will see its first release in March with a double album of Strauss

'You can hear the power they feel being together.’ Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the label's first release with works recorded during his first concert as principal conductor ©Mark Allan
'You can hear the power they feel being together.’ Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the label's first release with works recorded during his first concert as principal conductor ©Mark Allan

The Philharmonia Orchestra has today announced the launch of its own record label. The first new album released under Philharmonia Records will be a double album of works by Richard Strauss, which will come out on 24 March.

The first album of the new label, Santtu conducts Strauss, is produced by the Philharmonia in association with British independent label Signum Records, who will distribute the release both in the UK and internationally.

Philharmonia Chief Executive Thorben Dittes said ‘We are thrilled to launch our own label. The album captures beautifully captures the electric atmosphere of Santtu’s first concert in his role as our Principal Conductor and we are proud to have produced this album in house, thanks to our excellent, skilled team. It is especially apt to start this new phase of our long recording history with this special selection of music by Richard Strauss, some of whose late works we premiered, and we look forward to sharing this music with listeners all over the world.’

The new label is a continuation, both of the Philharmonia’s long-standing partnership with Signum Records, and of its long recording history. The Philharmonia was founded in 1945 as a recording orchestra and regularly records film and video game scores. It has recorded around 150 soundtracks, with film credits stretching back to 1947 and has won four Royal Philharmonic Society awards for its digital projects and audience engagement work.

The first recording is led by Philharmonia principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali and includes two works recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall during the opening concert of the 2021-22 season, his first concert as principal conductor.

Rouvali said ‘I have such strong memories of this concert, not least because it was the beginning of my tenure, but because of the music-making moments we had lost with the orchestra over the months before… Conducting Strauss is always for me a very deep experience and the Philharmonia players gave their all that night as well as in the studio – you can hear the power they feel being together.’