Passion project to powerhouse: 25 years of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra

‘I feel very privileged to play with such an amazing organisation as the Oxford Philharmonic, with all their wonderful musicians. It is a “Rolls Royce” luxury ensemble.’ These are the words of Tristan Fry, a brilliant musician with a reputation as a soloist and an orchestra musician. Fry’s 60 years of experience includes performances with the greatest London orchestras under legendary conductors from Pierre Monteux, Leopold Stokowski, and Bernard Haitink to Yevgeni Svetlanov, Sir Colin Davis and Sir Neville Marriner, to name just a few. Now the principal timpanist of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, he is in-demand in the UK and beyond and has been personally handpicked for his position in the Oxford Philharmonic by the Orchestra’s founder and music director Marios Papadopoulos (pictured below).

©Nick Rutter

Papadopoulos has chosen every one of the orchestra’s players since founding the ensemble in 1998 and has personally invited an eyebrow-raising array of virtuoso international solo instrumentalists and singers to appear with the Orchestra not only during its full-time seasons of concerts in the UK but also for tours to major musical centres in Europe, the US and elsewhere. As well as conducting the lion’s share of the concerts and occasionally appearing as a piano soloist directing concertos from the keyboard, Papadopoulos is a hands-on director, administering the entire operation himself. The story of the Orchestra’s 25-year trajectory from a boldly daring empirical vision to an exceptionally successful artistic enterprise, thriving at a time when classical music is under so much fiscal pressure, is a truly unique narrative.

‘Back in 1973 I had won the Musician of the Year prize’, Papadopoulos tells us. ‘In those days the competition was run by the Greater London Arts Association, and Oxford was one of the places where I was offered engagements to perform. As I became increasingly involved with the musical life there, I envisaged an opportunity for the creation of a top-quality ensemble that would be based in Oxford and initially would serve not only the famous cultural community but also the general public of the city. I must confess that there was a selfish element in the initiative because I never enjoyed hopping from one orchestra to another, or travelling much, if I am honest. I wanted my own platform on which to express my musical ideas and thoughts – and what finer a platform than Oxford!’

The orchestra’s Oxford base is hugely important to the quality of its sound. ‘To this day Oxford remains a very important central space not just for me but for all the musicians in the Orchestra,’ says Papadopoulos, ‘most especially because it has a very discerning audience, and that is very important for a performer. So, in 1998 we gave it a go – it was not at all easy financially at first, but after a couple of years during which time we also worked with music students at Oxford, the University appointed us as their first orchestra in residence, and that was a watershed moment: people began to take us seriously.’

©Nick Rutter

The conservative thinking in the UK had been ‘why do we need a new orchestra?’ But Papadopoulos produced a result that surprised the sceptics. This wasn’t just another orchestra: it was a handpicked body of outstanding musicians combining soloistic individuality and ensemble discipline, blended by their artistic director and principal conductor to fulfil the concept he had in mind.

‘What I wanted to achieve in terms of sound and style was this beautiful bed of English roses to which I added a little bit of spice by bringing in a few players from Eastern Europe. So, I think my colleagues will agree that the Orchestra has a very special sound because of that. At the same time, I wanted to pick principal players who were soloists in their own right, who could step out of the choir, make a statement, and then step back into the ensemble.’

Those players feel specially rewarded in this situation. Alongside Fry they include two highly distinguished woodwind principals with revered reputations – solo oboe Gordon Hunt and solo flute Anthony Robb. Hunt, for several decades the Philharmonia Orchestra’s first oboe, was invited to join the Oxford Philharmonic just two years ago. ‘It is a tremendous pleasure and privilege to play among such distinguished and wonderful musicians’, he tells me. ‘There’s a vibrant atmosphere in the orchestra, and over the 25 years of its existence, Marios has worked tirelessly to make it into what it is. I am full of admiration for that, it’s extraordinary really’.

Robb, a guest principal with many UK orchestras, was a founder member in 1998 and has experienced first-hand the entire 25 year journey. ‘In the early days there were about half a dozen concerts each year’, he recalls. ‘Now we have an average of 40 programmes annually, and we play to packed houses at home and abroad. Although we are of course a British orchestra, Marios has given us a highly international flavour: in our woodwind section, alongside players like Gordon Hunt, for decades one of the most exciting virtuoso oboists this country as ever produced, we have players from Germany, Hungary and Portugal.It is one of the most inspiring woodwind sections that I play with.’

Because woodwind musicians in an orchestra are – by the nature of the music they play – quite often more individually exposed than musicians of the massed string sections, one might imagine that they have some independence from the latter, but Anthony Robb explains how vital it is for him that the Oxford Philharmonic’s strings are especially excellent. ‘It is very exciting to work with a string section that as well as being technically amazing is so strong and characterful. The quality of all the strings – violins, violas, cellos, and basses – is phenomenal.’

The overall quality and character of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has appealed so strongly to the many virtuoso solo instrumentalists and singers that Papadopoulos has invited to appear in its concerts that they have been unfailingly delighted to return after their first experiences. And so the Orchestra and its audiences have been treated to the reappearing artistry of René​e Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Evgeny Kissin, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Sir Bryn Terfel, and Maxim Vengerov (pictured below), with the latter forming a specially close ongoing relationship with the players and Papadopoulos - and these soloists have very demanding expectations of players and conductors alike.

(Image courtesy of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra)

‘Yes of course Oxford is a lure for them,’ Papadopoulos comments, ‘but the fact that they want to come back to us and tour with us is a wonderful affirmation of their delight in the Orchestra’s qualities. We’ve just come back from a European tour with Martha Argerich, and she’s longing to do more: she has already given us two periods for next year.’

The tours have taken the Oxford Philharmonic to famous international venues and, as Fry tells us: ‘The concerts are always major events, wherever they are: be that in Oxford and its environs, London, the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, or the Isarphilharmonie in Munich. I will never forget our 20^th anniversary concert at the Barbican Centre when Martha Argerich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Maxim Vengerov all played. Quite a line up!’

‘Of course, these kinds of supremely great artists ignite an additional electric quality in the Orchestra’s playing’ adds Anthony Robb. He is also strongly involved in a project that is especially close to both his and Papadopoulos’s hearts: an elaborate education and outreach network organised and undertaken by the Oxford Philharmonic, which includes playing in schools across the county, as well as visiting local hospitals and retirement homes.

We are very active,’ explains Papadopoulos, ‘not only as part of our residency at Oxford University, but also at secondary and primary school levels. Additionally, we run our Piano Festival for outstandingly gifted students: this year we had 104 applications for 12 places. Outreach and education are very important commitments for us.’

The entire Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra operation is also a remarkably successful fiscal venture. While at this perilous time for the arts in the UK so many orchestras, opera and ballet companies are reeling from savage financial cuts, the Oxford Philharmonic has independently achieved major backing and support (arranged by Papadopoulos) and plays to sold-out houses.

‘When I hear the quality of the performances and I see the magnificent solo instrumentalists, singers and guest conductors who are coming to us’, Papadopoulos concludes, ‘I feel all the effort has been worth it – and I am most grateful to all these wonderful players who have joined us and have worked very hard with me to bring the Orchestra to a standard that is worthy of all the great artists with whom we perform.’