Fulham Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is an amateur orchestra based in west
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It has given premieres of works by Wagner, Puccini and Tchaikovsky, performed with internationally renowned soloists, and featured many times in the national press.
Performances
A number of internationally renowned soloists have played with the orchestra including
Alina Ibragimova
Alina Rinatovna Ibragimova (; born 28 September 1985) is a Russian-British violinist.
Early life and education
Ibragimova was born in Polevskoy, Russian SSR, to a Tatar family. Her family was musical, and she began playing the violin at ...
,
and
Martin Owen.
The FSO has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on a number of projects
and performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC London.
Notable performances have included:
* Rare performances of
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French and American composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; h ...
's ''Dance for Burgess'' and ''Ecuatorial'' at the
Barbican
A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.
Europe
Medieval Europeans typically b ...
in 2017, which were broadcast on BBC Radio 3
* UK premiere of
Charles Koechlin
Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. Among his better known works is '' Les Heures persanes'', a set of piano pieces based on th ...
’s ''Vers la plage lointaine'', 2012
* A rare performance of
Vagn Holmboe’s Tuba Concerto, 2011
* A rare performance of
František Jílek’s orchestral suite from
Janáček’s opera ''
From the House of the Dead'', 2010
* UK premiere of Smetena's ''
The Brandenburgers in Bohemia
''The Brandenburgers in Bohemia'' () is a three-act opera, the first by Bedřich Smetana. The Czech libretto was written by Karel Sabina, and is based on events from Czech history. The work was composed in the years 1862–1863. Smetana and ...
'', 1978 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)
* UK premiere of Tchaikovsky's ''
Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem'', 1977'' ''
* London premiere of Wagner's ''
Die Feen'', 1973 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)
* First fully staged UK performance of Delius' ''
Fennimore and Gerda'', 1968 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)
* UK premiere of Puccini's opera
''Edgar'' (1905 version), 1967 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)
* UK premiere of Giordano's
''Siberia'' (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)
* The first concert at the open-air theatre in
Bishop's Park, Fulham, 1960
* The first performance in England of
Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 16, 1959
Their 2011 performance of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony at London's
St John's Smith Square, was described by Bachtrack as "a terrific performance by splendid band". The Guardian's classical music critic wrote of being "surprised and impressed" by a performance in 2009.
History
The orchestra performed its first concert on 8 November 1958 at Fulham Town Hall. The conductor was Siegfried de Chabot.
For nearly 30 years the musical director of the orchestra was
Joseph Vandernoot. Later musical directors included
Andrea Quinn,
Peter Stark, Roland Roberts and Levon Parikian. Since 2001 the FSO's conductor has been Marc Dooley.
Originally named Fulham Municipal Orchestra, the orchestra was sponsored by
Fulham Borough Council (later the
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...
) until the 1980s.
References
External links
Fulham Symphony Orchestra
{{authority control
British symphony orchestras
Fulham
London orchestras
Musical groups established in 1958
1958 establishments in England