To mark the Orchestra’s platinum season, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) will host its 70th Anniversary Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 19 September, featuring three all-time prestigious artists: Martha Argerich, Charles Dutoit (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor) and Pinchas Zukerman (Principal Guest Conductor). The thrilling concert will include Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor with Martha Argerich and Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 with Pinchas Zukerman (Violin/Director), and will conclude with Stravinsky’s epic ballet score, The Firebird Suite (1919), conducted by Charles Dutoit.
Proud to be celebrating 70 years at the forefront of music-making, the RPO embraces and thrives under a modern and versatile approach, which over the past decade has seen the Orchestra extend its reach to fourteen UK residencies; performing more concerts to a wider breadth of audiences than any other orchestra in the country, with its extensive international touring schedule and the expansion of RPO Resound, the Orchestra’s award-winning community and education programme, which each year brings music-making into the lives of thousands of people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to experience orchestral music.
James Williams, Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, says,
“For the past 70 years, the RPO has led the vanguard for reimagining the role and remit of a symphony orchestra. These values of creativity and innovation delivered to the highest artistic standards will continue to sit at the heart of the RPO’s future work both in the UK and internationally, ensuring that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra shall continue to inspire, challenge and delight a diverse range of audiences and artists for many years to come.”
The Anniversary Concert will also celebrate a long and successful partnership between the RPO and the Royal Albert Hall, and the RPO were delighted to receive this year’s annual free charity let from the Hall to recognise this long relationship.
Lucy Noble, Director of Events for the Royal Albert Hall, says,
“We are delighted to support the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in their 70th Anniversary Year by providing the Royal Albert Hall free of charge to host this celebration. The Hall and the RPO have a long and successful partnership starting with their first concert here on 26 October 1946, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, and continuing today with joint education and outreach projects as part of both of our very successful programmes of work with children and the wider community.”
Notes to Editor
Concert information
70th Anniversary Gala Concert
Monday 19 September 2016, 7.30pm, Royal Albert Hall
ROSSINI William Tell Overture
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A minor
BRUCH Violin Concerto No.1
STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919)
Charles Dutoit Conductor
Pinchas Zukerman Director/Violin
Martha Argerich Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)
Artistic excellence has sat at the heart of the RPO’s ethos since its founding days under Sir Thomas Beecham, and the Orchestra continues today to be recognised for the quality of its performances under the inspiration artistic leadership from Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit. This year alone, the RPO with Charles Dutoit and Guest Principal Conductor Pinchas Zukerman have toured as far afield as the United States, China and Europe (including a Residency at Septembre Musical, Montreux), and remains in high demand both across the UK and internationally.
Celebrated as one of the most established outreach programmes in the UK, RPO Resound, the Orchestra’s award-winning community and education programme, brings participatory projects to the heart of the communities it serves across the UK, performing in a variety of settings, from homeless shelters to children’s hospices. Recently RPO Resound (in conjunction with Orchestras Live) was awarded a grant from Arts Council England to deliver Sound Around, a unique programme involving both mainstream and SEND children as young producers, empowering them to promote, perform and produce a series concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in six UK towns and cities.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has demonstrated time and again across its 70-year history that the RPO is an orchestra for the modern age, constantly adaptable and versatile to move with the changing cultural and social landscape. As the Orchestra continues to evolve and embrace new twenty-first-century opportunities, the RPO remains dedicated to the mission of maintaining its position as one of the world’s leading orchestras, be that on the international concert platform, leading its UK Residency Series, or serving local communities via its outstanding outreach activities.
www.rpo.co.uk | Registered charity no.244533
Royal Albert Hall and the Annual Charity Free Let
The Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage. Over the past 145 years, it has hosted everyone from Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and Edward Elgar to The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Adele. Last year, its breathtaking auditorium presented 388 events by the world’s greatest performers – taking in rock, pop and classical music, dance, films, Cirque du Soleil and even tennis – with the magical setting and inspired artists creating amazing memories for audiences.
Opened in 1871 to fulfil Prince Albert’s vision of a central hall to promote the arts and sciences, the Hall is a registered charity that remains true to his founding ambitions within a modern context. It hosts over 400 events a year in its secondary space, the Elgar Room, and beyond, broadening the Hall’s appeal to incorporate younger and more diverse audiences.
Its Education & Outreach programme reaches more than 150,000 participants each year, working with schools, young people and the community, as well as other charities such as Music for Youth, as part of its extensive public benefit remit.
The Royal Albert Hall’s ‘charity free let’ is part of the Hall's wider remit to provide public benefit as a landmark internationally renowned venue. The Hall actively supports other charities as much as it can and we award forty charity lets each year, whereby if a registered charity hires the Hall for their event, they can qualify for a discount on the hire fees. We also offer one free charity let each year, which means that one registered charity which is staging an event to raise money can hire the Hall without paying any rental or ticket commission.
Charities have to complete a detailed application form and they apply a year in advance. The list is then shortlisted and voted on by the Hall's Council. Any charities who are interested in applying for a future charity free let should approach the Royal Albert Hall's programming department. In recent years, the charity free let has been awarded to Nordoff Robbins, NSPCC, Teenage Cancer Trust, The Salvation Army and Rays of Sunshine.
www.royalalberthall.com | Registered charity no.254543
Contact information
For further comments or information, please contact Chris Evans (Director of Press and Marketing, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra): Telephone 020 7608 8836, Mobile: 07702 210074, Email