News and Press

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Sarah Bardwell as our new Managing Director.

In its Icons Rediscovered series, linking works by two late romantics – Sergei Rachmaninov and Edward Elgar – the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra showed its mettle. The orchestra’s game has been lifted to new levels by the arrival of Vasily Petrenko as music director. In Rachmaninov’s mighty Symphony No 2, the strings were precise and unanimous. Balance across every section of the orchestra was ideal. ★★★★ The Guardian

On Thursday 8 February the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed the latest concert in our Icons Rediscovered series in Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall with Music Director Vasily Petrenko, dedicated to the music of two icons of late Romanticism, Sir Edward Elgar and Sergei Rachmaninov.

We were saddened to hear of the recent death of Brendan Beales. Working with the RPO for over 30 years, Brendan provided insightful programme notes for countless performances by the Orchestra and many of our audiences will be very familiar with his words. In addition to his writing work, Brendan was also a composer and involved in music education, having worked with the Orchestra’s community and education team in its early years. We will fondly remember him as a fantastically knowledgeable colleague who played a deeply valued role in opening up orchestral music to many thousands of people through his informative writing.