Royal Liverpool Philharmonic - History of The Society and Orchestra

History of The Society and Orchestra

The society was established as the Liverpool Philharmonic Society on 10 January 1840 with the purpose of organising concerts of classical music. Its orchestra, then the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, is the oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra in the United Kingdom. The society was the second of its kind to be established, the first being the London-based Royal Philharmonic Society whose orchestra was disbanded in 1932.

It was founded for the rich and élite members of Liverpool society, for "the pleasure of the moneyed merchant class in the town". Its first concert was given on 12 March 1840 in a room at the back of a dance academy in Great Richmond Street and was conducted by John Russell with William Sudlow as organist. The programme consisted of 13 short orchestral and choral pieces, including works by Auber, Rossini, Spohr, Henry Bishop, and George Onslow, and madrigals by Thomas Morley and John Wilbye. The society outgrew this room and gave its performances in the hall of the Collegiate Institute in Shaw Street. In 1843 the society appointed its first principal conductor, the Swiss-born J. Zeugheer Herrmann, who continued in this role until his death in 1865. During the following year, the orchestra performed its first symphonies, Haydn's No. 99 and Beethoven's 1st.

In 1844 the society appointed the Liverpool architect John Cunningham to prepare plans for a concert hall to be situated at the junction of Hope Street and Myrtle Street. It was to contain an audience of 2,100 and an orchestra of 250. In order to raise money for its building, shares were issued and members of Liverpool society were invited to buy seats in the boxes to be included in the hall. The foundation stone was laid in 1846 and construction began the following year. In 1847 the society invited Felix Mendelssohn to compose a cantata based on words from Milton's Comus to celebrate the opening of the hall. Unfortunately Mendelssohn died before this could be carried out. The hall cost £30,000 (£2.45 million as of 2012) and was formally opened on 27 August 1849. The first concert was performed by an orchestra of 96 and a choir of over 200; included in the concert were three future conductors of the orchestra, Alfred Mellon, Julius Benedict and Charles Hallé. The organist was W. T. Best. The hall was not full for the first performance; this was attributed to two factors, the high price of admission, and the fear that the building, without central supporting pillars, was unsafe.

Problems soon arose. In 1850 the choir formed the Liverpool Philharmonic Auxiliary Society and were in conflict with their conductor. Herrmann offered to resign, this was not accepted by the society. By 1852 the financial problems of the society were deteriorating. Membership of the society was exclusive and not all the seats on offer had been taken up. Suggestions that the conditions for membership should be relaxed were refused. In 1852 the society widened its activities from music by arranging theatrical performances, including Charles Dickens' company and an appearance by William Makepeace Thackeray. In 1855 it was discovered that William Sudlow, the Honorary Secretary had been stealing money from the society; an amount of more than £2,424 (£160 thousand as of 2012) had been embezzled. Sudlow resigned from the society. He was replaced by a paid secretary and the post was given to Henry Sudlow, a distant relative of William. Henry was to serve the society for some 30 years without any similar problem. Prominent artists appearing for the society in 1856 were Jenny Lind, Clara Schumann and Charles Hallé. Dickens returned in 1858 and during that year the society was able to pay off the mortgage on the hall.

By 1865 Hermann's health was deteriorating and a new principal conductor, Alfred Mellon, was appointed in September. However Mellon died only 18 months later, and was replaced by Julius Benedict, who remained in post until 1880, when his eyesight was deteriorating. During the time Benedict was principal conductor, the society flourished both in artistic and financial terms. This was not to continue during the tenure of the next principal conductor, despite his later fame. Max Bruch was appointed on 23 February 1880 and served for less than three years. During this time he experienced conflict with the committee of the society and complained about the behaviour of the audience. He resigned in January 1883 at which time the standards of the orchestra and the choir had deteriorated, and members of the committee were disagreeing with each other. The person appointed to sort this out was Charles Hallé who had by this time established the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Hallé continued as principal conductor until his death in 1895. During this time the orchestra and choir flourished. Major artistes who appeared with the society during this time included Paderewski, Hubert Parry, Nellie Melba, and Clara Butt. In 1883 the secretary, Henry Sudlow died and he was replaced by George Broadbent.

The next principal conductor was Frederic Cowen who remained in post until 1913. During this time more Romantic music was played, including works by Elgar, and this was not always popular with the audiences. Although the society continued to be exclusive, there was criticism about the behaviour of its members during concerts. Notable artistes who appeared during this time were Fritz Kreisler, and Rachmaninoff, the latter playing his Third Piano Concerto and conducting other works at a concert in 1911. Following the resignation of Frederic Cowen, the society did not appoint another principal conductor until 1942. During this period the orchestra was conducted by a series of guest conductors, who included Furtwängler, George Szell, Pierre Monteux, Koussevitzky, and Bruno Walter. Notable artistes included Pablo Casals, John McCormack, Elisabeth Schumann, Yehudi Menuhin (his first appearance was at the age of 15), Solomon, Moiseiwitsch, and Maggie Teyte. The British conductors to have a major influence on the orchestra during this time were Henry Wood and Thomas Beecham. During the early 1930s there was concern about the deteriorating financial situation of the society. There was a problem in filling empty seats and it was suggested that the rule of wearing evening dress at concerts should be relaxed; this was turned down.

Disaster struck the society on 5 July 1933 when the Philharmonic Hall was destroyed by fire. Concerts were mainly held in the Central Hall until a new hall could be built; larger scale works were performed in St. George's Hall. Considerable discussion took place about the financing and the design of the new hall. It was decided that the society would pay for it without help from the City Council. Herbert J. Rowse was appointed as architect and he designed to hall in art deco style; it cost a little over £120,000 (£5.51 million as of 2012). Sir Thomas Beecham conducted the opening concert on 20 June 1939. Incorporated in the hall were an organ built by Rushworth and Dreaper and a Waldurdaw rising cinema screen.

The financial situation of the society improved in 1942 when the lease for the hall was transferred to the City Council, in return for an immediate payment of cash and an annual rent. The society also agreed to promote musical education in and around Liverpool. Later in 1942 Malcolm Sargent was appointed principal conductor. In his first season, the society made its first recording, its first broadcast, and it produced its first school children's concert. Under Sargent there was a "spectacular explosion" in the number of concerts and recording sessions performed. In 1944 the orchestra made its first appearance in London, performing at the Royal Albert Hall. In October 1946 Sargent conducted the première of Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. In 1948 he resigned as principal conductor. Sargent was replaced by Hugo Rignold. He initially had a difficult time, partly because of his background as a jazz and dance band player. However he served in the post for six years and left in 1954 with an enhanced reputation. From 1955 the society had joint principal conductors, John Pritchard and Efrem Kurtz. The latter resigned in 1957 and Pritchard continued as sole principal conductor until 1963.

In 1957 the society and orchestra were granted "Royal " status and were allowed to include this word in their title. The following year the Queen became the patron of the orchestra. In 1958 the society instigated a competition for young conductors. Pritchard was a champion of contemporary music and introduced a series of concerts known as Musica Viva which included new compositions. During Pritchard's time, the society commissioned Walton to write his second symphony, which received its première at the Edinburgh Festival in 1960. Pritchard was succeeded by Charles Groves, who served as principal conductor for 14 years until he resigned in 1977. Groves helped to maintain the high standards of the orchestra and also encouraged the work of modern composers. He was the first English composer to direct a full cycle of Mahler's symphonies. The orchestra undertook its first overseas tour in 1966, playing in Germany and Switzerland. In 1968 Groves conducted a performance of Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony, with Messiaen's wife playing in the orchestra.

After Groves' fourteen years' tenure as principal conductor, each of his three successors remained in post for much shorter periods; Walter Weller from 1977 to 1980, David Atherton from 1980 to 1983 and Marek Janowski from 1983 to 1987. In 1983 Edward Cowie was made Composer in Residence, the first such appointment to a major British orchestra. Musically the society was also entering a period of greater security with the appointment in 1987 of Libor Pešek as principal conductor. Pesek remained in post for ten years and during this time the standards and popularity of the orchestra improved. In 1990 the society celebrated the 150th anniversary of its foundation. In the 1990–91 season, among the works performed that were new to the society was Paul McCartney's Liverpool Concerto, conducted in Liverpool Cathedral by Carl Davis. In 1992 a rear extension was added to the hall. During the following year, while on tour, the orchestra was the first non-Czech orchestra to perform the opening concert in the Prague Spring Festival.

The hall was refurbished in 1995 at a cost of £10.3 million; during this time concerts were performed in Liverpool Cathedral. As part of this refurbishment, the curving interior, which had originally been constructed in fibrous plaster, was replaced with concrete. In 1997 Libor Pešek resigned as principal conductor and was given the title of conductor laureate. He was succeeded by Petr Altrichter who continued in the post until 2001, being followed by Gerard Schwarz. Schwarz resigned in 2006 and his place as principal conductor was taken by the young Russian Vasily Petrenko. At the time of his appointment he was aged 29 and was the youngest conductor to have held the post. Also in 2006 the society entered into a sponsorship agreement with the radio music station Classic FM. It was the station's first arts partner and the orchestra was given the title of the Classic FM Orchestra in North West England. As a result of this partnership, concerts of more "popular and accessible" pieces from the classical repertoire are played, and the radio station broadcasts some of these concerts. By the start of 2008, the station had broadcast 25 concerts, and the contract for the partnership has been extended to 2012. In 2008 Liverpool was a European Capital of Culture and the society played a major role in the events performed to as part of this celebration. In 2009, Petrenko's title was changed from principal conductor to chief conductor, and he extended his contract with the society until 2015.