Fulham Symphony Orchestra

Fulham Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra
Former name	Fulham Municipal Orchestra
Founded	1958
Location	London
Principal conductor	Marc Dooley
Website	fso.org.uk

Fulham Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is an amateur orchestra based in west London. 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,^[1] Giovanni Guzzo^[2] and Martin Owen.^[3]

The FSO has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on a number of projects^[4][5] and performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC London.^[5]

Notable performances have included:

• UK premiere of Charles Koechlin’s Vers La Plage Lointaine, 2012^[1]
• A rare performance of Vagn Holmboe’s Tuba Concerto, 2011^[6]
• A rare performance of František Jílek’s orchestral suite from Janáček’s opera From the House of the Dead, 2010^[2]
• UK premiere of Smetena's The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, 1978 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)^[7]
• UK premiere of Tchaikovsky's Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem, 1977 ^[8]
• London premiere of Wagner's Die Feen, 1973 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)^[9][10]
• First fully staged UK performance of Delius' Fennimore and Gerda, 1968 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)^{[11][12][13][14]}
• UK premiere of Puccini's opera Edgar (1905 version), 1967 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)^{[15][16][17][18]}
• UK premiere of Giordano's Siberia (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera)^[19]
• The first concert at the open-air theatre in Bishop's Park, Fulham, 1960^[20]

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".^[21] The Guardian's classical music crtitic wrote of being "surprised and impressed" by a performance in 2009.^[22]

History

For nearly 30 years the musical director of the orchestra was Joseph Vandernoot.^[23] 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) until the 1980s.^[1]

References

1. "History of Fulham Symphony Orchestra". Fulham Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
2. Briggs, Bob (November 2010). "Review: Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Debussy and Janáček". Seen and Heard. MusicWeb International. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
3. "Four Horns". Time Out. 21 Mar 2009. Retrieved 20 Jun 2014.
4. "BBC Performing Groups 2010/11 – learning programme". BBC Symphony Orchestra. BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
5. "'Between Earth and Sky' Premiere". Music Sales Classical. 21 November 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
6. "Vagn Holmboe". Music Sales Classical. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
7. Forbes, Elizabeth (8 April 1978). "The Brandenburgers at Hurlingham". The Financial Times. p. 12.
8. "Without benefit of the clergy". The Guardian. 4 Nov 1977. p. 10.
9. Mann, William (4 May 1973). "Die Feen (review)". The Times. p. 13.
10. Porter, Andrew (28 July 1973). "Die Feen". The Financial Times. p. 8.
11. "Delius Society Newsletter" (PDF). 1969.
12. "What to look out for". The Times. 27 April 1968. p. 18.
13. Sadie, Stanley (24 May 1968). "Poetic qualities of Delius opera". The Times. p. 7.
14. Crichton, Ronald (24 May 1968). "Fennimore and Gerda". The Financial Times. p. 38.
15. Flury, Roger (2012). Giacomo Puccini: A Discography. Scarecrow Press. p. 9. ISBN 0810883295.
16. "Operatic Blueprint for the 1970s". Opera, Volume 18 (Rolls House Publishing Company): 358. 1967.
17. Walsh, Stephen (9 April 1967). "Review: Premiere for Puccini". The Observer. p. 24.
18. Porter, Andrew (7 April 1967). "Edgar". The Financial Times. p. 26.
19. Mann, William (8 December 1972). "Siberia (review)". The Times. p. 13.
20. "Fulham's Open Air Theatre". The Times. 2 July 1960. p. 12.
21. Ward, Ken (27 November 2011). "Powerful performances of Campkin and Bruckner by Fulham's finest". Bachtrack. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
22. Service, Tom. "Tom Service on amateur orchestras". The Guardian.
23. Foreman, Lewis (27 Jul 1999). "Obituary: Joseph Vandernoot". The Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2014.

External links

• Fulham Symphony Orchestra