The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of Britain's leading symphony orchestras, founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham and based at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank. Over nine decades it has worked with conductors including Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Vladimir Jurowski, who became Conductor Emeritus in 2021. Edward Gardner has served as Principal Conductor since that year, and in March 2026 the LPO announced that Paavo Järvi will take over as Chief Conductor from the 2028/29 season. Beyond the concert hall, the orchestra is widely known for performing Howard Shore's scores for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The LPO announced in March 2026 that Paavo Järvi will become Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor from the 2028/29 season, signing a five-year contract that will see him lead the orchestra through its centenary year in 2032.
The LPO unveiled its 2025/26 London season at the Southbank Centre under the theme 'Harmony with Nature', featuring nine premieres including the UK premiere of Tan Dun's Nine alongside Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
The LPO appointed Nefeli Chadouli and Wilson Ng as its Conducting Fellows for the 2025/26 season, continuing its programme to support early-career conductors from under-represented backgrounds.
The Sky Arts documentary series 'Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra', filmed in 2024, received a BAFTA Award nomination in 2025.
A second Tippett disc was released on the LPO's own label in November 2024, followed by a Rachmaninov album in May 2025 and further releases of Dvořák, Schumann, Britten and Elgar later that year.
The prestigious British London Philharmonic Orchestra performs in Hannover.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs in Cologne. Classical music in a prestigious concert hall.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the prestigious Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
Pianist Alice Sara Ott performs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of conductor Edward Gardner.
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson joins the London Philharmonic Orchestra under composer-conductor John Adams for an evening at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.