‘The Leeds Philharmonic Society is the senior choir in the city by date of foundation and by virtue of its continued and very distinguished programme sustained annually since 1870.’
Leeds Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North
Press review Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 25th November: Malcolm Arnold’s Peterloo Overture sounds more like the incidental music for a docu-drama, but is no less compelling for that. The composer’s portrayal of the events surrounding the ‘Peterloo Massacre’ at St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, in August 1819, was played with a degree of swagger by the Orchestra of Opera
Exhilarating performance of Verdi’s Requiem
Press review Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 20th May 2017: Well over 300 singers and musicians were involved in this exhilarating performance of Verdi’s Requiem given as the grand finale to the 2016-17 Leeds International Orchestral Season. Conductor David Hill directed with an unerring sense of pace and balance the combined forces of Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Leeds Festival Chorus
Authentic baroque style for a seasonal classic
Press review Handel’s Messiah, Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 10th December 2016: Ever since the premiere of Handel’s Messiah at the Great Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin on 13th April 1742, performances of this beloved work have veered between modesty of scale and overblown grandeur. The crispness of groundbreaking recordings conducted by Colin Davis and Charles Mackerras in
Creative spirits in Leeds: Orchestra of Opera North’s Mahler 8
Press review Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 4th June 2016: Opera North seems to be in a critical state of grace at the moment. Riding high on the success of its Ring, the company’s profile has been transformed during Richard Farnes’ ten years at its helm. More specifically, its orchestra is being seriously cited as Britain’s finest working
Mahler: Symphony No 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)
Press review Leeds Town Hall, Saturday 4th June 2016: The 2015-2016 Leeds International Orchestral Season climaxed memorably with Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. The clue to the rarity of performances of this symphony comes in the subtitle, Symphony of a Thousand, mathematically inaccurate, but true as an evocation of this vast work. The Town Hall performance involved three choirs and
Feedback from the audience
Audience review Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, St Anne’s Cathedral, Leeds, 20th February 2016: From Alan and Elisabeth Horsey: Please would you convey our thanks to the Leeds Philharmonic Choir for their wonderful singing of Rachmaninov’s marvellous All Night Liturgy at St .Anne’s Cathedral this evening. Phrasing, dynamic contrast, ensemble, balance all combined to achieve a performance of real commitment and