London's Philharmonia Orchestra is generally considered one of Britain's top symphonic ensembles and has sometimes been named as the very best. Formed by recording executive Walter Legge at the end of World War II, the orchestra benefited from the presence of several top Continental conductors in its first years and has generated an impressive recording catalog from the very beginning. Although London already boasted the world-class London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestras, Legge resolved to create an ensemble that would equal the best in the German-speaking musical sphere. To this end, he recruited top young musicians (some 60 percent of the players were still serving in the British armed forces at the beginning) and, after he was turned down by friend Thomas Beecham, a roster of star German conductors. These included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, and Otto Klemperer. At first, Legge avoided the appointment of a permanent conductor, and the players learned to produce superb results under several different kinds of artistic leadership.

Primarily a recording ensemble at first, the Philharmonia began giving concerts that were often innovative in content. The young Leonard Bernstein recorded Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the group, and the orchestra gave the world premiere of Strauss' Four Last Songs with soloist Kirsten Flagstad in 1950 at the Royal Albert Hall. In the mid-'50s, Furtwängler died and Karajan departed for Berlin; Legge appointed the 74-year-old Klemperer conductor for life. Klemperer's performances were often idiosyncratic but just as often brilliant, and many of his recordings with the Philharmonia remain in print. A complete cycle of Brahms symphonies under Klemperer was reissued by the firm Broken Audio in the 2010s.

The orchestra ran into trouble in the early 1960s as financial problems arose and several of its best musicians, including hornist Dennis Brain, met untimely deaths. Legge attempted to disband the group in 1964, but the players, encouraged by Klemperer, formed the New Philharmonia Orchestra and continued to perform. The orchestra performed at the Beethoven bicentennial in Bonn, West Germany, in 1970. That year, Lorin Maazel was appointed associate principal conductor to reduce the workload of the aging Klemperer, but he clashed with the orchestra members, who had maintained a self-governing structure. Instead, Riccardo Muti was appointed chief conductor in 1973. Four years later, the original name was restored.

Under Muti, the orchestra often recorded opera and entered upon what was widely regarded as a second golden age. In 1981, under conductor Kurt Sanderling, the Philharmonia made the first digital recording of Beethoven's complete symphonies. Muti was succeeded in 1984 by Giuseppe Sinopoli, whose performances of key British repertory such as the works of Elgar were criticized, but who extended the orchestra's reach in Italian opera. Christoph von Dohnányi ascended the podium in 1997 and took the orchestra on tours of continental Europe and, in 2002 and 2003, to a residency in New York. Bicontinental Finnish conducting star Esa-Pekka Salonen became chief conductor in 2008 and has continued to maintain the orchestra's high standards; his departure was announced for the year 2021, creating an opening at the very top level of English music-making. The Philharmonia continued to record for EMI after Legge's departure but moved to Deutsche Grammophon under Sinopoli and has since recorded for a large variety of labels. In 2019, the Philharmonia backed innovative Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen on her debut release, with Salonen conducting. ~ James Manheim

Conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli was one of the world's great conducting stars. He gave powerful, psychologically penetrating, even expressionist, performances that were often highly controversial. At the age of 12, Sinopoli studied harmony and organ at Messina, then harmony and counterpoint at the Venice Conservatory (1965-1967). At the insistence of his father he simultaneously studied medicine. From 1969 to 1973, he attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, studying under Franco Donatoni. He graduated with his doctorate of medicine in psychiatry and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Padua in 1972. His psychiatry dissertation was on the physiology of the areas of the brain concerned with creating the sensations of sound.

After a period as Donatoni's assistant, Sinopoli was appointed to the faculty of the Venice Conservatory as professor for contemporary and electronic music. In that year he also took up conducting studies with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. In 1975 he founded the Bruno Maderna Ensemble, an avant-garde music group, while continuing to teach and compose.

He began to make a reputation as a composer. His work, typically, was intense and followed the trend toward serial music that prevailed at the time. He received several major commissions. His largest work was an opera named Lou Salomé, based on the life of a 19th century literary figure. It was premiered at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 1981.

Meanwhile, his work leading the Bruno Maderna Ensemble had been noticed. He began receiving requests to conduct. In 1976 and 1977, respectively, he led highly acclaimed performances of the Verdi operas Aïda and Macbeth in Venice, then the same composer's Macbeth at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Attila at the Vienna State Opera. Sinopoli's London operatic debut was Puccini's Manon Lescaut at Covent Garden (1983) and his New York debut was at the Metropolitan with Puccini's Tosca (1985). As an operatic conductor, he performed frequently at the Bayreuth Festival, La Scala, and other major opera houses. He is particularly known for his electrifying performances of the Richard Strauss operas Salome and Elektra.

In addition to Bayreuth, Sinopoli was also a frequent guest at the Salzburg, Lucerne, and Schlewsig-Holstein Music Festivals. From 1990 until his death, Sinopoli was director of the Taormina Arte Festival in Sicily. He was appointed principal conductor of the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome (serving there through 1987) and in 1984 became the principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, remaining through 1994. In 1987, his position was upgraded to that of music director of the Philharmonia, which he held until 1994. From 1992 to 2001 Sinopoli was principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Giuseppe Sinopoli recorded exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon. His set of Maderna works won the Grand Prix International du Disque and Premio della Critica Discografia Italiana in 1981. His Manon Lescaut recording won both those prizes in addition to the International Record Critics Award in 1985. Further prizes were a Gramophone Award in 1987 for La forza del destino, the Tokyo Record Academy Prize and Stella d'Oro for Madama Butterfly, three prizes for Tannhäuser, and three for Tosca. Sinopoli's most honored recording was Strauss' Salome, which won the Orphee d'Or, the Stella d'Argento, the Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Academie du Disque, and the Edison Award. In 1994, the Italian government awarded Sinopoli its highest award, the Gran Croce al Merito, for his contribution to arts and music. Giuseppe Sinopoli died at the Deutsche Oper Berlin of a heart attack while conducting the third act of Aïda.