Fulham Symphony Orchestra (FSO) is an amateur orchestra based in west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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 Alina Rinatovna Ibragimova (russian: link=no, Али́на Рина́товна Ибраги́мова; ba, Алина Ринат ҡыҙы Ибраһимова born 28 September 1985) is a Russian-British violinist. Early life and education ...

Giovanni Guzzo Giovanni Guzzo (born 1986 in Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan violinist. Born in Venezuela to parents of Italian and Venezuelan heritage, he started the violin at the age of six under the teachings of Emil Friedman and L ...

and Martin Owen. The FSO has collaborated with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on a number of projects and performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC London. Notable performances have included: * Rare performances of

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined ...

's ''Dance for Burgess'' and ''Ecuatorial'' at the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

in 2017, which were broadcast on BBC Radio 3 * UK premiere of

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things ...

’s ''Vers la plage lointaine'', 2012 * A rare performance of

Vagn Holmboe Vagn Gylding Holmboe (, 20 December 1909 – 1 September 1996) was a Danish composer and teacher. Life Vagn Holmboe was born in Horsens, Jutland, into a merchant family of dedicated amateur musicians. Both parents played the piano. His fath ...

’s Tuba Concerto, 2011 * A rare performance of

František Jílek František Jílek (May 22, 1913 – September 16, 1993) was a Czech conductor, known especially for his interpretation of Leoš Janáček's works. Life Jílek began studying piano and composition as a pupil of Jaroslav Kvapil, and later studi ...

’s orchestral suite from Janáček’s opera ''

From the House of the Dead ''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at ...

'', 2010 * UK premiere of Smetena's ''

The Brandenburgers in Bohemia ''The Brandenburgers in Bohemia'' ( cz, Braniboři v Čechách) is a three-act opera, the first by Bedřich Smetana. The Czech libretto was written by Karel Sabina, and is based on events from Czech history. The work was composed in the years 1862 ...

'', 1978 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera) * UK premiere of Tchaikovsky's ''

Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem During his time at the Moscow Conservatoire around September 1866, the school's principal, Nikolay Rubinstein commissioned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to compose a ''Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem'' to be played for the visit of the T ...

'', 1977'' '' * London premiere of Wagner's ''

Die Feen ''Die Feen'' (, ''The Fairies'') is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. The German libretto was written by the composer after Carlo Gozzi's ''La donna serpente''. ''Die Feen'' was Wagner's first completed opera, but remained unperformed in h ...

'', 1973 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera) * First fully staged UK performance of Delius' ''

Fennimore and Gerda (subtitled ''Two Episodes from the Life of Niels Lyhne in Eleven Pictures'', RT I/8) is a German-language opera with four interludes, by the English composer Frederick Delius. It is usually performed and recorded in English, as ''Fennimore and Ge ...

'', 1968 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera) * UK premiere of Puccini's opera ''Edgar'' (1905 version), 1967 (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera) * UK premiere of Giordano's ''Siberia'' (with Hammersmith Municipal Opera) * The first concert at the open-air theatre in Bishop's Park, Fulham, 1960 Their 2011 performance of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony at London's

St John's Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...

, was described by Bachtrack as "a terrific performance by splendid band". The Guardian's classical music critic wrote of being "surprised and impressed" by a performance in 2009.

History

For nearly 30 years the musical director of the orchestra was

Joseph Vandernoot Joseph Vandernoot (18 October 1914 – 7 June 1999) was a British conductor who worked with many orchestras and opera companies, and was one of the earliest conductors of opera at the Holland Park open-air theatre in London. After studying at Gui ...

. Later musical directors included

Andrea Quinn Andrea Quinn (born 1964) is an English conductor. Early life She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and in Hungary. In 1993 Quinn won the Royal Opera House’s Conduct for Dance competition, and has since then been in great demand as a ball ...

Peter Stark Peter Stark is a British conductor and teacher. He is currently Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music in London and Rehearsal Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra. Education and early career Stark studied violin and c ...

, 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 The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

) until the 1980s.

References

External links

Fulham Symphony Orchestra
{{authority control British symphony orchestras Fulham London orchestras Musical groups established in 1958 1958 establishments in England