Leicester Symphony Orchestra is based in

Leicester, England Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nati ...

. The orchestra was founded by

Malcolm Sargent Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated include ...

in 1922 along with Grace Burrows as orchestra leader. Sargent continued to conduct the orchestra until 1939. In these early years, the orchestra's prestige grew until it was able to obtain such top-flight soloists as Alfred Cortot,

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

, Solomon,

Guilhermina Suggia Guilhermina Augusta Xavier de Medim Suggia Carteado Mena, known as Guilhermina Suggia, (27 June 1885 – 30 July 1950) was a Portuguese cellist. She studied in Paris, France with Pablo Casals, and built an international reputation. She spent man ...

and Benno Moiseiwitsch. The orchestra normally features about 80 musicians. Other conductors of the orchestra have included Arthur Thornley, Alfred de Reyghere, Harry Shaw, Simeon Iliffe, Keith Smith, Roland Melia, Nicholas Daniel, Pavel Kotla and John Andrews. The annual orchestra season includes three performances at

De Montfort Hall De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the "Father of Parliament", Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. History The hall was built by the ...

in Leicester, and the orchestra also performs other engagements and goes on tour.

Notes

References

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External links

Official WebsiteLeicester Symphony Orchestra plays Carmen from YouTube
{{authority control Arts organizations established in 1922 British symphony orchestras English orchestras Musical groups established in the 1920s 1922 establishments in England