City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Civic pride and the wealth of an industrial metropolis gave rise to Birmingham’s first permanent symphony orchestra. The City of Birmingham Orchestra, as it was known at its birth in 1920, was the first in the UK to be funded by a municipality. It emerged from a campaign led by composer Granville Bantock and Birmingham’s Lord Mayor, Neville Chamberlain, Britain’s future prime minister, and evolved from a part-time regional band into a world-class ensemble. Although Adrian Boult, principal conductor from 1924-30, with whom the CBSO made its first recording in 1925, set early high standards, the orchestra’s international status was not secured until during Simon Rattle’s term as chief conductor (1980-98). His CBSO discography includes distinguished recordings of Mahler, Szymanowski and Britten, and contemporary works by John Adams, Thomas Adès and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Under Rattle the orchestra relocated from Birmingham’s historic Town Hall to the newly built Symphony Hall and redoubled its long-standing commitment to music education. Rattle built on the work of Louis Frémaux (1969-78), whose recordings of music from his homeland earned the CBSO the affectionate title of “the best French orchestra in the world”, and Frémaux’s underrated predecessor Hugo Rignold (1960-68), a meticulous orchestral trainer. The composer conductor Andrzej Panufnik (1957-59) gave fresh life to the orchestra’s programming during his brief tenure as principal conductor with new works, his own Sinfonia Elegiaca included. Since Rattle’s departure, Sakari Oramo (1998-2008), Andris Nelsons (2008-15), Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (2016-22) and Kazuki Yamada (since 2023) have enhanced the CBSO’s reputation. Oramo’s recordings of works by Foulds and Sibelius, Nelsons’ of Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky, Gražinytė-Tyla’s of Britten and Weinberg, and Yamada’s of Walton have all won critical acclaim.