PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY

The Philharmonic Society was founded in 1813 with the mission ‘to promote the performance, in the most perfect manner possible[,] of the best and most approved instrumental music’. The founders were 30 professional musicians, from whom a board of directors was elected: a powerful assertion of cultural leadership.

The opening season established a regular pattern of eight orchestral concerts across the months of spring and early summer. At first the concerts also featured chamber music, but eventually a less austere alternation of orchestral works with instrumental solos and vocal items prevailed. From 1846 a single conductor was appointed each season, exerting a significant influence on artistic policy.

But this was in no sense a permanent orchestra, and often the fragile nature of the organisation – together with a reputation for unimaginative performances  – threatened the society’s future. The appointment in 1884 of the pianist Francesco Berger as secretary proved a decisive departure. His more professional attitude towards marketing and programming turned round the society’s finances, and the conductors  Frederic Cowen (1888–92, 1900–07) and Alexander Mackenzie (1893–99) encouraged a more open attitude towards new music from Britain and abroad. If the emphasis was still at the more conservative end (at least by comparison with the enterprising Queen’s Hall Orchestra), the Philharmonic had reestablished its centrality within the concert calendar.

Already in 1894 the society moved its concerts from St James’s Hall to the new Queen’s Hall. Two other major changes took place during our period. In 1897 the season was extended with three extra concerts in the autumn; the following seasons reverted to the seven-concert plan, but sometimes spread across autumn and spring. Much more significant was a change in artistic policy: in 1908 the society followed the London Symphony Orchestra in engaging star conductors from the continent on a concert-by-concert basis, further reinforcing the society’s international perspective.

The 1911–12 season was the hundredth in the history of the society, marked with a special emphasis on British music and a number of important premieres. The centenary itself was celebrated in 1912, and later that year longevity was rewarded with recognition as the Royal Philharmonic Society. But this should not be confused with the later Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: there were still only seven concerts each season.

For programmes of the concerts 1893–1914, download the Calendar of London Concerts 1893–1914, press the Search Series tab at the bottom of the page, and select Philharmonic Society.