British Symphony Orchestra

The British Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is a British symphony orchestra founded in 1904 and disbanded in 1940. The BSO was reformed in 2016 as a concert symphony orchestra in the United Kingdom. The orchestra works in partnership with the Mozart Symphony Orchestra who are based at Cadogan Hall, London.

History

It's believed the British Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1904 working predominantly at concert halls across London. Few details are known about the formation and how often they appeared in their 36 years of active service. Paper records of early concerts show performances of works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The original British Symphony Orchestra recorded popular pieces for the BBC including symphonies and concertos by Mozart (1934, 1936) and Beethoven (1927, 1932, 1938). These recording have been broadcast on the Third Programme and in the early days of its successor, BBC Radio 3 according to Discogs. ^[1] The orchestra's is listed as making a handful of cinematic recordings at Pinewoods Studios. These would have been between 1937 and 1939 and would have been in conjunction with the Rank Organisation. During World War II Pinewood was requisitioned and subsequently the Crown Film Unit, No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit, Royal Air Force Film Production Unit and Polish Air Force Film Unit were based there. The Crown Film Unit completed many classic wartime documentaries using Military Orchestras to record soundtracks. Rather that being 'disbanded' the BSO appear to vanish. Following the World War II It's known that the Pinewoods Studios Orchestra formed. Film producers wished to exploit the commercial opportunity behind film scores and soundtracks. It's likely that the British Symphony Orchestra was a working 'generic' name used by name different orchestra leaders.

Disbanded

It’s believed the British Symphony Orchestra ceased operations during the Second World War and was never reformed following the resolution of the war. The official reason given for the termination of the orchestra was never recorded, however an educated guess might cite the formation of multiple British Military orchestras and official BBC recording orchestra’s in England, Scotland and Wales. The UK regional orchestras gained more prominence and the film orchestras gained in popularity and musicians were directly signed to film studios.

References in Film & Television

There are many references to the British Symphony Orchestra in film and television programmes. The Lady in the Van is a 2015 British^[2] comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, written by Alan Bennett, and starring Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings. It tells the true story of Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on Bennett's driveway in London for 15 years. Mrs Shepherd was a musician. In one of the scenes when the character Alan Bennett is sifting through Mary Shepherd paperwork he finds a concert poster claiming Mrs Shepard played with the British Symphony Orchestra. It's unknowns if there is any truth in this claim.

Reformed

The British Symphony Orchestra reformed in 2016. Philip Mackenzie is the principle conductor. The modern orchestra is made of freelance musicians and based in London.

References

• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3722070/
• https://www.discogs.com/artist/1591114-The-British-Symphony-Orchestra
• http://www.londonmozart.co.uk/
• http://www.amadeusorchestra.co.uk/musdirector.html