BACK in 2001, Classic FM and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic announced a partnership that saw the orchestra adopted as the official Classic FM Orchestra in North West England.
A decade on, and the move has built new audiences for classical music, and shared many of the Phil’s concerts with 6m listeners throughout the UK.
“You could tell then that there had been such a rejuvenation of the city through music,” says Tim Lihoreau, Classic FM’s creative director. “It was a perfect partnership really because Classic is very proud of bringing music to everyone, and it seemed to us that’s what the RLPO was doing.
“There’s no compromise on musical integrity, especially now under Vasily (Petrenko – chief conductor).
“We feel quite proud that, when it came to Capital of Culture, we had been there quite a while already.”
