Orchestra’s golden era under Petrenko

Sep 12 2007 by Philip Key, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will open its new season on Friday in rude good health.

Under Russian-born principal conductor Vasily Petrenko, the orchestra seems to have entered a golden era.

Ticket sales for the season are up by 53% compared with the same time last year, and several concerts are already sold out.

Chief executive Michael Elliott said the orchestra had tried hard in recent years to reposition itself.

“We are now seen by bodies such as the Arts Council of England as a 21st-century arts organisation. We have an ambitious programme for the years ahead and we are confident that we can drive ahead with new initiatives.”

The orchestra has seen a huge increase in hits on its website, resulting in a big increase in online ticket sales and some 40% of sales are now made online.

Meanwhile, there will be a new rehearsal room for the orchestra based at a redundant church in Fox Street in Everton following negot-iations with the Liverpool City Council and the city’s Archdiocese.

They are also looking at the possibility of developing land near the Philharmonic Hall to create new facilities for the organisation.

The orchestra has been busy in the last year recording 11 different CDs for companies like EMI and Naxos, as well as producing its own home-produced recordings for its RLPO Live label.

“We are almost beating off app- roaches from companies keen to record our increasingly award-winning orchestra, and it is becoming more difficult to fit dates into a very busy schedule,” says Mr Elliott.

The RLPO will also be returning to international touring, while there will be 30 new works in the new season commissioned by various bodies.

This Friday’s opening concert will feature two new works by two well-established Liverpool composers – Kenneth Hesketh has written a short opening work entitled A Rhyme for the Season, while John McCabe has his Labyrinth Symphony premiered.

The Phil is continuing its links with Classic FM, but there will also be more BBC broadcasts. Friday’s concert is being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Petrenko has already agreed to extend his contract until 2012.

Michael Elliott says that cheap tickets will be available for students and claimants at every concert. “Almost nowhere else can people attend a concert for as little as £5,” he said.

* FRIDAY’s opening concert conducted by Vasily Petrenko will also include Ravel’s Scheherazade and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances.

philkey@dailypost.co.uk