Philharmonia Orchestra Audio Podcast

Orchestra Unwrapped is a major education initiative led by the Philharmonia Orchestra for Leicester and Basingstoke schoolchildren. Thousands of children aged 7-11 are given the opportunity to see a symphony orchestra and learn more about classical music in an engaging, funny and age-appropriate show. Find out more here: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/orchestra_unwrapped/

The Three Choirs Festival is the world's oldest and greatest Choral festival, and this year it will be held in Hereford Cathedral from 21-27 July. The Philharmonia continues their three year residency at the festival and to celebrate we talk to those involved in making it happen. Highlights at this year's festival include Julian Lloyd Webber playing Delius's Cello Concerto, Joseph Phibbs's new composition Rivers to the Sea and a rare performance of Dyson's Pilgrim's Progress.

British composer Joseph Phibbs was commissioned by Anvil Arts and the Philharmonia Orchestra to write a new symphonic work for The Anvil, Basingstoke's 18th Birthday celebrations and to mark the continuing relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra as The Anvil's Orchestra in Partnership. We met with Joseph Phibbs while he was writing his new work, Rivers to the Sea, to get special insight into the composition process. Rivers to the Sea premières at the Anvil, Basingstoke on Fri 22 June 2012: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/22jun12/. London premiere at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, 28 June 2012: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/28jun12/. Three Choirs Festival, 21 July 2012: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/21jul12/. Auditorio Lingotto, Turin, 20 Sept 2012: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/20sep12/. Beethovenfest, Bonn, 5 Oct 2012: philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/05oct12/

In 2012 Esa-Pekka Salonen will begin a Beethoven symphonic series with the Philharmonia Orchestra, an exploration of cornerstones of the orchestral repertoire, culminating in a complete symphony cycle at the Beethovenfest in October 2012. In our latest podcast, Esa-Pekka Salonen explains why Beethoven matters. Click here for series information: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/salonen_beethoven/

Guitarist Craig Ogden in conversation with Leicester-based sitar player Roopa Panesar. The two virtuosi compare instrumental techniques and find links between the Indian and western classical music traditions. This podcast also gives audiences an introduction to Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, which Ogden will perform in Leicester on 1 February 2012. The project was a collaboration with Shruti Arts and Orchestras Live. For concert information and booking visit: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/1feb12/

The Philharmonia Orchestra's Digital team travelled to Florence, Italy to discover the personal story behind Luigi Dallapiccola's opera, Il Prigioniero. Written between 1944 and 1948, Il Prigioniero expresses Dallapiccola's disillusionment with Mussolini's politics. Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen, writer and recording producer Misha Donat, and professor Mila De Santis give insight into this moving political statement. Find out more about the 26 January 2012 concert of Il Prigioniero here: http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/26jan12/ Part of "The still point of the turning world": Music that defines an era series supported by the Meyer Foundation. (http://www.philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/series/still_point/)

Step into the world of Duke Bluebeard's Castle and discover the work done behind the scenes to bring the Philharmonia Orchestra's production of Bartók's only opera to life. Directed by Nick Hillel of Yeast Culture and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, this unique, new production features specially created films projected onto the set surrounding the orchestra. The production tours the UK and Europe in October and November 2011. A Philharmonia Orchestra, Rite Digital and Yeast Culture production. Co-commissioned by the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Lisbon) and Konzerthaus Dortmund. Part of the Infernal Dance: Inside the World of Béla Bartók season, generously supported by the Meyer Foundation. For series and concert information, please visit our Bartók mini-site. (www.philharmonia.co.uk/bartok)

Watch our behind-the-scenes film as Esa-Pekka Salonen prepares for a performance of Sibelius’s ‘choral’ symphony, Kullervo, based on a dark tale from the Finnish epic, the Kalevala. Salonen travelled to Uppsala, Sweden to rehearse with the male choir, Orphei Drängar, who feature prominently in the piece. This concert opens the Philharmonia Orchestra's 2011/12 London Season at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall. Click here to learn more and book tickets. philharmonia.co.uk/concerts/25sept11/

The Philharmonia Orchestra begins a new residency at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from November 2011. The residency, the first by a major symphony orchestra in Kent, will feature an annual series of concerts at The Marlowe Theatre, as well as forging links with local education organisations. Visit philharmonia.co.uk/canterbury for more information.

Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Yefim Bronfman meet Dániel Hamar and László Porteleki from Hungary's leading folk music ensemble, Muzsikás. Muzsikás perform traditional Hungarian pieces and discuss their origins, including the influence that this music had upon the work of Béla Bartók. Muzsikás will be performing in London and Basingstoke in 2011 as part of the Philharmonia's Infernal Dance series. For more information on these concerts or others in the series please visit : philharmonia.co.uk/​bartok

As part of his epic cycle of Mahler's major works this season with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Lorin Maazel talks to Classic FM's Anne-Marie Minhall about Gustav Mahler, the man. The series runs from April - October 2011. Visit www.philharmonia.co.uk/mahler for more details.

In preparation for the Philharmonia Orchestra's Maazel: Mahler Cycle 2011, celebrated conductor Lorin Maazel discusses the music of the great composer with Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall. The series runs from April - October 2011. Visit www.philharmonia.co.uk/mahler for more details.

Composer and conductor Carl Davis gives insight into his score for Rupert Julian's 1925 silent film, The Phantom of the Opera. The Philharmonia Orchestra presents a screening of the film with live orchestral accompaniment on Sun 27 March at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall.

Malcolm Gillies travels to Béla Bartók's birthplace in Romania to explore the historical, ethnic, and political tensions that shaped Bartók's Hungary, and informed him musically. This film accompanies the Philharmonia Orchestra's 'Infernal Dance' series.

Throughout 2011 Esa-Pekka Salonen's major exploration of Bartók's life, influences and music travels throughout the UK and Europe. To kick off the project this January, Esa-Pekka Salonen discusses why he finds Bartók's works fascinating, challenging and inspiring.

Members of the Philharmonia Orchestra's brass section braved the cold this December to produce the orchestra's annual Christmas card. Filmed of the roof of London's Southbank Centre, the podcast features an arrangement of O Little Town of Bethlehem by Tim Jackson and great views of London. Happy Christmas from everyone at the Philharmonia Orchestra!

We went behind the scenes at Air Studios as the Philharmonia Orchestra recorded the music for the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) Video Game to find out more about how music for games is composed, recorded and designed to enhance the in-game experience.

Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay was appointed Joint Concert Master of the Philharmonia Orchestra in 2007. At only 24, he had already been Germany’s youngest Concert Master and leader of the European Union Youth Orchestra. In this film Zsolt talks about learning the violin, his decision to become a professional player and his feelings about living in London.

Esa-Pekka Salonen and Peter Sellars’s Tristan und Isolde, with video art by Bill Viola, was premièred in Los Angeles in 2004 and has subsequently been revived in Paris and New York to great acclaim. Esa-Pekka Salonenand the Philharmonia Orchestra bring the production to the UK and other European venues, and this exclusive behind-the-scenes footage shows just how complex a production this is.

Set to complete his Rachmaninov Cycle with the Philharmonia this month, pianist Nikolai Lugansky plays excerpts from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and takes a closer look at this work.