Works Premiered by the LSO

The 1900s

1905

Just one year after players from the Queen's Hall Orchestra resigned and formed the London Symphony Orchestra in 1904, the Orchestra performed the world premiere of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No 3, conducted by the composer himself.

1908

The LSO had a famously close relationship with Elgar (he became Principal Conductor in 1911!) and in 1908, they gave the first London performance of Elgar's First Symphony. This was conducted by the LSO's first ever Principal Conductor, Hans Richter.

The 1920s

1920

Exactly 100 years ago, Albert Coates conducted the first complete performance of Holst’s The Planets at the Queen’s Hall, as well as the premiere of the second revised version of Vaughan Williams’s London Symphony.

1923

UK premiere of Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (this arrangement originally called The Paintings from the Picture Show), conducted by Serge Koussevitzky.

1929

London premiere of Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto, played by the composer with Albert Coates conducting.

The 1950s

1953

The LSO gives the first London performance of Strauss’ Symphonic Fragment, The Legend of Joseph, conducted by Eugene Goossens.

1956

First UK performance of Mahler’s Das klagende Lied, conducted by Walter Goehr.

_{Image: Gustav Mahler}

The 1970s

1971

World premiere of Ravi Shankar’s LSO-commissioned Sitar Concerto, with Shankar as sitarist, conducted by André Previn. Shankar was a key figure in bringing sitar music to the Western mainstream, with performances such as these helping him promote the sitar.

London premiere of Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony (‘Babi Yar’), conducted by André Previn.

_{Image: Ravi Shankar}