Recordings
Recordings made by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) have been enjoyed by millions of people around the world for decades. We’ve been part of some of the most iconic orchestral albums ever laid down. We also made history as the first orchestra to start its own record label, back in 1986.
These days, there are over 70 million annual streams of RPO recordings. The latest chapter in our recording journey is a partnership with the boutique French label harmonia mundi. It will focus on some of the great works in symphonic music history, re-interpreted for our times by the RPO and our Music Director, Vasily Petrenko.
Our latest release
Mahler's Symphony No.3
Embracing the whole world, Mahler’s Symphony No.3 is a vast fresco in which nature, man and the spiritual interact on a cosmic scale. Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, Vasily Petrenko reveals all the richness of this visionary peak of Post-Romanticism with the combined forces of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus and Tiffin Boys’ Choir, and with the movingly expressive voice of Hanna Hipp.
The full album will be available for purchase and streaming on 22 May 2026.
Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Hanna Hipp Mezzo-soprano
Philharmonia Chorus
Tiffin Boys' Choir
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Listen
Symphony No.3 in D minor, Part II: V. 'Es sungen drei Engel'. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Live)
More with harmonia mundi
Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Elgar’s Falstaff
Recorded live in concert at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, the first recording in the series reflects Vasily’s Russian roots and British citizenship. It features Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s vast choral symphony, charting a journey through life imagined via the sonority of bells, alongside British composer Edward Elgar’s satirical romp on the larger-than-life character Sir John Falstaff from Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor. Both pieces were written in 1913, a landmark year in the history of music that produced countless masterpieces.
Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Mirjam Mesak Soprano
Pavel Petrov Tenor
Andrii Kymach Baritone
Philharmonia Chorus
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Listen
Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Elgar’s Falstaff
“Petrenko creates an inexorable flow in each movement that allows for plenty of detail without sacrificing dramatic expression.”
David A. McConnell
The Classic Review