 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Keil
Date: 2000-05-11 21:46
All of these terms.... What's the difference? Honestly what is the difference between a philharmonic orchestra or a symphony orchestra? a Radio Symphony or a Opera Orchestra? a Philharmonic Radio Symphony Orchestra and a Radio Opera Philharmonic to the square root power of 2 Symphony? Honestly what is the difference?? Would the NY philharmonic be any less prestigious if it were called the NY Radio Symphony or the NY Symphony?
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Author: Al
Date: 2000-05-11 22:34
No difference. Believe me, no difference.
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Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 2000-05-11 23:12
A symphony orchestra is much bigger than a chamber orchestra. The other titles don't mean much. They're just ways of distinguishing different orchestras. In London, at one stage, there were four different professional orchestras (there may still be). They couldn't just call them all the London Orchestra, so various combinations of Philharmonic, Symphony etc. were used.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2000-05-12 10:14
In the way the terms are used today there is no practical difference between them.
The words, "Phil harmony", come from greek "Philos": friend, lover of, and "harmonia": blending together. It was first used in Italy, Academia filharmonico, meaning a society of music lovers who came together to play music. Usually they had a choir as well.
The word "symphony" comes also from greek: "syn-" "connect together" like in synchronize, and "phone"(phon-e): tone or sound.
As a concert-form it first developed in Italy at the end of the 17th C as an opera overture in three parts (fast-slow-fast) called "sinfonia". The form was later taken over by composers like Gossec (France) and J C Bach (England). The classical symphony as we know it today
developed mainly in the Mannheim school in the second half of the 18th C. One movement was added so the scheme usually looked like this: Fast movement in sonata form - Slow m.
in sub-dominant key - Minuet with Trio - Rondo. These big works required a large orchestra and that size of an orchestra (about 50 musicians) was later called a Symphony Orchestra (An orchestra big enough to play symphonies).
If the word "Radio" is added it only means that the orchestra is employed by a radio station.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2000-05-12 10:24
I forgot to tell you what an opera-orchestra is but maybe you can figure that one out yourself.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2000-05-12 10:44
Another term that you didn't ask about is "Royal", like in Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It means that the orchestra has a special permission from the royal highness of a country to use "Royal" as an extra prestigious title, implying that the orchestra is standing under the
majesty's protection.
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