Symphonic/Philarmonic Orchestras ?

[Papy Oli]

Hi All,

What is/are the difference(s), if any, between the 2 please ? Is it anything to do with the instruments sections, numbers of musicians in it, etc ?

Thanks.

[mahlertitan]

i'm not sure, could be just different ways to say the same thing, but i could be wrong.

[knight66]

There is no difference at all. A matter of choice in making up the name of the orchestra. The LSO is the London Symphony Orchestra. The LPO is the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Both play the same repertoire, they are full size orchestras.

Mike

[Papy Oli]

Okey dokey, thanks for the clarification, MT and Knight ! 

[knight66]

No sweat.

Mike

[Bonehelm]

The difference is huge. Philharmonic sounds way cooler. Symphony orchestra sounds like a 50 member ensemble.

[knight66]

You are of course joking, I am hoping the person asking the question clues into that.

The Chicago Sym. Orch. rarely sounds like a 50 piece band.

Mike

[Bonehelm]

You are of course joking, I am hoping the person asking the question clues into that.

The Chicago Sym. Orch. rarely sounds like a 50 piece band.

Mike

I was obviously joking.

[Steve]

You are of course joking, I am hoping the person asking the question clues into that.

The Chicago Sym. Orch. rarely sounds like a 50 piece band.

Mike

Only when Zinman's conducting. 

[Joan]

This subject reminds me of the orchestra that changed its name to "Symphonicity"...you've probably all seen this before:

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6282.html

The Virginia Beach Symphony has decided to rebrand itself as 'Symphonicity,' reports The Virginian-Pilot.

Orchestra management announced its new name at a concert on April 1. Music director David Kunkel told his audience that the 26-year-old orchestra decided to rename itself for two reasons. First, it wants to minimize confusion with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, based in nearby Norfolk and led by JoAnn Falletta.

Secondly, the orchestra will shortly move into a new and larger home at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, where its first concert is scheduled for November 18. It needs to attract a bigger audience and thus also requires a beefed-up marketing campaign.

According to the Virginian-Pilot, the orchestra hired a consultant and brainstormed a list of hundreds of possible names. The result was Symphonicity, with a fermata over the first "i." In print, the name will always be accompanied by a six-word subtitle, "The Symphony Orchestra of Virginia Beach," until people get accustomed to the new name.

The newspaper report points out that Symphonicity sounds a lot like "Synchronicity," the 1983 album and song by The Police, which is the first thing Robin MacPherson, senior art director at HCD Advertising & Public Relations, thought of when she saw the new name.

"It's a $50 word, that's for sure," Dan Downing, executive vice president at HCD, told the paper. "But it's something that you see it, you don't forget it."

I wonder if this will inspire a Philharmonic orchestra to change their name to "Philharmonious?"

[pjme]

"Syn - phonein ": sound together 

phonos (phoh NOHS), "voice"

and the Greek :syn-(sy-, sym-, syl-, sys-). (Greek: together, with, along with).
By extension, syn- may also mean: together, with; united; same, similar; at the same time.


Phil - harmonia : friend(s) of harmony / sounding together / Devoted to or appreciative of music.


From the Greek : philo-, phil-, -phile, -philia, -philic, -philous, -phily, -philiac, -philist, -philism (Greek: love, loving, friendly to, fondness for, attraction to, strong tendency toward, affinity for).

Harmon : (Greek > Latin: a fitting together, joining, proportion, concord, agreement, musical harmony)


Peter

[Papy Oli]

Thanks 

and yes, Philarmonic sounds waaaaaaaaaaaaay cooler indeed 

[jochanaan]

And then there are those orchestras that don't call themselves either, like the Cleveland Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

[RebLem]

You are of course joking, I am hoping the person asking the question clues into that.

The Chicago Sym. Orch. rarely sounds like a 50 piece band.

Mike

The Berliner Philharmoniker has 90 members.  The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has 106 members. 

Them's da facts.

[pjme]

I know, I know, it is nitpicking ...but :

I count 124 members at the Berlin PO.....( incl. 4 Konzertmeister;,excl. 3 or 4 open posts)....see: http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/de/orchester/

Peter

[Choo Choo]

Nowadays there's no significance in the use of philharmonic or symphony in the names of orchestras.

However, I believe it is the case that at some points in the past, in some places, the name philharmonic did carry a connotation of amateurism - in the sense of being an enthusiast - or charitable status e.g. the considerable number of "Philharmonic Societies" and "Philharmonic Choirs" which sprang up in Britain in the 19th century.  (It was the Philharmonic Society of London, later Royal Philharmonic Society, which commissioned Beethoven's 9th Symphony.)

[techniquest]

It's an odd thing though - composers write symphonies but no one writes philharmonies. I wonder why?

[Bonehelm]

The Berliner Philharmoniker has 90 members.  The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has 106 members. 

Them's da facts.

BPO certainly has more than that. Just look up their Mahler videos...huge orchestra and chorus.

[Szykneij]

It's an odd thing though - composers write symphonies but no one writes philharmonies.

Nope. Just philm scores.   

[Heather Harrison]

It's an odd thing though - composers write symphonies but no one writes philharmonies. I wonder why?

Maybe this will give one of our resident composers and idea.

Anyway, a slight variation on this is "Philharmonia".  The Utah Philharmonia is one of the student orchestras at the University of Utah, and the Utah Symphony is the local professional orchestra.

Heather