Concert: 7 February 2008, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen
Programme: Messiaen Turângalila-symphonie
Source: Classical Source

The Orchestra was here in prime form and played with incision, concentration and detail from the off and didn’t let up in either rhythmic tenacity or sweetness of expression.

Concert: 31 January 2008, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: André de Ridder
Programme: Portrait of Luca Francesconi
Source: The Telegraph

Of all the ways to discover new music in London, the Philharmonia's "Music of Today" series is among the best.

Concert: 29 January 2008, Fairfield Croydon
Conductor: Kiril Karabits
Programme: Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky Korsakov Night on the Bare Mountain; Dvořák Cello Concerto; Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Source: The Telegraph

The orchestra was on brilliant form, and the sudden ray of sunshine in the coda, where Isserlis turned away as though he too could not bear the memory of Josefina's youth, was shattering.

Concert: 2 December 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Programme: Beethoven The Consecration of the House; Schumann Piano Concerto (with Radu Lupu); Mussorgsky arr. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition
Source: The Times

I’ve rarely heard the Philharmonia’s silky warmth so transparently conveyed; equally, I’ve rarely heard that quicksilver elegance so judiciously underscored with barracuda bite

Concert: 2 December 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Programme: Beethoven The Consecration of the House; Schumann Piano Concerto (with Radu Lupu); Mussorgsky arr. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition
Source: The Independent

Every last semiquaver precisely in place, the result was sonically thrilling

Concert: 2 December 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Programme: Beethoven The Consecration of the House; Schumann Piano Concerto (with Radu Lupu); Mussorgsky arr. Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition
Source: Financial Times

The Philharmonia sounded proud and imposing, a glowing ensemble built on the foundation of a firm bass line. We were evidently passing through the portals of a grand establishment... The full orchestra offered an exhibition of glamorous tone.

Concert: 15 November 2007 (Music of Today), Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Edward Gardner
Programme: Nicholas Maw: Personae IV & V; La Vita Nuova
Source: The Guardian

One of the great virtues of the Philharmonia's free, early-evening Music of Today concerts is their variety and open-mindedness.

Concert: 4 November 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Leif Segerstam
Programme: Sibelius Karelia Suite; Sibelius Violin Concerto (with Julian Rachlin); Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
Source: Classical Source

Segerstam and the Philharmonia excelled in vigour and spontaneity, in meticulous respect for sound, timbre and phrase. Each section of the music sounded charmed, the playing both considered and inspired. There was a palpable sense of occasion. Each instrumentalist contributed a particular resonance; it was as though we had never so freshly heard the flute, clarinet and bassoon passages in the slow movement. Had we ever heard the strings being so softly yet authoritatively plucked in the scherzo? The Philharmonia played gloriously, with such volume and praise – and particularly the brass, which exceeded previous climaxes so blazingly, with sounds still so rounded.

Concert: 25 October 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Programme: Wagner Overture, Die Meistersinger; Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (with Vadim Repin); Schumann Symphony No. 2
Source: The Times

Ashkenazy’s music-making with the Philharmonia was hot. Short bowing, taut rhythms and a sense of seething nervous energy did more than justice to what Schumann himself described as the “capricious, refractory” character of the first movement – and to the scherzo that followed.

Concert: 23 October 2007, Plymouth Pavilions
Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Programme: Wagner Overture, Die Meistersinger; Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (with So-Ock Kim); Schumann Symphony No. 2
Source: The Plymouth Herald

The Philharmonia did more than merely confirm that they are one of the finest outfits around today. They also addressed that seemingly elusive conundrum of how to get a large audience for a classical concert… Conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy brought his vast musical experience, yet delightfully unassuming nature to the task and, despite his smallness of stature, controlled his forces with truly gargantuan effortlessness. Opening with Wagner’s epic Mastersingers Overture, the playing grew imperceptibly in intensity, so that there was more than enough left in the tank for its triumphant conclusion. Schumann’s Second Symphony is far less familiar than its two numbered successors, and yet, in the capable hands of Maestro Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia, it demanded to be far better known.

Concert: 4 October 2007 (Music of Today), Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Peter Eötvös
Programme: Eötvös Chinese Opera
Source: The Guardian

The London orchestras may not be famous for their commitment to new music, but the Philharmonia’s Music of Today series is an outstanding exception to that rule.

Concert: 4 October 2007, Royal Festival Hall
Conductor: Christoph von Dohnányi
Programme: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2; Strauss Ein Heldenleben
Source: Classical Source

The Philharmonia emerged with flying colours.