The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the world’s great orchestras. Acknowledged as the UK’s foremost musical pioneer, with an extraordinary recording legacy, the Philharmonia leads the field for its quality of playing, and for its innovative approach to audience development, residencies, music education and the use of new technologies in reaching a global audience. Together with its relationships with the world’s most sought-after artists, most importantly its Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Philharmonia Orchestra is at the heart of British musical life.

Since September 2008 Salonen has been Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. In his first season in this role he devised and led City of Freams, a nine-month exploration of the music and culture of Vienna between 1900 and  1935. The project, which presented the music of Mahler, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky and Berg in its social and historical context, travelled to 18 cities across Europe, culminating in October 2009 with semi-staged performances of Berg’s Wozzeck, with  Simon Keenlyside in the title role. A series of recordings from the project is being released on the Philharmonia/Signum label, of which Gurrelieder is already available.

"This is the live performance with which Esa-Pekka Salonen launched the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Vienna:City of Dreams’ season in 2009, and you hear why it was critically acclaimed for the quality of  the soloists, the impact of the choruses and above all the playing of the Philharmonia - from transparent impressionistic textures to vast, bone-crunching climaxes." - BBC Music Website

"Salonen cracks into Schoenberg’s staked layers of activity and strikingly schizophrenic mood shifts, revealing clarity and sonic grandeur. His soloists are top-notch too. Essential listening." - Classic Fm Magazine