Pro Arte Orchestra
The Pro Arte Orchestra was a British symphony orchestra founded in 1955.[1]
Background
The Pro Arte Orchestra was founded as a limited company chaired by the double-bass player Eugene Cruft; directors also included Archie Camden and Antony English. The initial aim was to perform "the finest of the lighter classics in orchestral music".[1] The first concert was given at the Royal Festival Hall on 21 October 1955 with a Rossini overture, Schubert's Unfinished, Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole and works by Strauss and Chabrier, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.[1] Much of the work of the orchestra, however, was in the recording studio, particularly for the Pye-Nixa label.
In the early years other players in orchestra included Cecil Aronowitz, Francisco Gabarro, Richard Adeney, Peter Graeme, Gervase de Peyer, Raymond Cohen and Alan Civil.[1] The last London performance advertised by the orchestra was in 1970.[2]
Discography
- Albinoni, Marcello, Cimarosa: Oboe concertos (Evelyn Rothwell)
- Arnell: The Great Detective – ballet suite
- Bach: Concerto for four harpsichords
- Beethoven: Violin Concerto (Igor Oistrakh)
- Coates: Cinderella, London Bridge, The Enchanted Garden, By The Sleepy Lagoon, Footlights
- Gay: The Beggar's Opera
- Handel: Music For The Royal Fireworks, Concerto a due cori in F Major (No. 2)
- Herrmann: Wuthering Heights
- Janáček: Sinfonietta and opera preludes
- Piccinni: La Cecchina, ossia La buona figliuola
- Rawsthorne: Madame Chrysanthème – Ballet Suite, Street Corner Overture
- Sullivan-Mackerras: Pineapple Poll
- Sullivan: Iolanthe, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Patience, Ruddigore and The Yeomen of the Guard; overtures Cox & Box, The Sorcerer and Princess Ida.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Potts, Joseph E., “Orchestral Profile – The Pro Arte Orchestra”, The Gramophone, October 1959, p. 163 (p. 33 in online version)
- ↑ "Today's engagements", The Times, 30 March 30 1970, p. 8.
