London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LPO), based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. It is based in the Royal Festival Hall.

It was formed in 1932 by Thomas Beecham, and played its first concert on October 7 of that year. In 1939 it became self-governing, with members of the orchestra themselves taking decisions on the organisation's affairs. During the Second World War the Orchestra was particularly active in touring the country and bringing orchestral music to places where it was not usually available.

Other principal conductors of the orchestra have included Adrian Boult (1951-57), Bernard Haitink (1967-79) and Georg Solti (1979-83). In 2000, Kurt Masur was appointed to the post.

As well as giving many classical concerts, the LPO has made several film soundtracks, including Lawrence of Arabia, Philadelphia, The Mission and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as some CD albums of the music from the video game series Dragon Quest, and the soundtrack for Xenosaga Episode I. They also occasionally play on popular music records, like Chick Corea's album Corea Concerto or Nightwish's Once for example. In the mid-90s the LPO even released a tribute album to English rock band Led Zeppelin with covers of the bands songs, including an infamous rendition of “Kashmir”.