Clients

“Vasily Petrenko has galvanised the Liverpool Philharmonic into a sleek, shining international standard.” The Observer

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest orchestra in Britain with its origins dating back to the formation of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society in 1840. The RLPO gives over sixty concerts from its home base, Philharmonic Hall, as well as making frequent appearances in concert halls throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. In September 2006 Vasily Petrenko became Principal Conductor of the orchestra and his performances with the RLPO quickly led to him being hailed by the national press as one of the great conductors of his generation. Ticket sales for all RLPO concerts have now increased to a historic, all-time, high.

The Orchestra records for many companies, including Naxos, Avie, EMI and Universal. In 1998 it launched its own recording label, RLPO Live, which features recordings made at concerts in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

In November 2001 the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Classic FM announced a ground-breaking partnership which designates the Liverpool Phil, as it is affectionately known, as Classic FM’s Orchestra in North West England.

Albion Media is employed to promote the RLPO in the national press and has been a key part of the success story that has established the orchestra and Petrenko as one of the most exciting combinations in the UK arts scene.

Case study:

 Albion Media client for

• Public relations

THE BRIEF TO ALBION MEDIA
Albion Media was appointed to handle the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s public relations after Vasily Petrenko took up his appointment in 2006. A particular emphasis of the brief was to raise the orchestra’s profile on a national level, for instance by encouraging concert reviews in national newspapers.

APPROACH and ACHIEVEMENTS
Public relations have played a strategic role in the transformation of the RLPO that has taken place over the last four years. The orchestra is now very much on the national media circuit and in December 2008 was named one of three ‘up-and-coming orchestras’ in the world by Gramophone magazine. In 2007, Vasily Petrenko was named Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2007, while in 2009 orchestra and conductor won a Classic FM/Gramophone Award for the orchestral recording of the year: Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony on the Naxos label; “The Petrenko era in Liverpool continues to yield rich dividends,” said the magazine. Also in 2009, the RLPO and its contemporary music group Ensemble 10/10 were jointly named Ensemble of the Year at the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, the UK’s most prestigious accolade for live classical music-making. The orchestra also won a Big Chip Digital Industry Award for its innovation in giving a live performance in 2007 to an audience of avatars on Second Life, the Internet-based virtual world; Albion Media obtained national and international coverage for the initiative, including an article in the New York Times.