The Royal Philharmonic Society has commissioned new works to composers since 1813. Most notable pieces commissioned by the Society are Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No.4 and Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No.8.
This is a list of compositions commissioned by the RPS or dedicated to the Royal Philharmonic Society (London) since 1813.
1814 L. Berger: Overture Cherubini: Overture
1815 Cherubini: Overture in G Cherubini: Symphony in D Ries: Symphony
1816 Ries: Bardic Overture Klengel: Piano Quintet Potter: Overture Ries: Symphony No.3 in Eb Müller: Clarinet Quintet J. F. Burrowes: Overture Cherubini: Cantata La Primavera Clementi: Symphony Potter: Septet for piano, flute and strings Fémy: Symphony in E minor
1817 Burghersh: Symphony
1819 Ries: Scena Sia Luminosa
1821 Spohr: Overture in F Bochsa: Septet for harp, wind and double bass
1825 Beethoven: Symphony No.9
1832 Neukomm: Septet (Fantasia Concertante) for wind and double bass Onslow: Symphony
1833 Cramer: Piano Quintet in Bb Moscheles: Grand Septet for piano, strings, clarinet and horn Mendelssohn: Symphony No.4 in A (Italian) Hummel: Piano Concerto in F Neukomm: Fantasia Dramatica on Paradise Lost Potter: Symphony in A minor Mendelssohn: Trumpet Overture in C
1834 H. R. Bishop: Cantata The Seventh Day Vincent Novello: Dramatic Cantata Rosalba Horsley: Motet Exultabo Te Mendelssohn: Concert Aria Infelice (op.94)
1835 Herz: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor
1836 H. R. Bishop: Cantata The Departure from Paradise
1848 Spohr: Symphony No.8 in G major
1862 Bennett: Overture Paradise and the Peri
1864 Bennett: Symphony in G minor
1867 Sullivan: Overture Marmion
1868 Barnett: Overture symphonique Benedict: Overture La selva incantata
1872 Bennett: Prelude Ajax
1875 Macfarren: Idyll in Memory of Sterndale Bennett
1881 Cowen: Sinfonietta in A minor
1883 King: Overture Among the Pines
1885 Mielck: Dramatische Ouverture Wingham: Serenade for Orchestra
1886 Gadsby: Scene The Forest of Arden Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C "Organ" Moszkowski: Suite for orchestra
1887 Corder: Suite Roumanian Randegger: Scena Prayer of Nature
1895 Parry: Symphony No.3 in F (revised)
1896 Dvořák: Five Biblical Songs with orchestra
1898 MacCunn: Ballet music from Diarmid
1907 Tivadar Nachéz: 2ème Concerto pour Violon (si mineur) op. 36
1910 Luigi Mancinelli: Romantic Overture
1917 German: Song Have you news of my boy Jack?
1950 Rawsthorne: Symphony
1958 Vaughan Williams: Symphony No.9
1963 Walton: Variations on a Theme of Hindemith
1966 Hoddinott: Variants for Orchestra
1969 Musgrave: Clarinet Concerto
1970 Lutosławski: Cello Concerto
1971 Joubert: Symphony No.2
1975 Cooke: Symphony No.4
1982 Simpson: Symphony No.8
1985 Musgrave and Bennett: Moving into Aquarius
1987 Andrzej Panufnik: Symphony No.9 Burgon: Song cycle Title Divine
1989 Arnold: Cello Concerto
1992 Saxton: Paraphrase on Mozart's Idomeneo
2000 Jonathan Cole: Ouroboros
2001 Luke Bedford: Five Abstracts, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Judith Bingham: Fifty Shades of GreenZ Burgon: Heavenly Things Simon Holt: Two Movements for String Quartet
2002 Brett Dean: Huntington Eulogy John Woolrich: Darker Still David Gorton: Oblique Prayers, winner of the RPS Composition Prize
2003 Richard Rodney Bennett: Songs before Sleep Elliott Carter: Of Rewaking Jonathan Dove: Run to the Edge Detlev Glanert: Three Pieces David Lang: Breathless John Hails: Lovesongs, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Leon Kirchner: Interlude II Simon Mawhinney: Darby's Loanin, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Julian Philips: Four Characters : Quattro Intermezzi Karin Rehnqvist: Beginning Augusta Read Thomas: Pulsar
2004 : Symphonia for the London Sinfonietta, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Phillip Neil Martin: An Outburst of Time for the Cheltenham Festival, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Dai Fujikura: Be
2005 Dai Fujikura: Another Place for the Cheltenham Festival, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Lyell Cresswell: Ara Kopikopiko, winner of the RPS Composition Prize
2006 Hugh Wood: Wild Cyclamen, Op.49 Emily Hall: My Dirty Little Heart, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Christopher Mayo: Passed the Last River, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Anders Nordentoft: Parasto Mark-Anthony Turnage: Two Baudelaire Songs Django Bates: Alison in Space Ian Wilson: Red Over Black Huw Watkins: Partita
2007 Eleanor Alberga: Succubus Moon Dominick Argento: Three Sonnets of Petrarch Deirdre Gribbin: Calum's Light Philippe Hersant: In Black Mark Bowden, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Charlie Piper, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Stuart MacRae: Unity Joseph Phibbs: Flex Julian Philips: Four Characters
2008 Cheryl Frances-Hoad: My Day in Hell, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Alexander Goehr: Since Brass, nor Stone... Dominic Muldowney: Tsunami Gwilym Simcock: Contours Tristan Rhys Williams: "Kapur", winner of the RPS Composition Prize
2009 Dobrinka Tabakova: Suite in Jazz Style Gwilym Simcock: Contours Alexander Goehr: Since Brass, nor Stone Claudia Molitor: Alert Benjamin Cox: In Memoriam Evis Sammoutis: Night, again, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Sasha Siem: From the White Dictionary, winner of the RPS Composition Prize Tom Arthurs: And Distant Shore, winner of the RPS Composition Prize
2010 Martin Suckling: To see the dark between (Aronowitz Ensemble, Wigmore Hall) - RPS Composition Prize Dimitris Economou: Metamorphosis (members of the Philharmonia, Patrick Bailey - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize Shiva Feshareki: out of sorts (members of the Philharmonia, Patrick Bailey - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize Michael Langemann: Epode for string quartet (Solstice Quartet, Cheltenham Music Festival) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Christian Mason: Looking for the Land that is Nowhere (Lydia Kavina, theremin, members of the Philharmonia, Patrick Bailey - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize
2011 Dario Palermo: The Difference Engine (score for dance work, 12 October 2011) - RPS Drummond Fund Darren Bloom:: Three (Manus Noble - guitar) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Charlotte Bray: Replay (Festival Academy Soloists: Alexandra Wood - violin, Cian O’Duill - viola, Robin Michael - cello, Huw Watkins - piano, Cheltenham Festival) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Steven Daverson: Schattenwanderer (Mark van der Wiel - clarinet, members of the Philharmonia, Clark Rundell - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize Edward Nesbit: Concerto for violin and ensemble (Maya Iwabuchi - violin, members of the Philharmonia, Clark Rundell - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize Mark Simpson: Lethe (Byron Fulcher - trombone, members of the Philharmonia, Clark Rundell - conductor) - RPS Composition Prize
2012 Stef Conner: Arranging Old Silks (Philharmonia MOT 2012) - RPS Composition Prize David Curington: Nine Accumulations (Philharmonia MOT 2012) - RPS Composition Prize Philip Dawson: Heath’s Contraption (Philharmonia MOT 2012) - RPS Composition Prize Lauri Supponen: The Dordrecht Humaphone (BBC Singers, Cheltenham Festival 2012) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Tom Harrold Locked Horns (Total Brass, 17 May 2012)
2013 Poul Ruders: String Quartet No 4 (Premiered at the Barbican centre by the Vertavo Quartet 9 March 2013) Jonathan Lloyd: Old Racket (for strings) (Premiered on Friday 12 April 2013 at the Barbican Centre by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis) Jonathan Lloyd: New Balls (for winds) (Premiered on Friday 17 May 2013 at the Barbican Centre by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Gaffigan) Judith Weir: I give you the end of a golden string (premiered on 8 June at the Aldeburgh Festival by Britten Sinfonia, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth) Sally Beamish, Charlotte Bray, Anna Meredith, Thea Musgrave: Innocence and Experience (premiered on 9 June at the Aldeburgh Festival by the New London Children's Choir, conducted by Ronald Corp) Harrison Birtwistle: Songs from the Same Earth (premiered on 13 June by tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Andrew West) Julian Philips: Maxamorphosis (score for dance, May 2013) - RPS Drummond Fund Magnus Lindberg: Red House (premiered on 22 June at the Aldeburgh Festival by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Oliver Knussen) Wolfgang Rihm: A Tribute (Über die Linie VIII) (Halle Orchestra, conducted by Mark Elder) Kenneth Hesketh: Forms Entangled, Shapes Collided (score for dance work, Repetition of Change, February 2013) - RPS Drummond Fund Huw Watkins: Little Symphony (David Curtis, conductor; Orchestra of the Swan, 21 June 2013) - Composer in the House. Mark-Anthony Turnage: Frieze (RPS, BBC Radio 3 and New York Philharmonic co-commission - premiere: BBC Proms, 11 August 2013) Tom Coult: (Philharmonia MOT June 2013) - RPS Composition Prize Arne Gieshoff: Ad Bestias (Philharmonia MOT June 2013) - RPS Composition Prize Christopher McAteer: Casement (Philharmonia MOT June 2013) - RPS Composition Prize David Onac: String Quartet No.6 (Carducci Quartet, Cheltenham Music Festival) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Robert Peate: Pearl (Clare Hammond piano, Presteigne Festival 2013) - RPS Composition Prize, Presteigne Festival Alan Horne Memorial commission Bertie Baigent: Joie de Vivre (RPS Fanfare Commissions; brass players of the NYO, Mathew Coorey - conductor, 11 August 2013) Tom Harrold: Fanfaronade (RPS/IAMA Fanfare Commission; Buzz Brass, 7 November 2013) Benjamin Graves: Le Science de Monsieur Berlioz (Players from GSMD, 1 November 2013) Joshue Kaye: Le Science de Monsieur Berlioz (Players from GSMD, 1 November 2013) Ella Jarman-Pinto: Le Science de Monsieur Berlioz (Players from GSMD, 1 November 2013) Aled Smith: Uncertain Light (Alexandra Dariescu, piano, November 2013)
2014 Matthew Kaner: Mosaic (Philharmonia MOT June 2014) - RPS Composition Prize Michael Cutting: I am a strange loop II (Philharmonia MOT June 2014) - RPS Composition Prize Samantha Fernando: Sense of Place (Philharmonia MOT June 2014) - RPS Composition Prize Daniel Kidane: Spear (Kate Romanom clarinet & Richard Uttley, piano, Presteigne Festival 2014) - RPS Composition Prize, Presteigne Festival Alan Horne Memorial commission Tom Stewart: Flying Kites Concentric Ceilings (Fidelio Trio, Cheltenham Festival 2014) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Dobrinka Tabakova PULSE (score for film in collaboration with film-maker Ruth Paxton, February 2014) Huw Watkins: Remember (Ruby Hughes, soprano; David Curtis, conductor and Orchestra of the Swan, 30 May 2014 Stratford-upon-Avon, Civic Hall) As part of Composer in the House.
2015 Ed Scolding: Brut (in collaboration with Peter Groom; BFI Southbank, for SOUND:VISION) Dani Howard: Visions (in collaboration with Victoria Fiore; BFI Southbank, for SOUND:VISION) Joe Jackson: At First Sight (in collaboration with Chloe Wicks; BFI Southbank, for SOUND:VISION) Theo Vidgen: Swan Song for Four Cellos (in collaboration with Sophie Barrott; BFI Southbank, for SOUND:VISION) Sarah Lianne Lewis: Palimpsest (in collaboration with Christopher Lutterodt-Quarcoo; BFI Southbank, for SOUND:VISION) Huw Watkins: Envoi (Orchestra of the Swan, David Curtis - conductor, for Composer in the House) Nicholas Morrish: Abandonment and Ruin (Kokoro, for Cheltenham Music Festival) - RPS Composition Prize, supported by the Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund Samuel Bordoli: As I Lay Dying (Philharmonia players, Royal Festival Hall) - RPS Composition Prize Oliver Leith: Craquelure (Philharmonia players, Royal Festival Hall) - RPS Composition Prize