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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
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The name of a society, a choir and an orchestra. The Liverpool Philharmonic Society was established in 1840 to present musical performances, with its members as the choir. As early as 1846 they were sufficiently confident to commission an architect, John Cunningham, to build them a hall; the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall opened in 1849 and was used by the society until it was burnt in 1933; its replacement, the present Philharmonic Hall (by Herbert Rowse), opened in 1939.
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Meanwhile the society's orchestra – the Philharmonic Band, as it was called in the mid-19C – was becoming increasingly professional; by 1851 amateurs were excluded from the principal positions. In the first half of the 20C the chief conductors were Henry *Wood and Thomas *Beecham; Malcolm *Sargent was in charge just after World War II, soon followed by John *Pritchard (1957–63) and Charles *Groves (1963–77). Royal patronage changed the name in 1957 to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO).
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