Whilst nothing comes close to the magic of the live concert experience, new research from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) reveals a resurgence of public interest in enjoying recordings of orchestral music – and for people new to the genre, recordings are a vital source of music discovery as well as being an important signpost to the concert hall experience.
National RPO tracking research conducted this month reveals a six-year peak in the percentage of UK adults that say they pursue activities at home to develop their knowledge of, and interest in, classical music – 85%, up from 73% last July. Despite the advent of podcasts, classical music on the radio is enjoyed by 52% of adults. Beyond this, the new RPO research indicates a significant rise in the percentage of adults that express interest in building a collection of recorded orchestral music – up from 26% last July to 38% this year.
Who are the big music collectors?
Whilst long-established orchestral music fans (46%) and music students (52%) are often the most avid music collectors, the RPO research suggests that recorded music also has a key role to play for those people new to the genre. Nationally, 39% of those starting an orchestral journey said they liked to enjoy recorded music at home – and 42% of those keen to experience orchestral music for the first time said they would start their journey by listening to classical recordings.
Which formats of recorded music?
In an age when the rise of streaming has seen many record stores leave the high street, the RPO data suggests that vinyl and CD formats may be having a quiet revival among orchestral music fans. Whilst 48% of survey respondents said they liked to listen to orchestral music through streaming sites and playlists, 17% preferred building a physical collection of CDs and vinyl. A further 10% of people said they liked to buy orchestral music downloads for a digital collection.
Regional hotspots
Yorkshire and Humberside emerged as the region where orchestral fans were most likely to enjoy recorded orchestral music at home (48%), closely followed by London (41%) and the North East (42%).
Other ways people nurture an interest in orchestral music at home
Beyond the allure of recorded music and radio, 22% of survey respondents said they enjoyed podcasts that featured orchestral music, 18% said they liked to watch concerts online, 13% liked to read books about the genre, and 10% said they were even learning a musical instrument at home.
The resurgent public interested in recorded orchestral music comes at a time when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is embarking on a new recording partnership with the harmonia mundi record label, which will see the Orchestra and its Music Director, Vasily Petrenko, release live recordings of the great symphonic repertoire.
Vasily Petrenko, Music Director at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra comments: “Our research this year shows that interest in orchestral music is on the rise and it’s very encouraging to see that an increasing number of people are experiencing the genre for the first time. For many people new to orchestral music, the magic of the live concert experience is usually the moment that converts curiosity into interest, but recorded music has always played an important role in getting people to the concert hall in the first place.”
“For many classical fans, the joy of building a music collection and comparing different interpretations of popular works deepens an appreciation and love for a universe of music that can become a lifetime journey of enrichment and discovery. To this end, I am delighted to be embarking on an exciting new recording project with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which will allow our musicmaking to be heard and enjoyed far beyond the concert hall. Significantly, our new partnership with harmonia mundi will feature recordings captured live in the concert hall, because we want to convey the spontaneity and excitement of the concert hall experience to new audiences.”
The first RPO recording to be released by harmonia mundi will feature Elgar’s symphonic study ‘Falstaff’ and Rachmaninov’s choral symphony ‘The Bells.’ This is scheduled for release later this autumn, with a series of new recordings to follow through 2026. The RPO’s rich recording legacy includes collaborations with the likes of Sir Thomas Beecham, André Previn, Sir Charles Mackerras, Yehudi Menuhin, Antal Dorati, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yuri Temirkanov – and, more recently, Joe Hisaishi (RPO Composer-in-Association).
