The Barbirolli Society was formed in 1972. Since then, its aim has always been to keep alive the art of Sir John Barbirolli. The continued release of Sir John’s recordings has been the Society’s main work. For new generations of music-lovers, these recordings are now the only way to re-live that particular joy of Barbirolli’s unique music-making.

From the outset, the Society issued recordings on its own label, with the first LP issues consisting of Barbirolli interviews and chamber music recordings from the 1 920s. The Society went on to produce five major LP releases featuring EMI recordings of Vaughan Williams’s Sinfonia Antartica, Tuba Concerto, Dives & Lazarus, Oboe concerto and The Wasps; the 1954 recording of Elgar’s Symphony No.2; previously unpublished recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet, Berlioz’s Roman Carnival and Verdi’s Force of Destiny; an LP of the John Barbirolli Chamber Orchestra in Haydn’s London Symphony, Mozart’s Eine kleine nachtmusik, Purcell’s Horn pipe and Elgar’s Introduction & Allegro. All of these have now appeared on CD and the John Barbirolli Chamber Orchestra CD compilation is also offered as part of our new membership offer — see membership page for details.

The Society has a licencing agreement with EMI Classics and we have released Sir John’s HMV and Pye recordings in the ‘Barbirolli Edition’, which has been a collaboration with Dutton. The Society has also produced CDs in collaboration with Testament including ‘live’ recordings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Details of our releases can be found on this website.

The Society has been active in researching and locating recorded performances by Sir John Barbirolli, - either from private sources or from broadcasts. We continue to expand our search for Barbirolli recordings and have established an archive of recordings, photographs and concert programmes for future generations.