Deryk Barker amplifies:

>Alan Moss ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>
>>"The New Grove" has it thus: "Philharmonia Chorus - an amateur choir
>>founded in 1957 by Walter Legge ...
>
>Apparently out of frustration caused by the lack of a choir in London
>good enough to record (in Legge's opinion).

... and, I could add, a desire to form a permanent chorus which could
be trained to produce a distinctive Austro-Germanic-British sound.

Since there seems to be some interest in this subject, I should mention
that regarding the four other main central London orchestras,

a) the Royal Philharmonic didn't (and still doesn't) have an eponymous
Chorus,

b) the London Philharmonic Choir and

c) the London Symphony Chorus were not organised on a permanent footing
till the 1960s, and

d) it was not till 1977 that the BBC Symphony Chorus became known by that
name (though a chorus existed previously as the BBC Choral Society, which
had actually been founded in 1928 as the National Chorus).

>The first choirmaster [of the Philharmonia Chorus], Wilhelm Pitz, was
>headhunted by Legge.

...  and served from 1957 till 1971, to be superseded in turn by Walter
Hagen-Groll, Norbert Balatsch, Heinz Mende (formerly chorus master of the
Bavarian Radio Chorus) and Horst Neumann (formerly chorus master of the
Leipzig Radio Chorus).

While writing I must correct an error in my previous post, when I referred
to next year's 'centenary' of The Bach Choir.  In fact it will be the
choir's 125th season.

Alan Moss