The Orchestra for iPhone
Explore the world of orchestral music with our interactive app The Orchestra – now available for iPhone
Discover the instruments
Did you know the strings of the harp are under nearly one ton of tension? Or that we can trace back the roots of the French horn back to prehistoric times? Dive into our interactive guides for a detailed exploration of each instrument of the orchestra, with fun facts, demonstrations by Philharmonia musicians, playable samples, and rotational photography.
300 years of orchestral music
From Haydn’s baroque Symphony No. 6, Le Matin, to Lutosławski’s twentieth-century Concerto for Orchestra and Salonen’s own Violin Concerto, we offer you eight specially-filmed performances, spanning three centuries of music. Watch and listen to Beethoven’s Fifth, Berlioz’s Fantastique or Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, switching between different camera views of the players and conductor. Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 and Stravinsky’s The Firebird complete this sparkling selection.
The BeatMap
You are in charge – what section would you like to listen to? Our interactive orchestral BeatMap highlights the active instruments note-by-note, just hold down and swipe across the map in order to hear different parts of the orchestra in isolation. You can literally pull the music apart with your fingers!
Scores, programme notes and video interviews
Choose between three different score-view options (full, concise or simplified) to follow the music, or listen while you read the programme notes by Mark Swed, music critic of the LA times, full of historical and musical background on each of the extracts. Salonen takes you even further into the music in dedicated filmed interviews.
Commentary and insights
How far can a conductor push the orchestra? And why is it important to keep your cool on the podium? Turn on running commentary or subtitles to learn about Salonen’s work with players, approach to the repertoire and thoughts on composers. Or you can choose player commentary and hear the musicians discuss ways to make Berlioz sound spookier, how their instruments have changed over history and which pieces they need to train at the gym for…
★★★★★ Did you know: The Orchestra app has an average 4.8/5 rating on the App Store
What people are saying…
★★★★★ “The ORCHESTRA app offers an overture to listening to an orchestra like no other. Follow the instrumental notation as you hear instrumentalists appear, and see how they navigate every crescendo and diminuendo. Help yourself distinguish the oboe from clarinet and bassoon, and marvel at the foundations the violins often play. You will come to appreciate each composer’s artistry and marvel at his / her orchestrations in ways mere listening doesn’t allow. This app is moves Musical Appreciation to a new level. I highly recommend it”