History features

- The orchestra’s debut concert was on 30 January 1858 at its initial home, the Free Trade Hall. The orchestra gave a three-and-a-half-hour concert and demand for seats was so frantic, a one-way traffic order was imposed in Peter Street to handle the volume of carriages.

The Hallé Orchestra in 1895

- The orchestra nearly folded in 1860, but thanks to community support and Hallé’s hard work, it managed to continue and eventually thrive. Hallé saved money at the time by playing all the piano concertos himself.

- Uniquely for the time, Hallé's orchestra were paid a weekly wage under a contract which covered about half the year (the concert season from October to March).

Sir Hamilton Harty (conductor 1920–1934)

- Since Sir Charles Hallé’s death in 1895, the orchestra has had 11 principal conductors, including the current incumbent of the role, Mark Elder.

- Six of the orchestra’s previous conductors, including Hallé, received knighthoods.

- In 1908, during the tenure of Hans Richter (the renowned music director from 1899 to 1911), the orchestra gave the first performance of the Symphony No. 1 of Sir Edward Elgar.

- Forsyth, the music shop on Deansgate, was the base for the Hallé Orchestra administration until the Second World War.

Present conductor Mark Elder (c) Sheila Rock

- In 1943, the orchestra was in crisis, having diminished in size to 30 players. Over the next 27 years, under the guidance of Sir John Barbirolli, it was restored to national prominence.

- In 1980, the Royal Mail produced a set of four 15p stamps portraying British conductors. Three out of the four - Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir John Barbirolli – were former principal conductors of the Hallé.

- In 1996, the Hallé moved to its new home, The Bridgewater Hall, where it presents over 70 concerts a year.

- In 1998, the orchestra nearly disappeared again, when it was reported in The Times newspaper as being 'one board meeting away from bankruptcy'.

- In 2003, the Hallé launched its own CD label of studio recordings - featuring, in particular, the music of Elgar and Richard Strauss - alongside a second label of re-mastered Hallé recordings from the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

The Hallé Orchestra in 2008

- In 2007, the Hallé was named as Britain’s number one orchestra by The Times and were awarded, along with the BBC Philharmonic, the South Bank Show's Music Award for their season celebrating the great Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich.

- The Hallé’s 150th Anniversary Concert, presented by Dame Janet Baker and featuring music by, amongst others, Tchaikovsky, Vaughan Williams, Debussy and Elgar, takes place at the Bridgewater Hall on Wednesday 30 January 2008.