More recently, its principal conductors have included Pierre Monteux (1961–64), Istvan Kertesz (1965–68), André Previn (1968–79) and Claudio Abbado (1979–88). From 1988-1995, the American Michael Tilson-Thomas took over, and in 1995, became principal guest conductor. Sir Colin Davis served as the LSO's Principal Conductor from 1995-2006, and in 2007 took the post of President of the orchestra. On 1 January 2007, Valery Gergiev became the LSO's Principal Conductor. Previn holds the title of Conductor Laureate. In 2006, Daniel Harding became the co-principal guest conductor alongside Tilson Thomas. Richard Hickox is the Associate Guest Conductor of the LSO.
The LSO became the first British orchestra to play overseas when it went to Paris in 1906. The LSO was due to sail on the RMS Titanic for a concert in New York in April 1912 but fortunately had to change the booking at the last minute. It was also the first to play in the United States, in 1912, and in 1973 it was the first to be invited to take part in the Salzburg Festival. It continues to make tours around the world.
In 1966 the London Symphony Chorus (LSC) was formed to complement the work of the LSO. with more that two hundred amateur singers, the LSC maintains a close association with the LSO; however it has developed an independent life, which allows it to partner other leading orchestras.
The LSO has long been considered the most extraverted of the London orchestras. For most of its life it refused to allow women to become members, ostensibly on the grounds that women would affect the sound of the orchestra (there has been a similar controversy at the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra). There is an air of youthful high spirits to much of its music-making that is shown off in performances of such composers as Berlioz and Prokofiev. The LSO has often had internationally-known players as wind soloists, including such artists as James Galway (flute), Gervase de Peyer (clarinet), Roger Lord (oboe), Osian Ellis (harp), John Georgiadis (violin) and Barry Tuckwell (horn). Like most ensembles, the orchestra has a great ability to vary its sound, producing very different tone colours under such diverse conductors as Stokowski (with whom it made a series of memorable recordings), Adrian Boult, Jascha Horenstein, Georg Solti, André Previn, George Szell, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, John Barbirolli, and Karl Böhm, who developed a close relationship with the orchestra late in his life. Böhm and Bernstein each held the title of LSO President in their later years.
Clive Gillinson, a former cellist with the orchestra, served as the LSO's Managing Director from 1984 to 2005, and is widely credited with bringing great stability to the LSO's organization after severe fiscal troubles.[1] Since 2005, Kathryn McDowell is the Managing Director of the LSO.[2]
Lay All Your Love on Me
London Symphony Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now every woman I see is a potential threat
And I'm possessive, it isn't nice
You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice
But now it isn't true
Now everything is new
And all I've learned has overturned
I beg of you
Don't go wasting your emotion
Lay all your love on me
(Don't go sharing your devotion)
It was like shooting a sitting duck
A little smalltalk, a smile and baby I was stuck
I still don't know what you've done with me
A grown-up woman should never fall so easily
I feel a kind of fear
When I don't have you near
Unsatisfied, I skip my pride
I beg you dear
Don't go wasting your emotion
Lay all your love on me
Don't go sharing your devotion
Lay all your love on me
I've had a few little love affairs
They didn't last very long and they've been pretty scarce
I used to think I was sensible
It makes the truth even more incomprehensible
'Cause everything is new
And everything is you
And all I've learned has overturned
What can I do
Don't go wasting your emotion
Lay all your love on me
Don't go sharing your devotion
Lay all your love on me
The lyrics of London Symphony Orchestra's song "Lay All Your Love on Me" is about a person who has fallen deeply in love and is experiencing jealousy for the first time. The first verse illustrates how the person has changed since meeting their love interest, as every woman they see now becomes a potential threat, and they've become possessive of their love. The person even explains how their traditional vice, smoking, is no longer their only vice since they have fallen in love. The chorus serves as a plea for the person's love interest to give all their love to them and not waste their affection on others.
The second verse is about how the person fell in love with their significant other, and the extent to which they are in love is almost incomprehensible. The singer is surprised and scared at how easily they were "shot down" and fell in love. The mention of previously having love affairs is to show how different this love is compared to any previous relationships. Despite their fear and feelings of unsatisfaction, the person begs their love interest, once again, to give them all their love.
Line by Line Meaning
I wasn't jealous before we met
Before I met you, I didn't feel jealousy in my heart.
Now every woman I see is a potential threat
Since I met you, I see every woman as someone who could take you away from me.
And I'm possessive, it isn't nice
I admit that I am possessive towards you, which is not a pleasant trait to have.
You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice
I used to say that smoking was my only weakness, but now I realize that I have more flaws too.
But now it isn't true
But now that I have met you, that statement is no longer true.
Now everything is new
Since you came into my life, everything has changed and feels new.
And all I've learned has overturned
All that I thought I knew and believed in does not hold true anymore since I met you.
I beg of you
I plead with you to understand the depth of my feelings towards you.
Don't go wasting your emotion
Don't waste your feelings on anyone or anything else but me.
Lay all your love on me
Give me all of your love and don't give it away to anyone else.
(Don't go sharing your devotion)
(Don't share your love with anyone else.)
It was like shooting a sitting duck
You won my heart so easily, it felt like taking down a defenseless target.
A little smalltalk, a smile and baby I was stuck
All it took was a brief conversation and a smile from you for me to fall madly in love.
I still don't know what you've done with me
I am still surprised at the effect you have on me and how you have changed me as a person.
A grown-up woman should never fall so easily
It's unusual for an adult woman like me to fall in love so quickly and completely.
I feel a kind of fear
I am afraid that I will lose you and that scares me deeply.
When I don't have you near
When you're not around me, I feel lost and incomplete.
Unsatisfied, I skip my pride
I'm willing to put aside my pride to make sure that our relationship stays strong and happy.
I beg you dear
I appeal to you, my dear, to be with me always and forever.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BENNY GORAN BROR ANDERSSON, BJOERN K. ULVAEUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind