The first two Sinfonia of London orchestras specialized in film music; the first, established in the 1950s by flutist and conductor Gordon Walker, appeared on the soundtracks of such films as Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo; the group also made recordings of classical orchestral music under such conductors as Sir Colin Davis and Sir John Barbirolli. The second Sinfonia of London Orchestra has often been heard on Hollywood film soundtracks, including those for Batman, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Robocop. The present-day orchestra aims instead to record symphonic music, but it presents itself as a successor to the two earlier groups, and it shares with them its status as a session orchestra that exists to make recordings and generally does not give public concerts. Its membership is hand-picked by Wilson and features many principals and section leaders from orchestras around the United Kingdom and beyond, as well as soloists and members of prominent chamber groups.
The new Sinfonia has maintained a busy recording schedule, even in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. It records for the Chandos label. The group's first recording, Erich Korngold's Symphony in F sharp major, was released in September of 2019 and earned the BBC Music Magazine Award for orchestral music in 2020. The orchestra's next two recordings, Escales: French Orchestral Works and Respighi: Roman Trilogy, both reached the top five on Britain's Specialist Classical chart. English Music for Strings, issued in February of 2021, received strong reviews and featured-recording status in several publications. The Sinfonia of London released a recording of Henri Dutilleux's ballet Le Loup in June of 2021. ~ James Manheim, Rovi