RPS Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership of the Royal Philharmonic Society is awarded in recognition of services to music.
Recipients have included composers, conductors, performers, music commentators, patrons, programmers, publishers and educationalists.
Since 1826, when the first recipient was Carl Maria von Weber, Honorary Membership has been awarded fewer than 130 times.
Among the many celebrated names on the list are Mendelssohn (1829) Rossini (1839), Berlioz (1859), Wagner (1860), Brahms (1882), Clara Schumann (1887), Stravinsky (1921), Aaron Copland (1970), Paul Sacher (1991) and Evelyn Barbirolli (2001).
The most recent awards of Honorary Membership have been made to Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema, Festival Director Brian McMaster, pianist Graham Johnson, composer George Benjamin, piano teacher Fanny Waterman, music publisher and former RPS Chairman, Tony Fell and conductor Mark Elder.
