The London Sinfonietta is among the leading ensembles in the U.K., devoted largely to contemporary music. The group has a large recording catalog stretching back to the LP era. The London Sinfonietta was formed in 1968 by administrator Nicholas Snowman and conductor David Atherton. Atherton served as music director until 1973, and he remained active with the group after that, conducting it on early recordings, including a 1980 release of Michael Tippett's opera King Priam. The group has commissioned more than 450 new works and given world premieres of hundreds of others. Some of the group's albums have appeared on major labels, while others have been issued by smaller contemporary music specialist labels, including the group's own London Sinfonietta label. The London Sinfonietta was heard on the album Luke Bedford: In the Voices of the Living, issued in 2023.