For more than 70 years the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO Berlin) has distinguished itself as one of Germany's leading orchestras. The number of renowned music directors, the scope and variety of its work, and its particular emphasis on modern and contemporary music, makes the ensemble unique. Founded as the RIAS Symphony Orchestra in 1946, it was renamed the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin in 1956 and has borne its current name since 1993.
Robin Ticciati has led the DSO as its music director since the 2017–18 season. Since its inception, the orchestra has been able to retain outstanding artist personalities. As the first music director, Ferenc Fricsay defined the standards in terms of repertoire, acoustic ideal and media presence. In 1964, Lorin Maazel assumed artistic responsibility. In 1982, he was followed by Riccardo Chailly and in 1989 by Vladimir Askenazy. Kent Nagano was appointed music director in 2000 and has stayed associated with the orchestra as an honorary conductor. As his successors Ingo Metzmacher (2007–2010) and Tugan Sokhiev (2012–2016) set decisive accents with the DSO in the concert life of the German capital.
With its many guest performances, the orchestra is present on the national and international music scene. The orchestra has performed in recent years in Brazil and Argentina, in Japan, China, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi and Eastern Europe, as well as at major festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Salzburg Festival and the BBC Proms. The DSO also has a global presence with numerous award-winning CD recordings. In 2011, it received the Grammy Award for the premiere recording for the production of Kaija Saariaho's opera ‘L'amour de loin’ conducted by Kent Nagano.
The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin is an ensemble of the Radio Orchestra and Choirs GmbH (ROC). The shareholders are Deutschlandradio, the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Berlin and Radio Berlin-Brandenburg.
More information:
Official Website