Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO; ) is a Swedish

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. The GSO is resident at the

Gothenburg Concert Hall Gothenburg Concert Hall is a concert hall located in Gothenburg, Sweden, which was built in 1935. The architect for the facility was Nils Einar Ericsson, a major advocate of Functionalism. However, the Concert Hall has a Neo-Classical exterio ...

Götaplatsen Götaplatsen is a public square in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the southern end of Avenyn, the city's main boulevard. The square was inaugurated when Gothenburg held a major international industrial exhibition, In 1923, celebrating the city's 300th ...

. The orchestra received the title of the National Orchestra of Sweden () in 1997.

Background and history

The GSO was founded in 1905, with Heinrich Hammer as its first principal conductor. The composer

Wilhelm Stenhammar Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Stenhammar was born in Stockholm to and . His brother was the architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first m ...

was the orchestra's second principal conductor, from 1907 to 1922. In addition to Stenhammar conducting his own works,

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

and

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

made regular guest-conducting appearances with the GSO. The orchestra's fortunes waxed and waned in subsequent years, until the advent of

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...

as principal conductor, from 1982 to 2004. Although the GSO has a broad repertoire, it has a special affinity for the works of the Nordic Late Romantic composers, such as

and

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

. During Järvi's tenure as principal conductor, the longest tenure of any principal conductor in the GSO's history, its reputation on the world stage was greatly increased, including sponsorships from

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

and a recording contract with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. Järvi currently holds the title of Principal Conductor Emeritus (''Chefdirigent Emeritus'') with the GSO.

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor. He is currently the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is scheduled to become the Music and Artistic ...

was principal conductor of the GSO from 2007 to 2012, and now has the title of ''hedersdirigent'' (honorary conductor) of the GSO. Past principal guest conductors of the GSO have included Norman del Mar, who was Permanent Guest Conductor from 1968 to 1973, and

Christian Zacharias Christian Zacharias (born 27 April 1950 in Jamshedpur, India) is a German pianist and conductor. Music career Zacharias studied piano with Irene Slavin and Vlado Perlemuter in Paris. He won second prize at both the Geneva Competition in 1969 an ...

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

became principal guest conductor and artistic advisor of the GSO as of the 2013–2014 season, with an initial contract of three years. In August 2014,

Santtu-Matias Rouvali Santtu-Matias Rouvali (born 5 November 1985) is a Finnish conductor and percussionist. He is chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Biography Rouvali was born in Lahti into a ...

first guest-conducted the GSO. In May 2016, the GSO announced the appointment of Rouvali as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of four years. In May 2019, the GSO announced the extension of Rouvali's contract through 2025. In December 2023, the GSO announced that Rouvali is to stand down as its chief conductor at the close of the 2024-2025 season. In 2019,

Barbara Hannigan Barbara Hannigan (born 8 May 1971) is a Canadian soprano and conductor, known for her performances of contemporary classical music. Education Hannigan's initial musical education came from music teachers in her hometown of Waverley, Nova Sco ...

became principal guest conductor of the GSO, the first female conductor to be named to the post. Her current GSO contract in this post is through 2028. In October 2024, the GSO announced the appointment of

Pekka Kuusisto Pekka Kuusisto (born 7 October 1976) is a Finnish musician. Biography Kuusisto comes from a musical lineage. His grandfather was the composer and organist Taneli Kuusisto, his father Ilkka Kuusisto, who had many functions in Finnish musical l ...

as its additional principal guest conductor, effective with the 2025-2026 season, to serve alongside Hannigan in the post. In addition to

, the orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as BIS.

Discography

Studio albums

Principal Conductors

* Heinrich Hammer (1905–1907) *

(1907–1922) * Ture Rangström (1922–1925) *

Tor Mann Tor Mann (25 February 1894 in Stockholm – 29 March 1974 in Stockholm) was a Swedish conductor. Mann was principal conductor of the Göteborgs Symfoniker from 1925 to 1939, and the Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester from 1939 to 1959. He ...

(1925–1939) *

Issay Dobrowen Issay Alexandrovich Dobrowen (; 9 December 1953) Itschok Zorachovitch Barabeitchik, was a Russian/Soviet- Norwegian pianist, composer and conductor. He left the Soviet Union in 1922 and became a Norwegian citizen in 1929. Biography He was bo ...

(1941–1953) *

Dean Dixon Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor. Career Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...

(1953–1960) * Sten Frykberg (1960–1967) *

Sergiu Comissiona Sergiu Comissiona (Hebrew: סרג'ו קומיסיונה; June 16, 1928 – March 5, 2005) was a Romanian- Israeli- American conductor and violinist. Biography Early life Born in Bucharest, Romania in a Jewish family, he began violin studies at ...

(1967–1973) *

Sixten Ehrling Evert Sixten Ehrling (3 April 1918 – 13 February 2005) was a Swedish conductor and pianist who, during a long career, served as the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera and the principal conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, am ...

(1974–1976) *

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

(1976–1979) *

(1982–2004) *

Mario Venzago Mario Venzago (born 1948) is a Swiss conductor. Biography Venzago began piano studies at age five. He studied at the conservatory and the university in Zurich. He later studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. His other positions h ...

(2004–2007) *

(2007–2012) *

(2017–present)

Selected Premieres

Hilding Hallnäs Hilding Hallnäs (24 May 1903 – 11 September 1984) was a Swedish composer.Svenskt Musik/Swedish Music Information Centre http://www.mic.se/avd/mic/prod/micv5eng.nsf/docsbycodename/start Hallnäs was married to the actress Gun Holmquist. Li ...

: Symphonies Nos. 1 (1945), 2 (1948), 3 (1948), 4 (1952), and 5 (1963) *

Gösta Nystroem Gösta Nystroem (13 October 1890 – 9 August 1966) was a Swedish people, Swedish composer. Nystroem, originally ''Nyström'', was born in Silvberg, Sweden, a parish in the province of Dalarna, but spent most of his childhood in Österhaninge ...

: Symphonies Nos. 1 (1932), 2 (1937), and 4 (1952) *

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger ( 27 February 1867 — 3 December 1942) was a Swedes, Swedish composer and music critic. As a composer, his main musical influences were Edvard Grieg, Grieg, August Söderman and Richard Wagner, Wagner as well as Swed ...

: Symphony No. 2 (1911) *

Allan Pettersson Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers and was described as one of the last great symphonists, ...

: Symphonies Nos. 3 (1956), 9 (1971) *

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly re ...

: ''Tre Fantasistycken'' (1919), Symphony No. 1 (1921), Piano Concerto (1951) *

Eduard Tubin Eduard Tubin ( – 17 November 1982) was an Estonian composer, conductor, and choreographer. Life Tubin was born in Torila, Tartu County, Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire. Both his parents were music lovers, and his fath ...

: Symphony No. 11 (1989) * Benjamin Staern: ''Jubilate (2009)''

Alain Pâris Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...

. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interpretation musicale au XX siècle.''

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont () is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by (1916–2010). Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. Imprints belonging to Édit ...

, Paris, 1995 (p1089).

References

Sources

External links

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra official website
{{Authority control

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

Musical groups established in 1905 Musical groups from Gothenburg 1905 establishments in Sweden Swedish symphony orchestras National orchestras Decca Records artists Deutsche Grammophon artists Arts organizations established in 1905 1900s establishments in Gothenburg and Bohus County