The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian

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: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and first woman in the role.

Venues and programming

Sydney Opera House concert hall October 2018

The Sydney Symphony performs around 150 concerts a year to a combined annual audience of more than 350,000. The regular subscription concert series are mostly performed at the Sydney Opera House, but other venues around Sydney are used as well, including the City Recital Hall at Angel Place and the Sydney Town Hall. The Town Hall was the home of the orchestra until the opening of the Opera House in 1973. Since then, most concerts have been taking place in the Opera House's Concert Hall (capacity: 2,679 seats). A major annual event for the orchestra is Symphony in the Domain, a free evening outdoor picnic concert held in the summer month of January in the large city park known as The Domain. This event draws audiences of over 80,000 and is a long-established part of the Sydney summer cultural calendar.

History

The first concert by a group calling themselves the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was held on 30 September 1905. Sponsored by the Musicians Union, this group was formed from musicians who had come together to form an orchestra to accompany the pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski's Sydney concerts when he toured Australia in 1904. A more sustained effort to establish an orchestra began in 1908 when an alliance between musicians, their union and leading business and legal figures organised regular subscription concerts. Between 1908 and 1917, a total of 47 concerts was held by a group calling themselves the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. These concerts included many Sydney premieres of key works of the classical repertoire including Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C minor, and in 1910, Berlioz's '' Symphonie Fantastique'' as well as a number of quite recent, even modernist works including, in 1910, Richard Strauss's tone-poem ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

''; in 1911, Debussy's '' Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune''; in 1912, Elgar's '' Enigma Variations''; in 1913, Rimsky-Korsakov's '' Scheherazade''; in 1914, Borodin's '' In the Steppes of Central Asia''; and in 1917, Borodin's Symphony in B minor and Glazunov's Symphony in C minor. This initiative folded when most of the orchestra's members were recruited by the

New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

's orchestra, then conducted by its founding director, Henri Verbrugghen. Sydney Opera House Sails

Verbrugghen resigned from the Conservatorium in 1922 amidst controversy regarding funding for his orchestra. The Conservatorium student orchestra, supplemented by teachers continued to give concerts throughout the 1920s. Although there were regular calls for the government to provide funding for a permanent full-time professional orchestra, no such orchestra had been established in Sydney when the ABC began operation in 1932. Despite expectations, according to Fraser, the ABC's initial intervention was quite modest. It simply adopted the 20 piece orchestra already engaged in the Sydney studio by the ABC's predecessor, the privately run Australian Broadcasting Company. Within the year, this orchestra was expanded to a 24-player concert orchestra used primarily for the purposes of broadcasting. However it sometimes combined for concerts with the NSW State Conservatorium under different names including the ABC Symphony Orchestra and the NSW State Symphony Orchestra. It was not until 1936 that the ABC sponsored a new series of orchestra concerts in Sydney under the name of the "Sydney Symphony Orchestra". At this time the orchestra was increased to 45 players, and sometimes augmented to 70 players for public performances. It also again inaugurated annual concert seasons in that year. In 1937, the ABC purchased the name "Sydney Symphony Orchestra" from George Plummer who had been instrumental in establishing the initial Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1908. Because of the political instability in Europe in the 1930s, many leading artists spent large amounts of time in Australia. Performances were given under the direction of Antal Doráti and Sir Thomas Beecham. Soloists appearing with the orchestra included

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, Bronisław Huberman, Artur Schnabel and Jascha Spivakovsky. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the ABC reached agreement with the Sydney City Council and the

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state government to jointly fund the orchestra. The new 80-member Sydney Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in January 1946. Sydney Opera House interior

Eugene Goossens joined the orchestra as its first chief conductor in 1947. Goossens introduced outdoor concerts and conducted Australian premieres of contemporary music. In 1948, he uttered the prophetic words, "Sydney must have an opera house!". Goossens was knighted in 1955, the year before his term was due to end. His tenure was abruptly cut short in March 1956 under personal circumstances deemed 'scandalous' at the time, and he was forced to return to England in disgrace. Sir Eugene Goossens was succeeded by Nikolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon and Willem van Otterloo. Under van Otterloo, the orchestra made an eight-week European tour in 1974 which culminated in two concerts in

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and

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. Also under van Otterloo, the orchestra established the Concert Hall of the

as its home base for most of its concerts. In 1982, Sir Charles Mackerras, a former oboist with the orchestra, became the first Australian to be appointed its chief conductor. His term ended in 1985, although illness prevented him from conducting some later concerts. Zdeněk Mácal was initially appointed on a three-year contract from 1986 until 1988, which was reduced to one year, at his request; he nevertheless left abruptly in the first season. The young Australian conductor

Stuart Challender Stuart David Challender (19 February 194713 December 1991) was an Australian conductor, known particularly for his work with Opera Australia, The Australian Opera, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra and the Sydn ...

, who had taken over some of Mackerras's commitments in 1985, became the orchestra's chief conductor in 1987. In Australia's bicentennial year (1988), Challender led the orchestra in a successful tour of the United States. He remained as chief conductor until his death in December 1991. In 1994, the orchestra received increased support from the federal government, enabling it to raise the number of players to 110, increase touring and recording ventures, and improve orchestral salaries. That year, it also appointed Edo de Waart as the orchestra's chief conductor and artistic director. de Waart held the post until 2003. Since de Waart's tenure, the Sydney Opera House has been the orchestra's full-time home, with all rehearsals taking place in the Opera House Concert Hall. Highlights of his tenure in Sydney included

Wagner's Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

'' Ring Cycle'' in concert, a focus on the works of his personal favourite Mahler and tours of Europe (1995), Japan (1996) and the United States (1998). Gianluigi Gelmetti was chief conductor from 2004 to 2008, succeeded by

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He i ...

(2009–2013). In May 2012, David Robertson was named as the SSO's next chief conductor, with an initial contract from 2014 to 2018. In July 2017, the SSO announced the extension of Robertson's contract by one year, through to the end of 2019. Robertson concluded his SSO chief conductorship in 2019. Simone Young first guest-conducted the SSO in 1996. In December 2019, the SSO announced the appointment of Young as its next chief conductor, effective in 2022, with an initial contract of 3 years. Young is the first female conductor to be named chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Financial structure

The SSO, like all the other major symphony orchestras in Australia, was funded by the federal government as a division of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

from the 1950s until the mid-2000s. A federal government review in 1994 severed the day-to-day management of the orchestra from the ABC and full independence was achieved on 1 January 2007. The orchestra now operates as a public company with a board of directors. Funding is provided by federal and state governments, corporate and private sponsorships and commercial activities as well as ticketing income.

The SSO and the Sydney Opera House

The

, while among the most famous buildings of the 20th century, is problematic for the orchestra. The SSO was instrumental in calling for a new Opera House to be built and it was always intended to be their home venue. However, control of the Opera House has always rested with a separate body, the Sydney Opera House Trust, and the two institutions have had conflicts. The longest running point of contention is the refusal by the Opera House Trust to allow the orchestra to drill small holes into the concert hall stage to allow proper seating of the endpins (spikes on the bottom) of their cellos and double basses, which is believed to give a better resonance to these instruments. The orchestra seats their endpins in planks of wood placed on the stage, as the Opera House Trust maintains that the entire building is heritage-listed under Australian law and that such work would therefore be illegal. Edo de Waart was particularly critical of this during his tenure as Chief Conductor in the 1990s, arguing in the press that the building had been specifically constructed for the orchestra and that it was a scandal that the orchestra was being forced to accept a reduced sound quality. However, the Opera House Trust has refused to bend and as of 2012 the orchestra was still using the planks of wood. In November 2016, temporary sound reflectors were installed in the concert hall of the Opera House, to assist in amelioration of the acoustics. The concert hall is scheduled to be closed between 2019 and 2021.

Chief conductors

* Eugene Goossens (1947–1956) * Nikolai Malko (1957–1961) * Dean Dixon (1964–1967) * Moshe Atzmon (1967–1971) * Willem van Otterloo (1971–1978) *

Louis Frémaux Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux (13 August 1921 – 20 March 2017) was a French conductor. Life and career Frémaux was born in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France and came from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music tea ...

(1979–1982) * Sir Charles Mackerras (1982–1985) * Zdeněk Mácal (1986) *

(1987–1991) * Edo de Waart (1993–2003) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (2004–2008) *

(2009–2013) * David Robertson (2014–2019) * Simone Young (2022–present)

Awards and nominations

APRA Classical Music Awards

The APRA Classical Music Awards are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australian Music Centre (AMC). , - , rowspan="4",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, , ''Guyuhmgan'' ( Georges Lentz) – Sydney Symphony , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , - , ''Ngangkar'' (Georges Lentz) – Sydney Symphony , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , - , ''Three Miró Pieces'' (

Richard Meale Richard Graham Meale, AM, MBE (24 August 193223 November 2009) was an Australian composer of instrumental works and operas. Biography Meale was born in Sydney. At the time the Meale family lived in Marrickville, an inner suburb of Sydney. Meal ...

) – Sydney Symphony , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , - , ''Adult Themes'' (2002) – Sydney Symphony Education Program – Sydney Symphony , , Most Distinguished Contribution to the Presentation of Australian Composition by an Organisation , , , - , rowspan="3",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

, , ''Concerto for Cello and Orchestra'' ( Carl Vine) – Steven Isserlis, Sydney Symphony , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - , ''Inflight Entertainment'' ( Graeme Koehne) – Diana Doherty, Sydney Symphony, Takuo Yuasa (conductor) , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , - , 2004 Education Program – Sydney Symphony , , Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music in Education , , , - , rowspan="2", 2006 , , ''Mysterium Cosmographicum'' (Michael Smetanin) – Lisa Moore, Sydney Symphony , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - , ''Journey to the Horseshoe Bend'' (Andrew Shultz, Gordon Williams) – Ntaria Ladies Choir, Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir, Sydney Symphony , , Vocal or Choral Work of the Year , , , - , rowspan="4",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, , ''When the Clock Strikes Me'' ( Nigel Westlake) – Rebecca Lagos (soloist), Sydney Symphony , , Best Performance of an Australian Composition , , , - , ''Flying Banner (After Wang To)'' (

Liza Lim Liza Lim (born 30 August 1966) is an Australian composer. Lim writes concert music ( chamber and orchestral works) as well as music theatre and has collaborated with artists on a number of installation and video projects. Her work reflects her i ...

) – Sydney Symphony, Gianluigi Gelmetti (conductor) , , Orchestral Work of the Year , , , - , Liza Lim – Sydney Symphony Composer Residency , , Outstanding Contribution by an Individual , , , - , Sydney Symphony Education Program – ''Sinfonietta'' Composition project , , Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music in Education , , , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, , Sydney Symphony Education Program – 2007 ''Sinfonietta'' Project , , Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music in Education , , , - , 2009 , , ''Monh'' ( Georges Lentz) – Tabea Zimmermann, Sydney Symphony, Steven Sloane (conductor) , , Best Composition by an Australian Composer , ,

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. ! , - , 1989 , ''Australia Day / Child of Australia'' (with Australian Youth Orchestra, Joan Carden &

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

) , rowspan="5" ,

Best Classical Album The Grammy Award for Best Classical Album was awarded from 1962 to 2011. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1962 to 1963, 1965 to 1972 and 1974 to 1976 the award was known as Album of the Year – Classical *In 1964 and 1977 it wa ...

, , rowspan="5" , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

, ''Sculthorpe: Orchestral Works'' (with

) , , - , 1992 , ''Vine: 3 Symphonies'' (with Stuart Challender) , , - ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, ''Ross Edwards Orchestral Works'' (with

Dene Olding Dene Maxwell Olding (born 11 October 1956) is an Australian violinist. He has had a distinguished career as a soloist in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, performing over forty concertos in recent years, including many world premiere ...

, Stuart Challender & David Porcelijn) , , - ,

, ''Brett Dean'' (with Brett Dean) , , - , 2011 , ''Don John of Austria'' (with

Alexander Briger (Andrew) Alexander Briger AO (born 1969) is an Australian classical conductor. He is the nephew of the conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, and both are descended from the composer Isaac Nathan. Biography Alexander Briger was born in Sydney and at ...

) , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, ''Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius'' (with

) , rowspan="2" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="2" , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, '' Compassion'' (with Nigel Westlake & Lior) , , - , '' Gurrumul: His Life And Music'' (with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu) , rowspan="3" , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , rowspan="3" , , - , 2016 , Live at the Sydney Opera House (with Josh Pyke) , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, '' Ali's Wedding (soundtrack)'' (with Nigel Westlake & Joseph Tawadros, Slava Grigoryan & Lior) , , - , '' Live at the Sydney Opera House'' (with

Kate Miller-Heidke Kate Melina Miller-Heidke ( ; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the ...

) , rowspan="3" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="2" , , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, ''Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild / Steve Reich: The Desert Music'' (with Diana Doherty, Nigel Westlake, David Robertson & Synergy Vocals) , , - , 2022 , ''Ross Edwards: Frog and Star Cycle / Symphonies 2 & 3''
(with Amy Dickson, Colin Currie, Lothar Koenigs, Yvonne Kenny, David Zinman & Markus Stenz] & Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) , ,

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Sydney Symphony Orchestra won one awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1989 , Sydney Symphony Orchestra , Classical Performance of the Year , , -

References

Notes Sources *

External links

Official website of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
*
Audio file of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing at the 'Sydney Opera House Opening Concert' in 1973
on Australian Screen. The recording was added to the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

's Sounds of Australia registry in 2010. {{Authority control APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian orchestras Symphony orchestras Culture of Sydney Sydney Opera House