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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

based in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. The orchestra has performed at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

as its home concert hall, since the venue's opening in 1973. Simone Young is the orchestra's current chief conductor and the first female conductor in the post. 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).

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 Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; r 1859– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

'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. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

''; in 1911, Debussy's '' Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune''; in 1912, Elgar's ''

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

''; in 1913, Rimsky-Korsakov's ''

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''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'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 Arthur Rubinstein, Bronisław Huberman,

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...

and Jascha Spivakovsky. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

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 Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. 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 Jan Willem van Otterloo (27 December 190727 July 1978) was a Dutch conductor, cello, cellist and composer. Biography Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspe ...

. Under van Otterloo, the orchestra made an eight-week European tour in 1974 which culminated in two concerts in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. 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, 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 '' 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 (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. In February 2024, the SSO announced the extension of Young's contract as its chief conductor through the end of 2026.

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 Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

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. Renovations were completed in 2022.

Chief conductors

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

(1971–1978) * Louis Frémaux (1979–1982) * Sir Charles Mackerras (1982–1985) * Zdeněk Mácal (1986) * Stuart Challender (1987–1991) * Edo de Waart (1993–2003) * Gianluigi Gelmetti (2004–2008) * Vladimir Ashkenazy (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 AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) and Australian Music Centre (AMC). , - , rowspan="4",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , ''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) – 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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, , ''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 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , ''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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, , ''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) – 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 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , Sydney Symphony Education Program – 2007 ''Sinfonietta'' Project , , Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music in Education , , , - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , ''Monh'' ( Georges Lentz) – Tabea Zimmermann, Sydney Symphony, Steven Sloane (conductor) , , Best Composition by an Australian Composer , ,

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, ''Australia Day / Child of Australia'' (with Australian Youth Orchestra, Joan Carden & John Howard) , Best Classical Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - , 1990 , ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

/ Carnival of the Animals'' (with Noni Hazlehurst) , Best Children's Album , , , - ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, ''Sculthorpe: Orchestral Works'' (with Stuart Challender) , rowspan="4" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="4" , , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, ''Ross Edwards Orchestral Works'' (with Dene Olding, Stuart Challender & David Porcelijn) , , - ,

, ''Brett Dean'' (with Brett Dean) , , - ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, ''Don John of Austria'' (with Alexander Briger) , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, ''Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius'' (with Vladimir Ashkenazy) , rowspan="2" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="2" , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, ''

Compassion Compassion is a social feeling that motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the physical, mental, or emotional pains of others and themselves. Compassion is sensitivity to the emotional aspects of the suffering of others. When based ...

'' (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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Live at the Sydney Opera House (with Josh Pyke) , , - , rowspan="2" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, '' Ali's Wedding (soundtrack)'' (with Nigel Westlake & Joseph Tawadros, Slava Grigoryan & Lior) , , - , '' Live at the Sydney Opera House'' (with Kate Miller-Heidke ) , rowspan="3" , Best Classical Album , , rowspan="2" , , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, ''Nigel Westlake: Spirit of the Wild / Steve Reich: The Desert Music'' (with Diana Doherty, Nigel Westlake, David Robertson & Synergy Vocals) , , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, ''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 , , -

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognise contributions to the live music industry in Australia. ! , - , rowspan="1" ,

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, Sydney Symphony Orchestra , Best Classical Act , , rowspan="1" ,

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 ...

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film & Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and relevant for Australia. It was fo ...

registry in 2010. {{Authority control APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian orchestras Symphony orchestras Musical groups from Sydney Sydney Opera House