The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Its principal venue is the

Konserthuset The Stockholm Concert Hall ( sv, Stockholms konserthus) is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic ...

History

The orchestra was founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society Orchestra (''Stockholms konsertförenings orkester''). It became a permanent ensemble in 1914. Since 1926, it has been based at

Stockholm Concert Hall The Stockholm Concert Hall ( sv, Stockholms konserthus) is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmoni ...

(''Konserthuset''). Starting in 1937, Radiotjänst (now

Swedish Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is ...

) utilized the orchestra as its main broadcast orchestra, in lieu of having its own in-house orchestra. In 1957, it was renamed the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (''Stockholms Filharmoniska Orkester''). In 1992 it acquired its present name, with patronage from the

Swedish royal family The Swedish royal family ( sv, Svenska kungafamiljen) since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal ti ...

Georg Schnéevoigt Georg Lennart Schnéevoigt (8 November 1872 – 28 November 1947) was a Finnish conductor and cellist, born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, which is now in Russia, to Ernst Schnéevoigt and Rosa Willandt. Career Schnéevoigt began his c ...

was the first principal conductor of the orchestra, from 1915 to 1924. Its current principal conductor is

Sakari Oramo Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...

, since 2008, with an initial contract of 3 years. In 2011, Oramo's contract with the orchestra was extended until 2015. In April 2016, the orchestra announced a further extension of Oramo's contract until 2021. Oramo concluded his chief conductorship of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic at the close of the 2020–2021 season and now has the title of ''hedersdirigent'' (conductor laureate) of the orchestra. In 2019,

Ryan Bancroft Ryan Bancroft (born 1989) is an American conductor. Biography Bancroft grew up in Lakewood, California, from a working-class background, where his father was a housepainter and his mother worked at a grocery. He attended the California Instit ...

first guest-conducted the orchestra. In December 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Bancroft as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season. The orchestra participates annually in the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

ceremonies and the

Polar Prize The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporary ...

for music celebrations. It also holds two annual festivals at its home, the Stockholm Concert Hall, namely the Stockholm International Composer Festival and Composer Weekend in May, focusing on a contemporary Swedish composer.

Principal conductors

(1915–1924) *

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

(1926–1936) *

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

(1937–1940) *

Carl Garaguly Carl von Garaguly (28 December 1900 – 18 October 1984), also known as Carl Garaguly, was a Hungarian people, Hungarian violinist and Conducting, conductor who spent much of his working life in Scandinavia. He was born in Budapest, and worke ...

(1942–1953) *

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (5 May 190028 May 1973) was a German conductor and composer. After studying at several music academies, he worked in German opera houses between 1923 and 1945, first as a répétiteur and then in increasingly senior conduct ...

(1955–1964) *

Antal Doráti Antal Doráti (, , ; 9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. Biography Antal Doráti was born in Budapest, where his father Alexander Doráti was a vi ...

(1966–1974) *

Gennadi Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. H ...

(1974–1977) *

Yuri Ahronovitch Yuri Mikhaylovich Ahronovitch (Юрий Михайлович Аронович) (13 May 193231 October 2002) was a Soviet-born Israeli conductor. Born in Leningrad, he studied music and the violin from the age of 4. In 1954 he graduated as cond ...

(1982–1987) *

Paavo Berglund Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund (14 April 192925 January 2012) was a Finnish conductor and violinist. Career Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he had decided on ...

(1987–1990) *

(1991–1995) * Andrew Davis and

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to Liilia Järvi and the Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also mu ...

(1995–1998) * Alan Gilbert (2000–2008) *

(2008–2021) *

(designate, effective 2023)

Notes

References

External links

Official orchestra homepage
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1902 Organizations based in Sweden with royal patronage Swedish symphony orchestras 1902 establishments in Sweden