The Norrköping Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish professional

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, ...

. It is based at the concert hall De Geerhallen, in the center of

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

History

The orchestra was founded in 1912, and currently consists of 85 musicians. The orchestra also performs several times a year in the nearby city of

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

. Past principal conductors have included

Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Thorson Blomstedt (; born 11 July 1927) is a Swedish conductor of classical music. At the age of 97 he continues to conduct concerts in Europe and the United States. Biography Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, t ...

and

Franz Welser-Möst Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Biography Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...

. Michael Francis was the orchestra's most recent chief conductor, from 2012 to 2016. Past principal guest conductors have included

Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , 2 March 1944 – 9 October 2024) was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works. From 1963 onward Segerstam conducted a vari ...

(1995–1997),

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor and airplane pilot. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, ...

, Josep Caballé-Domenech, and Stefan Solyom. In October 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Karl-Heinz Steffens Karl-Heinz Steffens (born 28 November 1961) is a German clarinetist and conductor. Biography Steffens studied clarinet from 1982 to 1985 at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart with Ulf Rodenhäuser. His first profession ...

as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2020–2021 season. The orchestra has recorded for the BIS, CPO, Denon and Simax labels, including symphonies by

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 ...

, complete works for piano and orchestra by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, and works by John Pickard.

Venues

Principal conductors

* Ivar Hellman (1914–1928) * Tord Benner (1929–1935) * Heinz Freudenthal (1936–1952) *

(1954–1962) *

Everett Lee Everett Astor Lee (August 31, 1916 – January 12, 2022) was an American symphonic conductor, opera music director, violinist and music scholar. He was the first African American to conduct a Broadway theatre, Broadway musical, the first to "con ...

(1962–1972) *

Okko Kamu Okko Tapani Kamu (born 7 March 1946, Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and violinist. Kamu was born in Helsinki, the son of Adam Kamu, a musician, and his wife Eine (Syrjänen) Kamu, a violin maker. His father played double ...

(1972–1979) * Vacant (1979–1986) *

(1986–1991) *

Junichi Hirokami is a Japanese conductor. Born in Tokyo, Hirokami studied conducting, piano, musicology, and viola at the Tokyo College of Music. He won the first Kondrashin International Conducting Competition in Amsterdam in September 1984 at age 26. One of ...

(1991–1996) *

Ole Kristian Ruud Ole Kristian Ruud (born 2 October 1958) is a Norwegian conductor. Ruud was born in Lillestrøm. He studied clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy and made his debut in Os ...

(1996–1999) * Lü Jia (1999–2005) *

Alan Buribayev Alan Buribayev (, ''Alan Börıbaev''; surname also spelled Buribaev in English) (born 30 May 1979) is a Kazakhs, Kazakh orchestral conductor. Career The son of a cellist/conductor father and a pianist mother, he studied violin and conducting a ...

(2006–2011) * Michael Francis (2012–2016) *

(2020–present)

References

External links

*
Bach Cantatas page on the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
Musical groups established in 1912 Swedish symphony orchestras 1912 establishments in Sweden Musical groups from Norrköping 20th-century establishments in Östergötland County {{Sweden-band-stub