Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

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The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra a symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. Starting in the 2006/2007 season, Jukka-Pekka Saraste took over the position as musical director after André Previn. The orchestra consists of 69 musicians in the string section, 16 in the woodwinds, 15 in brass, 5 in percussionists, 1 harpist, and 1 pianist. The orchestra's home is in the Oslo Concert Hall.

The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra's roots go to 1879, when Kristiania Musical Association (Kristiania Musikerforening) was founded by Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen. By the 1880s, the Musikerforening had attracted Municipal support. The orchestra also served the Nationaltheatret in two roles: providing music for the new theater and symphony concerts for the Music Society. During the first World War, the desire for sypmphonic music grew, along with inflation, leading to a dispute between the orchestra and the Nationaltheatret and a temporary collapse of the Musikerforening's concerts. Thus, in 1919, the orchestra was reformed as the Orchestra of the Philharmonic Company (Filharmonisk Selskabs Orkester) by private shareholders and initiative. In 1979 the name was changed to Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1996 the organization was made an independent foundation by an act of the Norwegian parliament.

The virtuosity of the Oslo Philharmonic is evident when one examines the type of musicians it attracted. Leaders of the Orchestra include many famous individuals such as Richard Burgin, who later became Koussevitzky’s concertmaster in Boston; Max Rostal and Robert Söetens, for whom Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto were written; and Stravinsky and others who were driven out of Germany by the Nazi regime - Fritz Busch, Erich Kleiber, and Bruno Walter.

In 1953 Oslo hosted the ISCM Festival, which brought further international contacts in the awareness of new repertoire, which many of the Scandinavian countries had been deprived of during the years of World War I and World War II. The first performance of the Oslo Philharmonic outside Scandinavia took place in 1962, where it made a striking appearance on the international stage. Since then, the orchestra has much international acclaim.

Although the orchestra has maintained high standards of quality since its inception and under various renowned musical directors, many consider that it saw its largest leap forward during the tenure of Mariss Jansons from 1979 to 2002. During this time the orchestra recorded authoritative renditions of Tchaikovsky's symphonies, and international tours. The Oslo Philharmonic won international acclaim with its Tchaikovsky cycle and a very successful series of recodings for EMI. In 2000 the orchestra completed a cycle of Bartók for Simax, and plans to follow this with a cycle of works by Mahler.

The Oslo Philharmonic holds an average of sixty to seventy symphonic concerts annually, the majority of which are broadcast nationally on the radio. The orchestra also performs chamber concerts frequently throughout the year. In the past decade, the Oslo Philharmonic has performed in a number of international venues, including but not limited to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Future tours are planned under the new director Saraste to locales such as the US, Great Britain, Austria, Germany, and Spain.

Other awards won by the Oslo Philharmonic include Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d’Or, and the German Classical Music Award.

Musical directors, in reverse chronological order: