History
The orchestra began in 1932 as the National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, however there were no signs of much population yet. It was established by the newly formed Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and consisted of a group of 24 musicians who were brought together to play concerts and to provide incidental music for radio plays.
The first significant concert event in which the orchestra took part was in 1934, when Sir Hamilton Harty visited Australia. His visit led to calls for the creation of a permanent symphony orchestra for Sydney.
In 1936, the orchestra was increased to 45 players, augmented to 70 for public performances. It also inaugurated annual concert seasons that year.
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 and Artur Schnabel.
At the end of World War II, the ABC reached agreement with the Sydney City Council and the New South Wales state government to establish an orchestra in Sydney. In 1946 it purchased the title "Sydney Symphony Orchestra" from the original owner, an orchestra that had been founded in 1908. The new 82-member Sydney Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in January 1946.
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 Amsterdam and The Hague. Also under van Otterloo, the orchestra established the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House 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 1986-88, which was reduced to one year, at his request; he nevertheless left abruptly in the midst of that 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; he held the post until 2003.
De Waart is regarded as having significantly improved the quality of the orchestra during his tenure, bringing it into the first rank of international orchestras for the first time. When he came to the post the orchestra had only recently relaxed protectionist rules requiring members to be Australian citizens. De Waart introduced blind auditions for permanent positions for the first time, introduced restrictions on the use of substitutes, and brought a new level of drive to the orchestra. Since de Waart's time, the Opera House has also truly been the orchestra's home for the first time, 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 2004-2008, being succeeded by the incumbent, Vladimir Ashkenazy (2009-2013). In May 2012, David Robertson was named as Ashkenazy's successor for the 2014-2018 seasons.
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