For more than seventy years the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO Berlin) has distinguished itself as one of Germany’s leading orchestras. The number of renowned music directors, the scope and variety of its work, and its particular emphasis on modern and contemporary music, makes the ensemble unique. Founded as the RIAS Symphony Orchestra in 1946, it was renamed the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin in 1956 and has borne its current name since 1993.

As the first Music Director, Ferenc Fricsay defined the standards in terms of repertoire, acoustic ideal, and media presence. In 1964, the young Lorin Maazel assumed artistic responsibility. In 1982, he was followed by Riccardo Chailly and in 1989 by Vladimir Askenazy. Kent Nagano was appointed Music Director in 2000. Since his departure in 2006, he has been associated with the orchestra as an honorary conductor.

From 2007 to 2010, as the successor to Nagano, Ingo Metzmacher set decisive accents in the concert life of the capital with progressive programmes and consistent commitment to the music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From 2012 to 2016, the North Ossetian Tugan Sokhiev was Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; his successor Robin Ticciati took on the position at the start of the 2017/18 season.

Apart from its concerts in Berlin, the DSO also tours internationally in the major concert halls of Europe, North and South America, the Near, Middle and Far East. The DSO is also acclaimed worldwide for its many award-winning recordings. In 2011, it was awarded a Grammy Award for the best opera recording for the production of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin conducted by Kent Nagano. After the recording of Ivan the Terrible, the Fifth Symphony, and Scythian Suite the orchestra released its third Prokofiev production under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev with the Symphonies Nos 1 and 7 as well as the Suite from Lieutenant Kijé.