Australia's oldest professional symphonic ensemble, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, traces its origins to 1906. Its repertory and discography demonstrate exceptional range, encompassing core orchestral literature, lesser-known Australian compositions, and both popular and film-related repertoire.
Founder Alberto Zelman guided the ensemble through its initial two decades, shaping it into an ensemble of international caliber. He also became the first Australian to lead the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Philharmonic Orchestras. In 1934 the group formed an association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; eleven years later it adopted the name Victoria Symphony Orchestra while receiving ongoing support from the government of Victoria. The original Melbourne Symphony Orchestra designation returned in 1965.
After the war the podium saw frequent turnover, with most music directors being European visitors whose engagements proved brief. Hiroyuki Iwaki of Japan took the post in 1974 and held it until 1997, establishing the longest tenure in the orchestra's history and leading two tours to his homeland. Those journeys initiated an era of wider international activity that encompassed North America, East Asia, and Europe, culminating in the ensemble's first appearance at the BBC Proms in London in 2014.
Iwaki's successors included Germany's Markus Stenz, Italy's Oleg Caetani—who oversaw the 2008 integration of the Melbourne Chorale and its subsequent renaming as the MSO Chorus—and Japanese-British conductor Tadaaki Otaka. British veteran Sir Andrew Davis assumed the role in 2013 with a contract extending through 2019.
Under Davis the orchestra welcomed such visiting artists as singers Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming together with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, while undertaking tours to China and Indonesia. He sustained an active recording schedule centered on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Classics imprint. Representative releases have included a fresh soundtrack recording for the film Babe, the jazz album Ella and Louis, and, in 2019, a Chandos-label account of Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ.
