Among Sweden's regional ensembles, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra stands at the forefront. Its early podiums have launched several conductors toward global prominence. Based in the former industrial hub of Norrköping in southwestern Sweden, the group was established in 1912 and presented widely promoted programs from its inaugural seasons onward. With a roster of 86 players as of 2018, it anchors local musical activity through roughly fifty indoor performances annually at the Louis de Geer Concert Hall, supplemented by open-air summer events that have included a barge-mounted concert. Regular partnerships extend into jazz, folk, and rock circles, while touring itineraries reach Linköping and Stockholm as well as Austria, Eastern Europe, Japan, and China.
Past music directors encompass Herbert Blomstedt, who held the post from 1954 to 1962 before assuming leadership of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; Okko Kamu, who served from 1972 to 1979 and later directed the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra among other ensembles; and Franz Welser-Möst, who occupied the role from 1986 to 1991 prior to becoming music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Michael Francis's term ended in 2016, after which the orchestra engaged leading international guests throughout the late 2010s. During those years Christian Lindberg appeared often, directing the most recent entries in the ensemble's continuing survey of symphonies by Swedish composer Allan Pettersson—an undertaking launched in 1992 and issued on the BIS label. The orchestra's extensive discography, issued primarily on BIS, centers on Swedish repertoire yet also includes music by Beethoven and Max Reger; in 2017 the CPO label released its recording of works by Austrian composer Siegmund von Hausegger. A further distinctive venture, Chelsea Hotel, presented orchestral settings of pieces by the folk and folk-rock songwriters who frequented New York's Chelsea Hotel during the 1960s, among them Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen.
