ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Among Vienna's four leading orchestral institutions, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra stands apart as the nation's sole radio symphony ensemble and its designated broadcast orchestra, alongside the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, and Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Its programming spans pre-Classical through Classical, Romantic, and twentieth-century repertory, with notable emphasis on contemporary scores.

Formed in 1969 from the postwar ORF Symphony Orchestra, which had concentrated primarily on new music, the ensemble kept the parent orchestra's name while installing Milan Horvat as its inaugural chief conductor, a post he held from 1969 to 1975. Horvat sustained the focus on Austrian contemporary composers as well as works by Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Leif Segerstam took the podium in 1975 and, while preserving commitment to twentieth-century music, broadened the scope to include Classical and Romantic pieces. That expansion continued under Lothar Zagrosek, who led from 1982 to 1986 and frequently programmed seldom-heard Classical scores. Pinchas Steinberg served as chief conductor from 1989 to 1996, the year the ensemble adopted the designation Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and appointed Dennis Russell Davies to the post. Davies produced numerous recordings devoted chiefly to modern and contemporary composers such as Berio, Glass, Kancheli, Silvestrov, and Tüür. Bertrand de Billy succeeded him in 2002 and proved even more prolific in the studio, issuing well over twenty discs that encompassed both contemporary works and core repertory by Haydn, Beethoven, Dvořák, and Debussy. Disagreements with management prompted de Billy's departure toward the close of his tenure. In 2009 the orchestra received its present title, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the following year Cornelius Meister assumed the chief conductor role, remaining until 2018. Marin Alsop became the ensemble's next leader in 2019, the first woman to hold the position.

The Vienna RSO appears regularly at four Viennese venues—the Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, ORF RadioKulturhaus, and Theater an der Wien—while enjoying state support and serving as a cultural ambassador for Austria. International tours have taken the orchestra across Europe, the Americas, China, and Japan. Its discography includes releases on CPO, Sony Classical, Orfeo, and Oehms Classics, among other labels. In 2020 it was featured on the Capriccio recording of Ernst von Dohnányi: The Veil of Pierrette with Ariane Matiakh and on the Naxos album Morton Gould: Symphonettes Nos. 2-4; Spirituals for Orchestra with Arthur Fagen.