Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Since its establishment in 1902 under the name Stockholm Concert Society, the ensemble now known as the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic has formed an integral element of the Swedish capital’s artistic environment. Its artistic outlook has always been international in scope, and with the single exception of founder-organizer Tor Aulin, every principal conductor has been born outside Sweden. Conceived chiefly to serve working-class listeners, the Stockholm Concert Society delivered its debut program on October 21, 1902. At that stage the group maintained no standing roster, instead recruiting musicians as required from the Royal Court Orchestra and the Swedish Music Association. Programs from the outset regularly featured new and contemporary Swedish compositions. Professional status was conferred in 1914, after which Georg Schnéevoigt was appointed the first principal conductor the following year; his ten-year leadership brought notable expansion. Václav Talich assumed the post in 1926 and remained until 1935, directing the relocation to Konserthuset, the hall still used for performances today. Fritz Busch held the position from 1937 to 1940 before leaving Europe in response to the rise of Nazism. He was followed by conductor-violinist Carl Garaguly, who served from 1942 to 1953, and then by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, whose tenure ran from 1955 to 1964. The ensemble’s designation became the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957. All of its conductors have pursued wide-ranging international careers. Sweden’s policy of neutrality permitted the engagement of several figures from the Communist Eastern Bloc, including Antal Dorati, who led the orchestra from 1966 to 1974, and Gennady Rozhdestvensky, whose appointments covered 1974–1977 and 1991–1992 and continued with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic until 1995; players unable to pronounce his surname referred to him informally as Rolfe Svensson. Between Rozhdestvensky’s two periods, Yuri Ahronovitch conducted from 1982 to 1987 and Paavo Berglund from 1987 to 1991, the latter initiating extensive European tours and a 1990 visit to Japan. Royal patronage, granted in 1992, prompted the adoption of the official title Kungliga Filharmoniska Orkestern, rendered in English as Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the prefix “Stockholm” added to differentiate it from the British ensemble of the same name.