Gothenburg Symphony

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO)
Orchestra
Gothenburg Symphony logo
Founded	1905
Concert hall	Gothenburg Concert Hall, Götaplatsen
Website	www.gso.se

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO; Swedish: Göteborgs Symfoniker) is a Swedish symphony orchestra based in Gothenburg. The GSO is resident at the Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen. The orchestra received the title of the National Orchestra of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges Nationalorkester) in 1997.

The GSO was founded in 1905, with Heinrich Hammer as its first principal conductor. The composer Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's second principal conductor, from 1907 to 1922. In addition to Stenhammar conducting his own works, Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen made regular guest-conducting appearances with the GSO. The orchestra's fortunes waxed and waned in subsequent years, until the advent of Neeme Järvi as principal conductor, from 1982 to 2004. Although the GSO has a broad repertoire, it has a special affinity for the works of the Nordic Late Romantic composers, such as Jean Sibelius and Edvard Grieg. During Järvi's tenure as principal conductor, the longest tenure of any principal conductor in the GSO's history, its reputation on the world stage was greatly increased, including sponsorships from Volvo and a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Järvi currently holds the title of Principal Conductor Emeritus (Chefdirigent Emeritus) with the GSO.

Gustavo Dudamel was the GSO's most recent principal conductor, from 2007 to 2012. Dudamel now has the title of hedersdirigent (honorary conductor) of the GSO. The orchestra's current principal guest conductor is Christian Zacharias. In August 2012, the GSO announced the appointment of Kent Nagano as its principal guest conductor and artistic advisor, as of the 2013-2014 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In August 2014, Santtu-Matias Rouvali first guest-conducted the GSO. In May 2016, the GSO announced the appointment of Rouvali as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2017-2018 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.