Danish National ­Symphony Orchestra

Since 1925 the Danish National Symphony Orchestra has been the cultural flagship of DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. With Maestro Fabio Luisi as its new Chief Conductor and a succession of prominent guest artists each season, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is today among Europe’s leading symphony orchestras.

The distinctive sound of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra has been moulded over the years by Chief Conductors like Nicolai Malko, Herbert Blomstedt, Thomas Dausgaard and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.

Today the Orchestra offers everything from Classical sounds through Roman­tic tone-poems and modern masterpieces to new creations by the com­posers of tomorrow. At the same time, the Orchestra has a special feeling for Danish music – from classics like Carl Nielsen and Niels W. Gade to the very young Danish composing talents.

Each year more than 100.000 music-lovers experience the magic of live symphonic music with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra – both in the DR Concert Hall and on the Orchestra’s major annual tour abroad.

The Orchestra’s popular Thursday Concert series is experienced every week by many Danes on radio and TV, and millions tune in when the concerts are broadcast internationally.

2016-17 is the Danish National Symphony Orchestra’s first season with the Italian star conductor Fabio Luisi as Chief Conductor. Luisi is well known for his deep personal engagement in the music; at the same time his musical experience and range are vast – with chief-conductor posts with among others the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Zürich Opera.

Before taking up the post Fabio Luisi had already forged a close relationship with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. But in his new, permanent role as Chief Conduc­tor, he can challenge the musicians and develop the Orchestra in earnest from this season on.

Luisi says about his Danish orchestra:

The musicians in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra are open-minded and easy to motivate. The opportunity to work continuously means that we can ensure a very high standard together.

Kim Bohr, Head of DR’s Orchestras and Choirs, invites you to meet some of the great soloists and conductors that visit the Danish National Symphony Orchestra each season.

Meet Lang Lang, David Barenboim, Leonidas Kavakos and Vladimir Ashkenazy in an intimate conversation about their life, art and sources of inspiration.

Backstage with Bohr