* En anglais uniquement
The
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest professional orchestra in the U.S.; only the
New York Philharmonic was established earlier. Though its history has been turbulent at times, the quality and prestige of the
St. Louis Symphony has shown through in performances and recordings, for which it has been nominated for 60 Grammy Awards, with nine wins.
The
SLSO was founded in 1880 as the
St. Louis Choral Society by its first music director, Joseph Otten. It originally focused on choral works, and in 1881-1882, was accompanied by a small orchestra. In 1890, the
St. Louis Choral Society merged with the
St. Louis Musical Union, a small orchestra that was founded in 1881 by August Waldauer. With the merger, the name was changed to the
St. Louis Choral-Symphony Society. Otten remained as the music director until 1894 when he was succeeded by Alfred Ernst. Ernst expanded the group's concert schedule, and when the World's Fair was held in St. Louis in 1904, he led the orchestra in performances nearly every day of the fair. These appearances garnered new attention to the group from the city and state. Along with the arrival of its third music director in 1907, Max Zuch, the
Society was renamed the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Zuch expanded the orchestra's concert schedule further and incorporated popular music concerts with classical to broaden the orchestra's audience. Following Zuch's death in 1921,
Rudolf Genz was named the permanent conductor.
Genz led the orchestra in children's concerts and on tours, but his programming choices of contemporary music by the likes of
Stravinsky and
Mahler were met disapprovingly by audiences, and he was forced to resign in 1927.
The
SLSO was led by guest conductors for the next four seasons before hiring
Vladimir Golschmann as its next music director in 1931. Under
Golschmann, the
SLSO attracted world-class soloists and higher quality principals. He led the
SLSO until 1958, serving as conductor emeritus from 1955-1958 while the orchestra searched for its new director. Following
Golschmann were
Eduard van Remoortel (1958-1962) and
Eleazar De Carvalho (1962-1968). Under
De Carvalho, the
SLSO moved to its current home at Powell Hall in 1968.
De Carvalho's programming of contemporary music was met with a similar reaction from his audience as
Genz years earlier.
Walter Susskind (1968-1975) followed
De Carvalho and returned the
SLSO to a more standard repertoire. He expanded the roster further, raised the quality of the performances, and initiated several festivals with the orchestra, including the Mississippi River Festival.
Susskind was succeeded by
Jerzy Semkow (1975-1979). In 1976,
Richard Hayman was brought on as the
SLSO's pops conductor; he held this title until 2014.
In 1979, the
SLSO hired
Leonard Slatkin as its next music director; with this appointment, the
SLSO cemented its role as a leader among orchestras in the U.S. and elsewhere. In 1970,
Slatkin founded the St. Louis Youth Orchestra and accelerated the orchestra's recording output. He programmed a mix of standard and contemporary repertoire, with an emphasis on American music, commissioning and premiering many new works.
Slatkin remained in this post until 1996 when he was named conductor laureate.
Hans Vonk (1996-2002) followed
Slatkin and was, in turn, followed by
David Robertson (2005-2018). Under
Robertson, the
SLSO nurtured a long, fruitful relationship with composer
John Adams: The
SLSO, under
Robertson, won a 2015 Grammy Award for John Adams: City Noir. In 2017, the
SLSO announced
Stéphane Denève as its next music director; he assumed this position in 2019.
The
SLSO's recording history began in the 1930s under
Golschmann. It has recorded for EMI, Nonesuch, its own label, Arch Media, and most notably, RCA, which signed
Slatkin and the
SLSO to a 30-release contract in the 1980s. Its recordings have been recognized by many organizations and with many awards. In 2019, the
SLSO, led by
Robertson and joined by soloist
Orli Shaham, issued an album of
Mozart piano concertos on Canary Classics.