Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
One of Europe's foremost and most diverse orchestras
One of Europe's foremost and most versatile orchestras
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is an established and leading force in the music world, with a broad repertoire and innovative collaborations. The orchestra has flourished under the leadership of Daniel Harding, and with Maxim Emelyanychev as its new principal guest conductor, the orchestra looks forward to a continued bright future.
Known as the Radio Symphonics in everyday speech, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra has left a major mark on the music world. Its repertoire includes both the great classical works and exciting new music, and in collaborations with many of the world's leading composers, conductors and soloists there is a constant striving to break new ground. The orchestra has received countless prizes and awards, their tours have been celebrated both in Europe and globally, and they can also boast an extensive and critically acclaimed catalog of records.
A new Music director and Principal Guest Conductor
Starting with the 2026/2027 season, Andrés Orozco-Estrada will assume the role of Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He succeeds Daniel Harding, who held the position for nearly 20 years.
During the 2025/2026 season, the orchestra will welcome Maxim Emelyanychev as Principal Guest Conductor for several concerts. The Radio Symphony Orchestra will also be joined by a host of internationally renowned conductors, including Barbara Hannigan, Antonio Pappano, Nathalie Stutzmann, Nicolas Collon, and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Honorary Conductor Herbert Blomstedt will also take the podium to lead Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.
Lasting relationships
Three of the orchestra’s former chief conductors, Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as Daniel Harding, have been honored with the title of Conductor Laureate. They continue to be guests of the orchestra, and Salonen will be Berwaldhallen’s Artist in Residence during the 2025/2026 season, a role he shares with violinist Janine Jansen.
Orchestra membersMembers of the OrchestraJust over a hundred instrumentalists make up the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. You can find them here.
Andrés Orozco-EstradaRead moreAndrés Orozco-Estrada Appointed New Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Listen to the Swedish Radio Symphony OrchestraTo the playlistYou can often hear the orchestra play on Swedish Radio P2 and in the Sveriges Radio Play app. Below is a curated playlist from the record catalog. ↓
”The orchestra has an incredible humility towards the music and a wonderful sense of musical imagination and inventiveness.” – Daniel Harding
Photo: Mattias Ahlm/Sveriges Radio
All of Sweden’s symphony orchestra
From its home stage in Berwaldhallen, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra reaches the entire country via Swedish Radio P2. Many concerts can also be seen on Berwaldhallen Play, SVT and SVT Play, and internationally the concerts are broadcast through the EBU, which means that the orchestra’s music reaches a global audience. In this way, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of all of Sweden.
Ahead of the orchestra’s guest appearance at the BBC Proms 2014, chief conductor Daniel Harding was asked why they stand out from the crowd: “The orchestra has an incredible humility towards the music and a wonderful sense of musical imagination and inventiveness,” he said. The orchestra has been recognized several times for the musicians’ rare feeling and sensitivity. With the orchestra members’ distinct interaction and musical inventiveness, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra will continue to be at the musical forefront on the world’s great stages.
Music directors and Conductor Laureates
Music director:
Daniel Harding 2007-2025
Manfred Honeck 2000-2006
Jevgenij Svetlanov 1996-1999
Esa-Pekka Salonen 1984-1995
Herbert Blomstedt 1977-1982
Sergiu Celibidache 1965-1971
Conductor Laureates:
Daniel Harding
Esa-Pekka Salonenu
Herbert Blomstedt
Carlo Maria Giuliniu
A note on the orchestra's name and history
Orchestral music has existed in Swedish Radio since the very first day of broadcasting in January 1925. The radio orchestra has changed its name and form several times during its lifetime. In 1965, the then Radio Orchestra merged with Radio service's TV Orchestra to form a symphony orchestra with over 100 members under the Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. In March 1967, the orchestra finally received the name it still bears today: Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra).
Maxim Emelyanchev - principal guest conductorRead moreMaxim Emelyanychev has been the Chief Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra since 2019 and the Chief Conductor of the baroque orchestra Il Pomo d’Oro since 2013. In the 2025/2026 season he will also take on the role of Principal Guest Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Work in BerwaldhallenVacanciesDo you dream of playing in the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, singing in the Radio Choir, becoming part of our marketing team, providing excellent service to concertgoers or working with the Berwaldhallen administration?
Orchestra biographyRead moreRead the biography of the Radio Symphony Orchestra. More material is also available in the Berwaldhallen press room (scroll down for link).
Follow the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Follow the orchestra and their work! The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra can be found both on Facebook and Instagram under @sverigesradiossymfoniorkester.
The orchestra on Facebook
Listen to musical highlights with our beloved ensembles
On this page, we’ve gathered selected concerts featuring the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir.
Read more
Press
Karl Thorson, press and PR Berwaldhallen
Telephone: +46 70 431 18 93
Email: karl.thorson@sverigesradio.se
Press releases and press photos from concerts are available in the Berwaldhallen press room.
Upcoming concerts with the orchestra
20–21 May 2026100 - 420 krDiscover Strauss & StenhammarDiscover the music of Strauss and Stenhammar together with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Magnus Fryklund, and ciceron Gregor Zubicky!Read more & tickets
May 27175 krHe exists, you knowAt the Finnish Institute, French and Finnish chamber music intertwines with the correspondence between Siri Derkert and Valle Rosenberg. Görel Crona and Johan Fagerrud give voice to their letters, while Henrik Naimark Meyers, Astrid Lindell and Thomas Rudberg perform works by Sibelius and Ravel.Read more & tickets
No tickets left29–30 May 2026170 - 560 krBlomstedt & Mahlers ninthConductor laureate Herbert Blomstedt leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9.Read more
4–5 June 2026130 - 475 krMälkki & Altstaedt interprets SalonenThe sixth and final part of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Artist-in-Residence also concludes the 2025/2026 season at the Swedish Radio Concert Hall, Berwaldhallen.Read more & tickets
21 August350 - 650 krRythm and ritualThe Baltic Sea Festival 2026 opens with premieres and pulse! Andres Orozco-Estrada debuts as Chief Conductor, Hillborg’s Hell Mountain has its Swedish premiere, and Molly Kien’s new work receives its world premiere. Soprano Malin Byström sparkles in Alma Mahler’s songs before the evening culminates in Stravinsky’s iconic The Rite of Spring.Read more & tickets
22 augusti180 krWho will save Alfie Atkins?Alfie sits alone in the apartment where he lives and feels lonely. He has moved to a new place and doesn’t know any of the other children there. Sometimes his imaginary friend Malcolm appears, and when they play together, Alfons always gets to decide — like being the train driver when they play trains. The problem is that Mållgan never shows up when he is really needed, like when the “big boys” chase Alfons and spray his jacket with water pistols. A performance about friendship, based on Alfie Atkins, the beloved children’s book character created by Gunilla Bergström.Read more & tickets
27 August275 krBerwald’s septet and Dvořák’s Serenade for StringsMusicians from the Czech Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra meet in the Queen Silvia Concert Hall to perform chamber music by Franz Berwald and Antonín Dvořák.Read more & tickets
Few seats remaining29 August350 - 650 krFate & guiltThe Baltic Sea Festival’s grand finale invites you to an evening of drama and rich sonorities. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra together with soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou, baritone Peter Mattei, and saxophonist Asya Fateyeva. A closing night where contemporary sound meets Nordic legend in a powerful musical encounter.Read more & tickets
3–4 September170 - 560 krSea Music and Symphonic DancesThe Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and legendary soprano Nina Stemme invite you on a musical journey across stormy seas, through sparkling night landscapes and symphonic dances.Read more & tickets
9–10 September100 - 420 krDark tales and dancesStep into a world of dark tales, mystery and dancing rhythms as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and viola soloist, also this season's P2 Classical Artist, Ami-Louise Johnsson are led by Taiwanese conductor Yi-Chen Lin.Read more & tickets
12 sep180 krNiklas & Radioapan – The Magical Time MachineJoin Niklas and Radioapan on cheeky musical adventures and explore new and exciting musical worlds together with Niklas Riesbeck, the Swedish Radio...Read more & tickets
17–18 September130 - 475 krLessons in loveWhen three of the most distinctive musical voices of our time – conductor and composer George Benjamin, pianist Bertrand Chamayou and soprano Barbara Hannigan – come together, a program full of intensity, imagination and refined drama emerges.Read more & tickets