Danmarks Radios Symfoniorkester

For the royal Danish symphony orchestra, see Det Kongelige Kapel. Danmarks Radios Symfoniorkester, often referred to as Radiosymfoniorkestret, was the name from 1959 to 1996 of the symphony orchestra of Danmarks Radio, the Danish national broadcasting corporation. The orchestra is also officially the national orchestra of Denmark, which is apparent in its official English name, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra. It was the largest orchestra in Scandinavia with a permanent residency at Radiohusets Koncertsal. The first permanent conductor in this period was Thomas Jensen (1957-63). The first conductor to be appointed with the formal title of principal conductor was Herbert Blomstedt (1967 to 1977), followed by – after an interregnum of 9 years – Lamberto Gardelli (1986-88). Under his leadership the orchestra was extended to the current size of 99 musicians. Next principal conductors were Leif Segerstam (1988-95) and Ulf Schirmer (1995-98). The name of the orchestra has evolved over time as follows: - From 1925 to mid-1930's: Statsradiofoniens Orkester - From mid-1930's to 1959: Statsradiofoniens Symfoniorkester - From 1959 to 1996: Danmarks Radios Symfoniorkester - From 1996 to 2008: DR Radiosymfoniorkestret - Since 2008: DR SymfoniOrkestret