Founded in 1929 as one of the first radio symphony orchestras in Germany, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt) today successfully negotiates the challenges of a modern top-ranking orchestra.

Famed for its outstanding wind section, its powerful strings and its dynamic playing culture, the orchestra of the Hessischer Rundfunk (German Public Radio of Hesse) together with its Music Director Alain Altinoglu is associated with musical excellence but also with an interesting and varied repertoire.

With innovative concert formats, internationally successful digital offerings and CD productions, as well as its constant presence in important music centers in Europe and Asia, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony underlines its prominent position within the European orchestral landscape and has an outstanding reputation worldwide.

Known for its groundbreaking world premiere recordings of the original versions of Bruckner's symphonies and the first complete digital recording of all Mahler symphonies, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony established a tradition in the interpretation of Romantic literature, which radiated from the longtime Music Director and current Honorary Conductor Eliahu Inbal to his successors Dmitri Kitaenko and Hugh Wolff, and on to the era of today's Conductor Laureate Paavo Järvi and to Andrés Orozco-Estrada, who last led the orchestra for seven years with great success as Music Director.

From its very inception, the orchestra displayed a firm commitment to both traditional and contemporary music under its first Music Director Hans Rosbaud. Following the war and during reconstruction, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony grew with Kurt Schröder, Winfried Zillig and Otto Matzerath at the helm, finally achieving international standing between the 1960s and 1980s under Dean Dixon and Eliahu Inbal, with guest performances worldwide and the production of multi-award-winning records.