Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart

German Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, also known as the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO Stuttgart), was a German radio orchestra based in Stuttgart and associated with the broadcaster Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), later Südwestrundfunk (SWR) after a merger. Founded in 1945, the orchestra had a distinguished history and was known for its performances of classical, romantic, and contemporary orchestral music. Throughout its career, the RSO Stuttgart collaborated with many esteemed conductors, including Sergiu Celibidache, Georges Prêtre, and Sir Roger Norrington, who was its principal conductor from 1998 to 2011. The orchestra gained a reputation for its interpretations of the works of composers such as Hans Werner Henze and Karl Amadeus Hartmann. It made numerous recordings that contributed to its international recognition. In 2016, the RSO Stuttgart merged with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg to form the SWR Symphonieorchester.