NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo

The NHK Symphony Orchestra began life on October 5, 1926 as the "New Symphony Orchestra," Japan's first professional orchestra, and gave its first subscription concert under Hidemaro Konoe on February 20 of the following year. In 1936 the orchestra signed an exclusive broadcasting rights agreement with the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and appointed Joseph Rosenstock as Principal Conductor. After a change of name to the "Japan Symphony Orchestra" in 1942, Kazuo Yamada and Hisatada Otaka were appointed Principal Conductors and subscription concerts continued unbroken during the Second World War and postwar turmoil.

In 1951, as the "NHK Symphony Orchestra" under the baton of Kurt Woss, the Orchestra began to receive full financial support from NHK. In 1952 the Otaka Prize was established for major compositions. In that decade the international line-up of conductors invited to lead the orchestra included Jean Martinon (1953), Herbert von Karajan (1954), and later Igor Stravinsky, Ernst Ansermet, and Igor Markevich. In 1960 the orchestra embarked on its first overseas tour. In 1967 Lovro von Matacic, Joseph Keilberth, and Wolfgang Sawallisch were appointed Honorary Conductors and under their illustrious batons the orchestra reached world-class standards.

In 1996 Charles Dutoit took up the post of principal conductor (becoming the orchestra's first music director in 1998) and is now in his fifth season. Bold forward planning, including an expanded repertoire and semi-staged operas, a strong overseas concert programme, more commissioned works and CD recordings with a major label combined with high performance standards to win the Orchestra enthusiastic acclaim around the world.

The Orchestra continues to flourish under the batons of Charles Dutoit (Music Director), Wolfgang Sawallisch (Honorary Conductor Laureate), honorary conductors Otmar Suitner, Horst Stein, and Herbert Blomstedt, and permanent conductors Hiroyuki Iwaki, Yuzo Toyama, and Hiroshi Wakasugi, as well as guest conductors such as Andre Previn and Heinz Wallberg. Today the NHK Symphony Orchestra performs about 140 concerts a year, including 54 seasonal (September to June) subscription concerts with 27 programmes at the NHK Hall and Suntory Hall.

All subscription programmes are broadcast nationwide on NHK television and over FM radio networks, as well as to Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australasia and elsewhere throughout the NHK World Service and overseas public broadcasting networks.