The Royal Scottish National Orchestra On Tour
One of the longest-running orchestras in the world, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has enjoyed a storied history full of transformations and big-league talent. Although it was founded in 1891, the orchestra's roots go back to 1843, when it was started to accompany the Glasgow Choral Union. Today, based administratively in Glasgow with support from the Scottish government, the RSNO plays all over Scotland at venues like Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Usher Hall, Caird Hall, Aberdeen Music Hall, Perth Concert Hall, and Eden Court Inverness.
It was a long road to get to those revered spaces. In 1891, the ensemble officially became the Scottish Orchestra, with George Henschel named as its first conductor. Over the next decades, the orchestra was overseen by some of classical music's biggest names — such as famed opera conductor John Barbirolli and George Szell, who went on to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra from 1946 to 1970 — making them one of the most powerful and respected groups in the world. In 1950, the Scottish Orchestra became the Scottish National Orchestra, going on to receive royal patronage in 1977 and finally changing its name in 1991 to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Sir Alexander Gibson was the conductor from 1959 to 1984, the first native Scotsman to hold the position. Gibson was partial to Scandinavian composers like Sibelius and Nielsen, and future conductors of this orchestra also seemed to have an affinity for the music of that geographic region.
Neeme Järvi took over in 1984, while Alexander Lazarev conducted from 1997 to 2005, with Marin Alsop acting as principal guest conductor from 2000 to 2003. Stephane Deneve was music director from 2005 to 2012 and would go on to become the music director of the St. Louis Symphony in 2018.
The RSNO has recorded often with Chandos Records, and for Naxos has released numerous great box sets, including music by Bruckner, Bax, Barber, Roussel, and more.
