WDR Sinfonieorchester

The WDR Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1947 and has been conducted by, among others, Karl Böhm, Fritz Busch, Herbert von Karajan, Erich Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel and Claudio Abbado. The orchestra is especially known for its performances of compositions from the twentieth century; several well-known composers who wrote works specifically for the orchestra are Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Krzysztof Penderecki, Igor Stravinsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Bernd Alois Zimmermann. The WDR Symphony Orchestra regularly and successfully tours all European countries, North and South America, as well as Asia. In 2003 the orchestra received the "Prix International du Disque" for its recording of the complete symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich under the direction of Rudolf Barshai.

Cristian Măcelaru (since 2019)
Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2010–2019)
Semyon Bychkov (1997–2010)
Hans Vonk (1990–1997)
Gary Bertini (1983–1991)
Hiroshi Wakasugi (1977–1983)
Zdeněk Mácal (1970–1974)
Christoph von Dohnányi (1964–1969)

WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln