Vara Konserthus Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra plays in Vara Konserthus

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Göteborgs Konserthus, the funk gem at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2017-2018 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has been Chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

Andrew Manze is widely regarded as one of the most stimulating and inspirational conductors of our time. 2014-2023 he was Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover. Manze has for many years worked with leading orchestras, including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Royal Philharmonic in Stockholm and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He is a regular guest at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City. In 2018 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded the complete symphonic works of Ralph Vaughan Williams with the orchestra for Onyx Classics. Andrew Manze initially studied violin and quickly became a leading specialist in the field of historical performance (HIP). In 1996 he became Associate Director of the Academy of Ancient Music based in Cambridge and from 2003-2007 was Artistic Director of The English Concert. As a violinist, Andrew Manze has recorded a wide range of records, many of which have won awards. From 2006 to 2014, Manze was the chief conductor and artistic director of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and, among other things, recorded symphonies by Beethoven and Brahms with the orchestra. He was assistant guest conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra 2010-2014 and first guest conductor of the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra 2008-2011. In 2011, Andrew Manze received the prestigious Rolf Schock Award in Stockholm. He has been a guest of the Gothenburg Symphony several times, including in 2012 when he conducted Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem and in 2014 in Bach's B minor Mass.

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto has been described as "one of a kind" and is known for his curiosity and exploration of his repertoire. He has a special feeling for conducting ensembles from his violin. Pekka Kuusisto is Artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. From and during the 2023-2024 season, he is principal guest conductor and artistic co-leader of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is Artistic Partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony as well as Artistic Best Friend of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in Bremen. He is an advocate of contemporary music and performed the 2021 world premiere of Bryce Dessners Violin concert with HR Sinfonieorchester. He has also premiered works of Sauli Zinovjev, Daníel Bjarnason, Anders Hillborg, Philip Venables and Andrea Tarrodi. In the 2022-2023 season, Kuusisto debuted as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and performed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He returned to orchestras such as The Cleveland, Cincinnati Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Philharmonia and also visited the Gothenburg Symphony as conductor. His recent releases include Ades’ Violin Concerto Concentric Paths recorded with Aurora and Nicolas Collon for Deutsche Grammophon, Hillborg’s Bach Materia and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos.3 and 4 with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Thomas Dausgaard for BIS and Daniel Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto with Iceland Symphony Orchestra with the composer conducting for Sono Luminus. Pekka Kuusisto plays the Antonio Stradivari Golden Period c.1709 ‘Scotta’ violin, generously loaned by a patron through Tarisio.