Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra history

Concerts that season and the next were presented at Pike's Opera House, and in 1896 the orchestra, which then numbered 60, moved to Music Hall.

Its first conductor was Frank Van der Stucken, a Texas-born musician of Flemish ancestry, who served until 1907.

But the Orchestra Association campaigned to raise funds and, in 1909, largely through the efforts of Mrs.

In 1911, the orchestra relocated from Music Hall to Emery Auditorium.

In 1912 Ernst Kunwald, former conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, arrived.

Under his directorship the CSO made its first recording for Columbia in 1917.

A long period of government corruption was followed by one of reform and civic rejuvenation in the 1920s.

Eugene Goossens, who was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth, succeeded Reiner in 1931.

By 1936 the orchestra had outgrown Emery Auditorium and returned to Music Hall.

Thor Johnson became music director in 1947, and led the orchestra in some of the first stereo recordings for Remington Records.

The city’s population peaked at 504,000 in 1950 and thereafter declined, which was mirrored by steady population growth in the metropolitan area.

Max Rudolf succeeded Johnson in 1958.

In 1966, under the sponsorship of the United States Department of State and the direction of Max Rudolf, it was the first American orchestra to make a world tour.

A beautifully refurbished Music Hall provided the setting for the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebration during the 1969-70 season.

In 1970 the CSO welcomed Thomas Schippers as music director.

The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra was formed in 1977, with Erich Kunzel as its conductor.

Michael Gielen was named CSO music director in September 1980.

An exciting new dimension was added to the orchestra in 1984, with the opening of Riverbend Music Center-officially The Hulbert Taft, Jr.

Jesús López-Cobos became music director in 1986.

Also under his leadership, the orchestra’s first national telecast appeared in 1997 on PBS-TV, featuring guest pianist Alicia de Larrocha and the music of Ravel, Dvořák and Falla.

In September 2001, he became the orchestra's emeritus music director.

He concluded his highly successful tenure as the Orchestra’s 12th Music Director in May 2011, at which point he was named Music Director Laureate.

In 2012, the Pops released its first recording under John Morris Russell, Home for the Holidays, on the Orchestra’s own Fanfare Cincinnati label.

The CSO named Louis Langrée as Music Director starting in the Orchestra’s 2013-14 season.

In 2015, the Orchestra announced the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship, a nationally recognized program in partnership with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

In January of 2016, the Orchestra performed at New York’s Lincoln Center as part of the invitational Great Performers series.