Südfunk-Sinfonieorchester

German Radio Symphony Orchestra

South German radio orchestra affiliated with the Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR), Stuttgart. It was founded in 1945 as Kleines Symphonie-Orchester Stuttgart and appeared under different names over the years, as Südfunk-Sinfonieorchester between 1959-1975. Chief conductors were Hans Müller-Kray and from 1972 onwards Sergiu Celibidache. The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra of the SWR was one of two radio orchestras of the Südwestrundfunk. In 2016 it was merged with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg to form the SWR Symphony Orchestra. Name changes: 1945: Kleines Symphonie-Orchester von Radio Stuttgart 1946: Großes Orchester von Radio Stuttgart 1949: Sinfonieorchester von Radio Stuttgart 1949: Sinfonieorchester des Süddeutschen Rundfunks 1959: Südfunk-Sinfonieorchester 1975: Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart 1998: SWR Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart 2001: Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR 2016: SWR Symphonieorchester