Vara Konserthus, Stora Salen Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra plays in Vara Konserthus

Emelie Mayer became a household name in Berlin, both for her compositions and sculptures, which were another art form she mastered. Her first two symphonies were both premiered in Stettin and her success was even greater in Berlin. There her music was mainly played in private homes, but in 1850 a public concert was given at the Royal Theater with exclusively Emelie Mayer's compositions. She became popular with both critics and audiences and followed her works to the cities where they were performed; Cologne, Munich, Lyon, Brussels and Vienna. As a composer, she was versatile and productive. Eight symphonies, 15 concert overtures, a lot of music for piano, voice, violin, etc. She worked hard but also enjoyed helping others, for example by giving composition lessons to other women.

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025. 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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.