RAI National Symphony Orchestra

The RAI National Symphony Orchestra (Italian: Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI) is an Italian symphony radio orchestra, owned by the public radio and television company RAI. Its primary concert venue is the Auditorium RAI in the Piazza Rossaro in Turin; all of the its concerts are broadcast on Rai Radio 3. The current artistic director is Ernesto Schiavi.

The orchestra performing at the annual MITO SettembreMusica festival

It was formed in 1994 by the merger of four former RAI orchestras of Turin, Milan, Rome, and Naples, which had been founded starting in 1931.

History

In 1931, the EIAR, Italy’s newly-formed public radio authority, founded its first symphony orchestra in Turin. Subsequent radio orchestras were established in Rome (1936), Milan (1950) and Naples (1948, integrated to the RAI in 1956).

In 1994, the RAI merged its four orchestras (RAI Symphony Orchestra of Turin, RAI Symphony Orchestra of Rome, RAI Symphony Orchestra of Milan, and RAI Alessandro Scarlatti Chamber Orchestra of Naples) to form the national orchestra, based in Turin. The new ensemble’s opening concerts were led by Georges Prêtre and Giuseppe Sinopoli.

From 1996 to 2001 Eliahu Inbal held the title of Direttore onorario (honorary conductor) of the orchestra. Jeffrey Tate was principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 1998 to 2002, and had the title of Direttore onorario until July 2011. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was principal conductor of the orchestra from 2001 to 2007. Gianandrea Noseda was principal guest conductor from 2003 to 2006.

Since 2009, Juraj Valčuha has been principal conductor of the orchestra. He is scheduled to step down from the post in 2016. In June 2015, the orchestra announced the appointment of James Conlon as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2016-2017 season. Conlon first guest-conducted the orchestra in 2009.[1]

Principal conductors

References
  1. "James Conlon takes Turin conductorship". Gramophone. 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
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