Leipzig MDR Symphony Orchestra

While the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra has the distinction of being the oldest radio orchestra in Germany, it is, more importantly, among the finer German orchestras of any background. Under the name Orchester des Konzervereins, the group gave its first concert on January 6, 1923. Under director Alfred Szendrei, the orchestra gave its first concerto on Leipzig radio the following year, using the name Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig. The orchestra's conductor since 2020 has been Dennis Russell Davies. The MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra has spawned an unusually large number of smaller ensembles. In 2022, the orchestra joined the MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus for a recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony and Serenade to Music. By that time, its recording catalog comprised more than 35 CDs and numerous earlier LPs.