The orchestra was founded in 1993 by
Vladimir Delman, who had previously served as the conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano della RAI before it was dissolved. Following Maestro Delman’s death the following year, Welsh conductor
Alun Francis was appointed as music director, and under his leadership, the orchestra embarked on a journey through the 19th and 20th-century symphonic repertoire. From 1999 to 2005, Riccardo Chailly held the position of music director, and he is now honorary conductor. Since its foundation, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano has performed at its home venue in Milan (the Auditorium di Milano in Largo Gustav Mahler). In 2002, in addition to being the resident orchestra of the
Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, it embarked on its first European tour, performing in France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. In 2003, under the direction of
Oleg Caetani, the orchestra toured Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, and later that year, conducted by
Riccardo Chailly, it performed in the major concert halls of Japan in a tour featuring
Martha Argerich and the Coro Sinfonico di Milano, conducted by Romano Gandolfi. In 2004, the orchestra, conducted by
Riccardo Chailly, made its debut at the Canary Islands Festival and was engaged as the resident orchestra at the Festival delle Nazioni in Città di Castello. In 2005, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, conducted by
Eiji Oue and featuring violinist
Hilary Hahn, toured Germany and France, continuing with concerts, under the guidance of Riccardo Chailly, in major European cities such as Frankfurt, Vienna, and Budapest. In the same year, the orchestra made its debut at the 68th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in May 2005. In the autumn of 2006, under the direction of Maestro
Marko Letonja, the orchestra embarked on its first Italian tour. On April 24, 2008, on the occasion of the third anniversary of
Pope Benedict XVI's papacy, the Orchestra Sinfonica and Coro Sinfonico di Milano, conducted by
Oleg Caetani, performed at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and President
Giorgio Napolitano. In December 2008, the orchestra was invited to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the II Mstislav Rostropovich International Festival. In 2011, with three performances of
Georges Bizet's
Carmen, the orchestra opened the inaugural celebrations of the
Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman, which is positioning itself among the "top ten" of the world’s best theatres. In 2012, the orchestra embarked on another tour in Russia and, in the presence of
Pope Benedict XVI in Milan for the VII World Meeting of Families, provided the musical part of the liturgy. In 2013, following a tour in Germany with violinist
David Garrett, the orchestra was invited to perform at the
BBC Proms, universally regarded as the number one festival in the world for symphonic programming by large orchestras. Conducted by its music director,
Xian Zhang, and featuring solo tenor
Joseph Calleja, the orchestra performed
Giudeppe Verdi’s music, transitioning to pure symphonic works with
Tchaikovsky's
Manfred Symphony. In November 2022, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano and its Coro Sinfonico undertook a European tour to Amsterdam (
Het Concertgebouw), Barcelona (
L'Auditori), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional de Música Madrid), and Alicante (Adda Alicante – Auditorio – Concert Hall), dedicated to the performance of
Giuseppe Verdi’s
Requiem, with a cast featuring
Carmela Remigio (soprano),
Anna Bonitatibus (mezzo-soprano), Valentino Buzza (tenor), and Fabrizio Beggi (bass). The Choral Director was Massimo Fiocchi Malaspina. Alongside its concert activity, the orchestra has developed a remarkable discography that spans from
Verdi and
Rossini repertoires to the grand Romantic and Russian symphonic works. ==Mahler Festival 2023==