Founded in 1993, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano is now recognized as one of Italy’s most prestigious orchestras. After its founder Vladimir Delman, three distinguished Music Directors followed – Riccardo Chailly (1999–2005), Zhang Xian (2009–2016) and Claus Peter Flor (2017–2022) – and from the 2024/25 season, the position is held by Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, recipient of the 2025 Abbiati Prize as “Best Conductor”.
Its history includes collaborations with world-renowned conductors such as C.M. Giulini, P. Maag, G. Prêtre, R. Muti, V. Gergiev, D. Gatti, H. Blomstedt and Sir N. Marriner, as well as Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda and Robert Treviño early in their careers. Guest soloists have included M. Rostropovich, M. Argerich, S. Accardo, S. Isserlis, J. Bell, R. Buchbinder, I. Faust, V. Mullova and V. Repin.
Highly active on the concert stage, the Orchestra performs regularly in Milan, throughout Lombardy and at major international festivals, with tours across Europe, Japan, Russia and South America. Recent engagements include concerts in Spain, Portugal and at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (2022), as well as the Rheingau Festival and Kissinger Sommer (2023 and 2024).
Committed to innovation, it promotes new music, interdisciplinary projects and social inclusion initiatives. It has released over thirty CDs with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Sony, EMI and RCA, receiving awards including the Gramophone Award, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and Choc de l’Année (Classica).
Since 1998, it has collaborated closely with the Coro Sinfonico di Milano, founded by Romano Gandolfi and directed since 2022/23 by Massimo Fiocchi Malaspina. In 2023, it launched the “Mahler Festival”, awarded the Abbiati Prize 2024.
Since 1999, its home has been the Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo. The Orchestra is supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture, Regione Lombardia, City of Milan and Fondazione Cariplo.
