The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) became an independent organization in 2005. Under the leadership of the first music director Myung-Whun Chung, the orchestra has widen the repertoire and has been taken the SPO to the next level. World-renowned Finnish conductor, Osmo Vänskä has taken up the baton as the second music director from 2020. Jaap van Zweden who has served as music director of the New York Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Philharmonic began his 5 year tenure as third music director in January 2024.
With the world-renowned guest conductors and soloists, the SPO continues to take the initiative in shaping the Korean classical music scene with artistic achievement and programming.
Apart from subscription concerts, the SPO performs a wide range of public concerts including large scale outdoor concert such as ‘Park Concert’, ‘Riverside Concert’ and concerts held nearby you such as ‘Neighborhood Concerts’, ‘Korea’s National Liberation Day Concert’, ‘Rush Hour Talk Concert’ and ‘Museum Concert’. Also the SPO runs programs for various ages from ‘Kids Concert’ to master classes for young conductors and musicians. Through these programs the SPO contributes to widening classical music audience base and fostering professional classical musicians.
In 2010, the orchestra embarked on its first overseas tour to nine cities in Italy, Germany, Czech Republic and Russia. This followed the orchestra's European festival tour in 2011 which included the world-famous Edinburgh International Festival. In 2012, the orchestra won standing ovations and wide acclaim for its North American tour. In 2014, the SPO toured to 4 cities in Europe including the BBC Proms where the orchestra received rave reviews from critics and audiences. In addition, the SPO has established itself as a major Asian orchestra through performances invited by the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 2015.
In November 2018, the SPO consolidated its status as a world-class orchestra, through touring in Paris and Lucerne. In 2019, the SPO successfully finished its Russian tour, serving as cultural diplomat of the country. In 2022, the SPO embarked on the European tour in 4 cities – Salzburg, Amsterdam, Vienna and London, performed in one of the most prestigious concert halls in the planet including Großes Festspielhaus(Salzburg), Concertgebouw(Amsterdam), Musikverein(Vienna), after which the orchestra reinforced its reputation as the leading orchestra in Asia. And in 2024 the SPO was invited to be part of Abu Dhabi classics 2024.
The SPO also became the first Asian orchestra to sign contract with the Deutsche Grammophon label. Some of the SPO’s renowned recordings include the masterworks by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler. Also recording of Korean composer Isang Yun conducted by Osmo Vänskä has been released in August 2022 with BIS label. As part of Mahler cycle with Jaap van Zweden, recording of Mahler’s first symphony was released on Apple Music Classical in 2024.