Great Guild

The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) enjoys an enviable position in the music world with performances greeted by enthusiastic audiences both at home and abroad. 

LNSO was founded in 1926 as the Latvian Radio Symphony Orchestra and was granted it’s current name after the independence of the Republic of Latvia in 1990. The orchestra membership currently consists of 90 musicians. 

From the season 2009/10, Karel Mark Chichon holds the post of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the LNSO. Over the last nine years the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra has established a great rapport with this acclaimed conductor. This artistic association has resulted in numerous highly appreciated concert and operatic performances which have been unanimously praised by the public and critics alike for their great energy, passion and high artistic standards.

The LNSO has collaborated with such celebrity conductors as Leo Blech, Valery Gergiev, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, Paavo Järvi,  Kiril Kondrashin, Kurt Masur, Andris Nelsons, Krzysztof Penderecky, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Simonov, Vassily  Sinaisky, Igor Stravinsky, Bruno Walter and as well as numerous distinguished soloists, among them Van Cliburn, Elīna Garanča, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Kniazev, Maija Kovaļevska, Gidon Kremer,  Mischa Maisky, David Oistrach, Vadim Repin, Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Egils Siliņš, Vestards Šimkus, Baiba Skride and Grigory Sokolov.

The LNSO has reinforced its reputation through its extensive touring throughout the world to countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland,  Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. To great acclaim, the orchestra has played in prestigious concert halls such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Kölner Philharmonie, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Sapporo Concert Hall, Leipziger Gewandhaus, Berliner Staatsoper, Zürich Tonhalle, Madrid Auditorio Nacional de Música, Oslo Concert Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, amongst others.

Currently, musical life of Latvia cannot be imagined without the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra has embraced the many commerical and artistic opportunities that have emerged since the Republic of Latvia became a member of the European Union, combining the finest traditions of the East European string school with the highest standards of Western European wind traditions. Under the baton of Karel Mark Chichon the orchestra is comitted to presenting the same quality, live music-making in venues throughout Latvia as it brings to Riga and the great concert halls of the world.