From the first day of its existence, the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) was defiantly different and proudly innovative - such a characteristic can be found on the website of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Founded in 1904, the orchestra was the first in the UK owned by the musicians themselves, and since then their love of independence has not diminished. The LSO was one of the first orchestras to record classic music and music for movies as well. Today, there are more records in LSO discography than in history of any other orchestra in the world.

Since 1982, the London Barbican Center has become the residence of the orchestra. Each year, the LSO gives 70 concerts in London and about fifty concerts worldwide.

About 65,000 people take part in educational programs and projects of the orchestra every year. The most legendary is the LSO Discovery cycle, which began 30 years ago, and which invites people of all ages to join in playing music.

LSO is not only the first orchestra to create its own educational programs, but also the first to establish its own music education center. LSO is a pioneer in another important area. Already in 1999, the orchestra established its own record label “LSO Live”. LSO was the first to use digital shooting, Blu-ray Audio, download capabilities and streaming. Orchestra recordings can also be heard on hundreds of movie soundtracks - from Star Wars to The King’s Speech, The Shape of Water, and Indiana Jones.

For the anniversary of the London Symphony Orchestra, we have prepared a musical selection recorded from musical media stored in the museum Collection repository.

The details of the orchestra foundation are in the section Authors.