The Royal Danish Orchestra is the oldest orchestra in the world and one of the most distinguished. Its first musicians were recruited in 1448 and there have been over 1,000 members of the ensemble since. It has been conducted by some of the greatest names in musical history and its members have included John Dowland, Heinrich Schütz and Carl Nielsen, who played in the ensemble’s second violins for 16 years.

The Royal Danish Orchestra is famed for its vintage sound culture, founded on deep string playing, forward woodwinds and sensitive brass. It owns an extensive collection of stringed instruments by great Italian masters including Nicolo Amati, Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari.

Today, The Royal Danish Orchestra forms part of the Royal Danish Theatre, performing for opera and ballet productions and presenting a symphonic concert series. The ensemble’s main residence is Copenhagen’s waterfront Opera House, designed by Henning Larsen and opened in 2005 as a gift from Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller to the Danish state. Members of the orchestra also give chamber concerts in the building’s magnificent foyer and second stage, Takkelloftet.

In the twentieth century, The Royal Danish Orchestra began touring internationally. Recently, it has played at the Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York and at the Philharmonie in Berlin. It appears on the Royal Danish Opera’s award-winning DVD recording of Wagner’s Ring. As well as a living embodiment of Denmark’s illustrious musical history, the orchestra is also a priceless resource for Danes young and old, near and far, with whom it works extensively on outreach work and musical tutoring.

Photo: Camilla Winther