National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Washington, D.C., founded in 1931 by Hans Kindler, who conducted the orchestra until 1949. Its first home was Constitution Hall; since 1986 it has been affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to a regular schedule of concerts, the NSO performs for state occasions, presidential inaugurations, holiday festivities, and other national and international events. The orchestra also has a pops season, holds summer concerts on the Capitol's West Lawn and at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va., and tours widely. Music directors of the orchestra since Kindler have been Howard Mitchell (1949–70), Antal Dorati (1970–77), Mstislav Rostropovich (1977–94), Leonard Slatkin (1996–2008), Christoph Eschenbach (2010–17), and Gianandrea Noseda (2017–).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Music: History
