The US is awash with fine professional symphony orchestras, from the likes of LA Philharmonic in the west and the Dallas Symphony in the south to the Minnesota Orchestra in the north and Washington’s National Symphony in the east.
Many have valid claims to be among the country’s best – in terms of wealth, popularity and, of course, sheer ability – but there is one particular group that will forever be known as the ‘Big Five’.
It would take a brave person indeed to insist that these five enjoy some sort of pre-eminence that is forever set in stone, but history has granted them membership of this elite club – the term was first applied in the 1950s, when radio broadcasts and commercial recordings were growing in popularity, and simply stuck. So, who are the ‘Big Five’ in question?
Who are the Big Five orchestras?
Here are the five historic and notable US orchestras that have earned themselves membership of the 'Big Five' club.
1. New York Philharmonic
Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is, in fact, older than all of Britain’s professional symphony orchestras except the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
Its list of music directors (chief conductors) over the years is uniquely eye-catching – these include Gustav Mahler, who held the post briefly before his death in 1911; the Italian Arturo Toscanini (1928-36); Britain’s John Barbirolli (1936-41); and America’s own Leonard Bernstein, whose tenure from 1958-69 saw the orchestra propelled firmly into the television age.
Though things have been a little lower key under the two most recent incumbents, Alan Gilbert and Jaap van Zweden, the arrival of Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel from the LA Phil in 2026 should bring new pizzazz to the orchestra’s Manhattan home, the 2,200-seat David Geffen Hall.
New York Philharmonic in history
The New York Phil's legendary Young People's Concerts started in 1924 under the leadership of then-music director John Barbirolli. These concerts were initially broadcast on the radio, reaching a broad audience of children across the United States.
Later, in the 1960s, the series was made famous by Leonard Bernstein, who conducted and hosted the concerts with great enthusiasm, making classical music accessible and enjoyable for children. Bernstein's charismatic approach to music, along with his engaging explanations, helped shape the series into a beloved educational program.
2. Boston Symphony Orchestra
The second oldest of the Big Five, the Boston Symphony dates back to 1881. One name in particular stands out among its list of music directors: Serge Koussevitzky (one of the best Russian conductors ever), a former double bass player who, in post from 1924-49, took the orchestra to new heights of excellence and, in 1926, conducted it in the first ever concert to be broadcast live on radio, with over a million people tuning in.
After Koussevitzky, the good work was carried on by Charles Munch and Erich Leinsdorf, who led the BSO through the golden age of recording. The BSO’s home patch is Boston’s 2,625-seat Symphony Hall, opened in 1900, although the orchestra also hosts a famous summer festival at Tanglewood in western Massachusetts. Its current music director is the gregarious Latvian Andris Nelsons.
We named the Boston Symphony Orchestra one of the best orchestras in the world.
Boston Symphony Orchestra in history
One of the BSO's most historic moments occurred on October 1, 1936, when Serge Koussevitzky, the orchestra's music director at the time, conducted the world premiere of Aaron Copland's Symphony for Organ and Orchestra. A groundbreaking event - not only the premiere of a major new work by one of America's greatest composers, but also because of the involvement of the great organist E. Power Biggs in the performance.
3. Philadelphia Orchestra
Between them, conductors Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy were music directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra for an astonishing 68 years, serving from 1912-38 and 1936-80 respectively (holding the post jointly for two years). After Stokowski developed the famously rich ‘Philadelphia Sound’ – much beloved by Rachmaninov, who wrote his Third Symphony for the ‘Fabulous Philadelphians’ – Ormandy ensured that it was committed to posterity with a string of acclaimed recordings.
Life hasn’t been all plain-sailing, however. The year 2011 would see Philadelphia file for bankruptcy, followed in 2016 by a players’ strike. Founded in 1900, the orchestra is based at the city’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and its current music director is the Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
The Philadelphia Orchestra in history
In 1973, the Philadelphia Orchestra undertook a groundbreaking tour to the People’s Republic of China. This was the first time that a major American orchestra performed in that country. The tour was a groundbreaking cultural exchange, taking place during a time of thawing relations between China and the United States, following President Richard Nixon’s visit to China earlier that year.
Under the baton of Eugene Ormandy, the Philadelphia Orchestra performed in several cities, including Beijing (then Peking) and Shanghai, bringing Western classical music to a Chinese audience for the first time. The tour was seen as a powerful symbol of diplomacy and cultural openness, helping bridge gaps between the two countries during a tense period of the Cold War.
4. Chicago Symphony Orchestra
It wasn’t always the Big Five. Initially, there was just a Big Three, and then Chicago and Cleveland (below) joined the party. Dating back to 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was briefly named the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, after its founding music director, before adopting its current name in 1913.
Thomas’s successor, the German Frederick Stock, successfully steered the CSO for nearly 40 years in the first half of the 20th century, before two Hungarian-born conductors, Fritz Reiner (1953-62) and Georg Solti (1969-91) thrust it into the spotlight through broadcasts, studio recordings and tours beyond the US – both men achieved the highest standards of playing through infamously terrifying, if effective, means.
Since 2010, the CSO has been in the much gentler hands of Italian music director Riccardo Muti and, when not at its Orchestra Hall home, also plays at the summer Ravinia Festival.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra in history
One of many landmark moments in Chicago was the orchestra's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in 1971 under the direction of Sir Georg Solti. Featuring an enormous orchestra and chorus, this iconic performance was recorded live and released by Decca Records, capturing the monumental nature of the symphony and earning the orchestra international acclaim. It won multiple Grammy Awards and cemented the CSO's reputation as one of the finest orchestras in the world.
5. Cleveland Orchestra
The youngest of the Big Five, the Cleveland Orchestra was founded in 1918. Like Chicago, it can attribute much of its success to an authoritarian Hungarian – George Szell, who on taking up the post of music director in 1946, predicted that his orchestra would soon be ranked alongside the very best.
He was as good as his word, creating a crack ensemble through a highly disciplinarian approach that nonetheless earned him great respect and even affection among his players. While Szell’s 34-year reign beats all others, nearly all of the Cleveland Orchestra’s music directors have bedded in for a lengthy spell – there have been only seven in total over the orchestra’s 105 years in existence. The current incumbent at Cleveland’s Severance Hall is the Austrian Franz Welser-Möst, who has been there since 2002.
The Cleveland Orchestra in history
The year 1935 saw the founding of the Cleveland Women's Orchestra, an ensemble made up entirely of female musicians. The first all-female orchestra in America, it is also one of the oldest women's orchestra in the world after the Orchestre féminin de Paris (founded in 1930).
