The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) was founded in 1914. It performed the world's first radio broadcast of a symphonic concert on February 10, 1922 with pianist Artur Schnabel. It became the first nationally broadcast radio orchestra on the Ford Sunday Evening Hour, later Ford Symphony Hour from 1934 to 1942 on the Columbia Broadcast System. It currently is heard by one million listeners a week on the nationwide broadcast, the General Motors’ "Mark of Excellence" radio series.

Its concert series is heard live by 450,000 people a year and includes a series of free educational concerts for children begun in 1926. A fine arts high school on part of the symphony's property will open in 2004.

The symphony has produced many recordings on the Victor, London, Decca, Mercury, RCA, Chandos and DSO labels. The DSO recording of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was the first CD to win the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque Award.

The DSO's first director was Ossip Gabrilowitsch , who demanded a new auditorium be built as a condition of his accepting the position. Thus, Orchestra Hall was built. Other directors of the orchestra have included Antal Doráti, Paul Paray, and Gunther Herbig.

The current conductor is Neeme Järvi until 2005 and Itzhak Perlman is the principal guest conductor. Michael Daugherty is the composer in residence.

See also: Alexander Mishnaevski (the orchestra's principal violist)

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