Although it was officially established in the Norwegian capital in 1919, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra has roots that stretch back to 1871, when composers Edvard Grieg and Johan Svendsen founded the Christiana Musical Association. The organisation sold out most of its 135 concerts during its initial season, and while its road became bumpy in the following decades, with a rapid turnover of musicians, it nonetheless managed to attract top-notch conductors —including Robert Soetens, Igor Stravinsky and Bruno Walter—and stabilise through a partnership with national radio network NRK beginning in 1925. In 1953, Oslo hosted the International Society for Contemporary Music Festival, which introduced the world at large to Scandinavian contemporary music as well as the orchestra, as it finally began performing outside of the region in 1962. By the 1980s, the OPO achieved a global reputation—driven by music director Mariss Jansons—that has endured ever since, with the chair subsequently filled by the likes of André Previn, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko. Klaus Mäkelä took the helm in 2020 at the age of 24.