The
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra is the leading
orchestra in
Estonia and is based in the capital
Tallinn. Founded as the
Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra, it gave its first concert in a broadcast by
Tallinn Radio on December 18, 1926. During the Soviet regime, in the 1950s, the orchestra became the first in the
Soviet Union to perform the work of
modernist composers such as
Igor Stravinsky,
Arnold Schoenberg,
Anton Webern, and
Carl Orff, previously suppressed by
Stalin's regime. Following the collapse of Soviet rule, the lifting of emigration restrictions, and the rebirth of independent Estonia in 1991, almost half of the Orchestra's players migrated to
the West in search of better career opportunities. This exodus of talent plunged the Orchestra's fortunes into a depression. After the nadir of 1993, the Orchestra enjoyed a strong recovery under the leadership of conductor
Arvo Volmer.
Estonian National Opera concert hall has been the home of Estonian National Symphony Orchestra for two decades.