Filarmonica della Scala was founded by Claudio Abbado and the musicians of La Scala Opera House in 1982 with the aim of developing the symphonic repertoire. It has remained a self-directed ensemble to this day. Carlo Maria Giulini was its first conductor and leaded the first international tours; Riccardo Muti, principal conductor from 1987 to 2005, promotes its artistic growth and makes it a regular guest of the most prestigious international concert halls. From the outset it has been led by a series of internationally renowned conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Riccardo Chailly, Yuri Temirkanov, Daniele Gatti, Fabio Luisi, Gustavo Dudamel. A deep collaboration has been established with Myung-Whun Chung and Daniel Harding. Daniel Barenboim, music director of La Scala from 2006 to 2015, and Valery Gergiev are honorary members, just as Georges Prêtre, Lorin Maazel, Wolfgang Sawallisch were. In 2015 Riccardo Chailly was named principal conductor. Filarmonica performed more than 800 concerts on tour in the last 35 years. The Orchestra has a particular interest in contemporary music and every season features a new commission to an important composer of our time. From 2013 Filarmonica della Scala hosts the Concerto per Milano in Piazza Duomo, an acclaimed free event which has made more than 40.000 people attendance every year. Filarmonica della Scala’s activity is supported by the Main Partner UniCredit.