Since its foundation in 1893, the Munich Philharmonic has defined the sound of and established benchmarks in the performance of music by many of the greatest composers, especially of the Austro-German repertoire. The orchestra premiered works by Gustav Mahler, including his Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand”. It achieved global fame under Music Director Sergiu Celibidache, who headed the ensemble for almost 20 years, leaving his imprint on the unique sound of the orchestra: the legendary Bruckner concerts he conducted made a major contribution to the orchestra’s international standing. James Levine became Chief Conductor in 1999, followed by Christian Thielemann, Lorin Maazel and in 2015 Valery Gergiev. Tours have taken the Munich Philharmonic to numerous European cities as well as Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and the USA. Programme highlights conceived by Valery Gergiev include performances of symphonic cycles by Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. Concerts are regularly broadcast via live stream and on radio and TV. In September 2016, the first recordings were released under the orchestra’s own label, »MPHIL«. For centuries, Munich has enjoyed a reputation as a thriving centre for classical music, the home of numerous musicians and composers, as well as offering a busy schedule of concerts across numerous venues. As the city’s own orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic is resident at the Philharmonie im Gasteig and tours regularly around the world.