The orchestra was founded in 1937 and throughout the Soviet era performed regularly at home under such conductors as Nathan Rachlin, Yuri Temirkanov, Kurt Sanderling, Arvid Jansons and also Mariss Jansons. During the Soviet years, Odesa was relegated to the ranks of “regional” city, and the Orchestra was not allowed to travel outside the borders of the USSR.
With the independence of Ukraine, the orchestra’s status rose; in January of 1993 the Government of Ukraine formally awarded the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra federal status. The OPO is the only performing arts organization in Ukraine outside of Kiev to attain this distinction.
In June 2002, the orchestra’s status was raised again, when the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, signed a decree granting National status to the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra thus becomes the first organization in the performing arts in Ukraine outside of the nation’s capital, Kyiv, to acquire national status.
