Its origins stretch back, however, to 1523 and the times of composer Ludwig Senfl, when sacred music was the focus of work.
The musicians achieved renown across Europe, the more so after 1563 and the appointment of Belgian master polyphonist Orlande de Lassus as maestro di cappella.
Sixteen years later, just after Karl Theodor of Mannheim became Duke of Bavaria and shifted his court to Munich, 33 musicians of the famous Mannheim orchestra – the prototype of all modern symphony orchestras – followed their boss, injecting new levels of precision into the Hoforchester.
During the 1860s the orchestra, by then an integral part of the Hofoper (Court Opera), gave the world premieres of the Wagner operas Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde, and Das Rheingold, followed in 1870 by Die Walküre.
Richard Strauss, Bruno Walter, Hans Knappertsbusch, Clemens Krauss, Ferenc Fricsay, Joseph Keilberth, and Wolfgang Sawallisch have served in this position.