The orchestra played for the grand opening of the World Exhibition Expo 58 in Brussels in 1958 with Franz-Paul Decker as music director.

During Sloane's tenure, the orchestra has twice received the German Music Publishers' Association (Deutscher Musikverleger-Verband) prize for best concert programme of the year, in the 1996/1997 and 2004/2005 seasons.

In 2006, the orchestra performed a new version of the opera Die Soldaten by Bernd Alois Zimmermann at the Ruhrtriennale.

[3] The orchestra then presented at the 2008 Lincoln Center Festival in New York City, at the Park Avenue Armory.

[6] In June 2020, the orchestra announced the appointment of Chuang as its next GMD, effective with the 2021–2022 season, with an initial contract of 3 years.