Its first conductor was Frank Van der Stucken, a Texas-born musician of Flemish ancestry, who served until 1907.

Subsequent music directors included Ernst Kunwald through 1918, Eugène Ysaÿe (1918–1922), Fritz Reiner (1922–1933), and Eugene Goossens (1933–1947).

3 (1912), its first recordings (1917), first national tours, and the world premieres of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Lincoln Portrait.

Thomas Schippers became music director in 1970, building the orchestra's reputation and making several well-received recordings, but he died in 1977, at 47, of lung cancer.

His achievements included leading on a 1995 European tour, the orchestra's first since 1969, and its first national television appearance on PBS.

In January 2007, the orchestra reported financial difficulties, projecting a monetary deficit of about US$2 million for the current fiscal year.

In 2009, those difficulties, in addition to the purchase of Telarc by the Concord Music Group, led to the termination of the orchestra's recording contract.

[2] In late 2009, Cincinnati arts patron and philanthropist Louise Nippert announced a gift of $85 million (USD) for the orchestra.

In December 2010, John Morris Russell was named the new conductor of the Cincinnati Pops, following the death in 2009 of Erich Kunzel.

Based on this appearance, in April 2012, the orchestra named Langrée as its 13th music director, effective as of the 2013–2014 season, with an initial contract of four years.

[9] In June 2021, the orchestra announced that Langrée would conclude his tenure as its music director at the close of the 2023–2024 season.

[11][12] The following is a list of U.S. and world premieres of works at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival (MF):