These had not come to fruition by the time of the principal conductorship of Marek Janowski, who cited this lack of development of a new hall for the orchestra as the reason for his resignation from the post in 2003.

In October 2013, the orchestra announced the extension of Sanderling's contract as principal conductor through the 2018–2019 season.

[2] In November 2016, Sanderling announced, via a letter to the mayor of Dresden, his intention to stand down as chief conductor of the orchestra in 2019, in protest at learning of proposed culture budget reductions via media reports instead of being informed directly from the civic authorities.

In December 2023, the Dresden Philharmonic announced the appointment of Runnicles as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2025-2026 season.

[6] Past principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos (later chief conductor of the orchestra from 2004 to 2011), Yuri Temirkanov, Bertrand de Billy, and Markus Poschner.