Affiliated with the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany.

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, who was living near Hamburg, was given the task of assembling the members, something he accomplished over a period of six months.

The orchestra first visited the UK in 1951, as part of the concerts celebrating the re-opening in Manchester of the Free Trade Hall.

[1] In addition to its performances of the core classical and romantic repertoire by composers such as Beethoven and Bruckner, the orchestra also has a focus on contemporary works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, Wolfgang Rihm and Hans Werner Henze.

Wand conducted several commercial recordings with the orchestra for the RCA Victor Red Seal and EMI labels.