[1] The orchestra was first sponsored by Südwestfunk (SWF), a public broadcasting corporation headquartered in Baden-Baden.

[3] The SWR Broadcasting Council formally passed the measure in September 2012, with the merger of the two orchestras scheduled to occur in 2016.

[6][7] The orchestra gave its final concert, under the direction of François-Xavier Roth, on 17 July 2016 in Freiburg.

One of the most widely heard recordings by this orchestra was Ligeti's Atmospheres conducted by Ernest Bour on the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack.

The orchestra has also recorded commercially for the Hänssler label, including music of Messiaen,[9] Bartók,[10] Stravinsky,[11] Schoenberg,[12] and Wolfgang Rihm.