Since then, the SPO has helped the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky take root as a basic repertoire in the Korean music community.

It has featured conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Kwamé Ryan, Thierry Fischer, Susanna Mälkki, François-Xavier Roth, Ilan Volkov, Baldur Brönnimann and Roland Kluttig, among others.

Until 2011, the series had presented around 100 Korean premieres - half of them being Asian premieres - of works by leading 20th- and 21st-century composers including Anton von Webern, Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen, John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, Witold Lutoslawski, Iannis Xenakis, György Ligeti, Pierre Boulez and György Kurtág.

Since 2011, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has commissioned or co-commissioned orchestral works by composers such as Pascal Dusapin, Peter Eötvös, Tristan Murail and York Höller for the 'Ars Nova' series.

[7] In September 2016, the orchestra announced the appointments of Thierry Fischer as its principal guest conductor and of Markus Stenz as conductor-in-residence, effective January 2017, with initial contracts of 3 years.

[8] In April 2019, the orchestra announced the appointment of Osmo Vänskä as its next music director, effective January 2020, with an initial contract of 3 years.

[10][11] In September 2022, the orchestra announced the appointment of Jaap van Zweden as its next music director, effective January 2024, with an initial contract of 5 years.