The history of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra goes back to 1931 when the new public radio authority founded its first symphony orchestra in Turin, later joined by orchestras in Rome, Milan and Naples. Over the years, the various orchestras have been directed by all the major conductors of the day, from Vittorio Gui to Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Antonio Guarnieri, Igor Stravinsky, Leopold Stokowski, Sergiu Celibidache, Carlo Maria Giulini, Mario Rossi, Lorin Maazel, Thomas Schippers, Zubin Mehta and Wolfgang Sawallisch. Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Muti and Giuseppe Sinopoli have all made important debuts with the four orchestras.
In 1994 the four orchestras were merged in Turin. The new RAI symphony orchestra made its official debut with Georges Prêtre and Giuseppe Sinopoli