Conductor Simone Young has won recognition for her work in both opera, where she was the first woman to conduct at several major houses, and orchestral music. In 1993, Young became the first woman to conduct at the Vienna State Opera. She also launched a career in orchestral music, serving as principal conductor of the Bergen Symphony in Norway from 1998 to 2002. In 2000, she made her recording debut, leading the State Orchestra of Victoria on the album Seduction: Songs by Richard Strauss by tenor Steve Davislim. From 2001 to 2003, Young was the chief conductor at Opera Australia. Her complete set of Brahms symphonies with the Hamburg Philharmonic appeared in 2017, and she made several recordings of Bruckner symphonies with that group. Having conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra many times as a guest, Young became the principal conductor of that group in 2022.