Founded in 1903, the Seattle Symphony has seen countless blockbuster performances from conductors such as Thomas Beecham, Gerard Schwarz and Ludovic Morlot, who took over the orchestra in 2011. Schwarz made more than 100 recordings with Seattle, showing incredible depth and power (his Beethoven 9 is sublime). Morlot's Ives (3 Places in New England) shimmers with iridescence, while his Grofé (Grand Canyon Suite) and Fauré (Pelléas et Mélisande Suite) radiate a bucolic agelessness that few can evoke.