While the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra has the distinction of being the oldest radio orchestra in Germany, it is, more importantly, among the finer German orchestras of any background. Known in Germany for years as the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Leipzig and then as the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, it is now called the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, but in the English-speaking world, it is still sometimes known by its older Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra moniker, especially on recordings.

Under the name Orchester des Konzervereins ("Orchestra of the Concert Society"), the group gave its first concert on January 6, 1923. It also used the name Leipzig Symphony Orchestra. Under director Alfred Szendrei, the orchestra gave its first concerto on Leipzig radio the following year, using the name Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig ("Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra"). Szendrei was succeeded in 1931 by Carl Schuricht. Major conductors have included Hans Weisbach (1934-1939), Hermann Abendroth (1949-1956, during which time he led pioneering LP recordings of Bruckner symphonies), Herbert Kegel (1953-1977), and Wolf-Dieter Hauschild (1978-1985). From 1941 to 1945, the orchestra was inactive. Beginning in the 1990s, the orchestra began to attract conductors from outside Germany; these have included Fabio Luisi (1999-2007), Kristjan Järvi (2012-2018), and Dennis Russell Davies (2020-). The Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Leipzig merged with the Leipzig Radio Philharmonic in 1992, and the group assumed its current name, in German Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Leipzig. The orchestra performs at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.

The MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra has spawned an unusually large number of smaller ensembles, including an associated string quartet, wind quintet, chamber orchestra, and percussion ensemble, as well as the Gruppe Neue Musik Hanns Eisler and the Ensemble Sortisatio. It also often performs with the MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus, although the groups have separate conductors. The MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra has a large recording catalog stretching back to the beginning of the LP era. It has recorded for Berlin Classics, Philips, Ondine, and other labels. In the 2000s, it often recorded for Sony Classical, Naxos, and Berlin Classics. In 2022, the orchestra joined the MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus for a recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony and Serenade to Music. By that time, its recording catalog comprised more than 35 CDs and numerous earlier LPs. ~ James Manheim, Rovi