The orchestra was established in 1945. In 1994, it was named after Witold Lutosławski, and in 2015, with the inauguration of its new headquarters, the NFM, it was named NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. During the season, in addition to regular concerts, the orchestra carries out many different artistic projects, including educational and outreach concerts and recording sessions. Its educational activities focus not only on concerts for children and young people, but also on collaboration with the Orchestra Academy and the Choral Academy (projects run by the National Forum of Music). Thanks to collaborations with NFM festivals such as Jazztopad and Musica Electronica Nova, the orchestra performs with leading representatives of the avant-garde and jazz scene; so far they have included: John Zorn, Brad Mehldau, Charles Lloyd, Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and esperanza spalding.

NFM Wrocław Philharmonic has gained particular recognition in the symphonic repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries and regularly performs compositions commissioned by the NFM. The orchestra champions contemporary music also by recording albums and touring in Poland and around the world, and its concerts at the most prestigious venues have included Berwald Concert Hall (Stockholm), Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kölner Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Flagey (Brussels), Chicago Symphony Center, Warsaw Philharmonic and the NOSPR venue (Katowice).

In its recordings and during concerts on tour, the orchestra regularly programs the works of such masters as Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki and Arvo Pärt. A disc with Pärt’s symphonies, recorded by the orchestra under the baton of Tõnu Kaljuste (ECM), received an International Classical Music Award in 2019. In June 2021, an album featuring the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, released by Deutsche Grammophon, recorded with Bomsori under the direction of Giancarlo Guerrero, was released, and in 2023 the album Francis Poulenc, Joseph Jongen, with solo parts performed by one of Poland’s most talented organists of the young generation, Karol Mossakowski. The latter was published by the National Forum of Music and CD Accord, and it is nominated for the International Classical Music Awards 2024 in the “Concertos” category.