Founded in April 1984 as a result of the enlargement of the Polish Chamber Orchestra (PCO). The impulse to expand the ensemble was provided by the arrival, at the invitation of Waldemar Dąbrowski and Franciszek Wybrańczyk (PCO director) of the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin. The first concerts with Menuhin soon won the appreciation of the audience in Poland and abroad and Menuhin took over as principal guest conductor. Over the years Sinfonia Varsovia has performed in the world’s most prestigious concert halls under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Witold Lutosławski, Lorin Maazel, Emmanuel Krivine, and Jerzy Maksymiuk, with soloists including Mstislav Rostropovich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Alfred Brendel, Martha Argerich, and Piotr Anderszewski. Altogether the Orchestra has played over 4,000 concerts worldwide and recorded more than 300 albums.

Krzysztof Penderecki was the Orchestra’s music director from 1997, and its artistic director in 2003–20. In 2008–12, the music direction of Sinfonia Varsovia went to Marc Minkowski. In 2004 Franciszek Wybrańczyk handed over the direction of the Orchestra to its long-time member Janusz Marynowski, who continues in this position. In September 2022 Aleksandar Marković was appointed principal guest conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia.