The orchestra's traditions date back to 1945. The direct predecessor of the ensemble was the Gdańsk Symphony Orchestra, active since 1974 (it was renamed the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in the same year). Today, the Gdańsk Philharmonic musicians are among the leading orchestras in Poland. The PFB (Polish Baltic Philharmonic) has collaborated with prominent global ensembles, conductors, and soloists, including the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Sinfonia Varsovia, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Sir Neville Marriner, Paavo Järvi, Maxim Vengerov, Krzysztof Penderecki, Krystian Zimerman, Cyprien Katsaris, Nigel Kennedy, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Rafał Blechacz, and Soyoung Yoon. The PFB Orchestra notably performed in a concert featuring Jean-Michel Jarre to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement and the signing of the August Agreements (2005); they played Krzysztof Penderecki's "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" during a concert celebrating the composer's 75th birthday under his baton (Wind Section of the Orchestra, 2008); and they performed B. Britten's "War Requiem" (conducted by Sir Neville Marriner) as part of the Solidarity of Arts festival (2009).
In 2014, the orchestra embarked on a tour in China (seven concerts), and in 2016, they set off on their longest-ever tour in the United States, performing 43 times. To mark the PFB's 70th anniversary, the musicians played in Moscow and Stockholm. The orchestra has recorded numerous pieces, including "Outstanding Polish Composers: Henryk Wieniawski" (2016) featuring Maxim Vengerov, the "Bacewicz/Shostakovich" album (2016) with Alena Baeva, "Kulka / Karłowicz / Lipiński" (2020) featuring Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, and "PALESTER Unknown Works" (2021).
