Miskolc Symphony Orchestra
The Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, the official orchestra of Miskolc, celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2018. The orchestra, with its nearly 80 professional musicians, is the only professional symphony orchestra in the region; the only local guarantee of the presence of symphonic music, playing a vital role in the city’s cultural life. All members of the orchestra are highly trained and accomplished musicians. The orchestra’s artistic director and conductor is Tamás Gál, Liszt Prize-winning conductor, and Hungary’s Meritorious Artist Award recepient.
The Miskolc Symphonic Orchestra’s predecessor, the local Musician Association, was founded in 1869. Later they officially became the Vasgyar Symphonic Orchestra in 1893. This orchestra was considered the best and the oldest workers’ orchestra in the country. Then in 1921, the Miskolc Philharmonic Society was formed and performed until the end of the 1920s, occasionally joined by the 13th Infantry Regimen’s Orchestra. Between the two World Wars, mostly the latter ensured the presence of symphonic music in the city. The Vasgyar Symphonic Orchestra dissolved shortly after the Miskolc Symphonic Orchestra was founded in the fall of 1963.
Since 1984, the orchestra’s artistic director and conductor was László Kovács, Hungary’s Meritorious Artist Award recepient, Liszt-Prize recipient, Bartók–Pásztory-Prize recipient, and since 2013, holder of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, whose work was awarded the Pro Urbe Prize in 1996 by the City of Miskolc, then the Miskolc Muse Prize in 2003. From May 2014, the artistic direction of the band was taken over by Liszt Prize-winning conductor and Hungary’s Meritorious Artist Award recipient, Tamás Gál, who added several new series to the repertoire of the band.
The Orchestra’s Performances
The orchestra performs more than 80 domestic and foreign concerts, as well as boasting two seasonal ticket series of their own in Miskolc. The ”Classic Pass” includes four concerts, every year building on some special music theme. On the nights of the ”Premiere Pass,” the orchestra performs many of the well-known and popular pieces for the delight of the classical music lovers. In addition, the band is featured in the Season Pass, organized by the Philharmonic Hungary Nonprofit Ltd., with five concerts. During the September to July season, music lovers in Miskolc are able to attend nearly 20 concerts in the Concert Hall of the Miskolc House of Arts.
Thanks to their extensive international contacts, the orchestra often performs at international festivals and on the stages of prestigious European concert halls; at the same time, the orchestra is a regular performer of the Bartók Plus Opera Festival in Miskolc. For example, in the fall of 2016, they performed at the Paris Convention Center on a total of six occasions, accompanying the Milan's La Scala Ballet Company in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Then in March 2017, they spent a week in Notthingham where, besides the Swan Lake, they also performed Nut Cracker accompanying the Classical Ballet of St. Petersburg. Due to their international recognition, they are able to introduce famous artists and conductors to the Miskolc audience each year.
The orchestra’s special children's and youth programs include Ciróka baby concerts for ages 0-3, the hugely successful "Let's Play Music with the Symphony Orchestra," as well as a program called Hang-ár, a performance series in cooperation with the city’s youth bands. Through he interactive concerts, young children learn about the world of music with humorous stories spending an exciting afternoon filled with music with their family and the orchestra, while the older children will have the opportunity to perform on the big stage with a professional orchestra.
The Philharmonic Hungary Nonprofit, Ltd., have organized the concert series for the future generation of musicians which has been realized with the help of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra. During these concerts, the orchestra invites the young audience to play, rewarding the best ones with valuable prizes (smart phone, tablet, e-book reader, etc.)
In addition to the season ticket and youth programs, the orchestra also participates in numerous exceptional and unique concerts. They perform the annual Christmas Concert at the Selyemrét St. Stephen’s Church, followed by the New Year’s Concert in the Miskolc National Theater. In addition, every other year they surprise the music-lover audience with a two to three-day music festival. They perform at the Diósgyőr Castle, Edelény Palace, and the Szinva Terrace regularly. The orchestra feels at home in the lighter genres, concluding its season with a hugely successful Promenade each year, as well as coming up with something new every year on World Music Day. As exemplified by the super-productions of previous years (Film Foon, FeelHarmonic Love), the band is open to new and unusual things. In the summer of 2017, for example, they gave a large concert with the Hooligans Band, titled Hooligans Symphonic.
The recordings of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, both in Hungary and abroad, have also contributed to the sound recordings made in recent decades. Of these, the CD recording of Leo Weiner's Symphonic Poem entitled Toldi, was awarded the Golden Tuning Fork by the French music magazine Diapason in 2009. The orchestra’s album titled Promenade was released in November 2013, produced by the orchestra. In addition, the orchestra also appeared on the album titled Forward by the Djabe Band, released in 2015. Then in March 2017, with the help of a grant, they took part in a CD recording containing the works of Lajos Huszár and Gyula Ács.
Miskolc Symphonic Orchestra, Nonprofit Inc.
Address: 3525 Miskolc, Fábián u. 6/a
Phone: +36 46 323 488
E-mail:info@mso.hu