The Hungarian National Philharmonic The Hungarian National Philharmonic is Hungary’s oldest professional orchestra and choir, and internationally one of Hungary’s most renowned formations. Our orchestra, founded in 1923, and our choir – which celebrated its 25th jubilee in 2010, comprise a unique musical workshop. Since its establishment, we have given thousands of highly-successful concerts around Hungary and abroad, in co-operation with world-famous musicians.
The unique style of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Zoltán Kocsis, General Music Director, consciously builds and forges the orchestra, in an effort to achieve a readily distinguishable style and sonority. The single underlying concept is the pursuit of authenticity and the most profound knowledge of the composers and their works. That is what constitutes artistic freedom.
“An orchestra is good if it has its own style and profile, which can only be guaranteed by the steady work of a single director. I, for example, spend 35 weeks with my orchestra annually. The result will become audible sooner or later.” Zoltán Kocsis “This was a superior orchestra: sensuous strings, extremely disciplined and precise winds, lower brass to die for. The playing of the entire ensemble was so expert...” Frederick L. Kirshnit, ConcertoNet.com, February 2003
“The vocal disposition of the choir, its instrumental-like rhythmic skills, accuracy, homogenous sonority and rapid adaptability enable the ensemble to perform any work whatsoever.” Mátyás Antal “The National Choir sings the impossible...” István Nagy Dauerni, Café Momus, January 2010
The Hungarian National Philharmonic is the herald of Hungarian music We attach great importance to popularising pieces by contemporary composers and in particular contemporary Hungarian composers (Bartók, Ligeti, Kurtág, Farkas, Jeney, etc.). We also have a special fondness for presenting pieces that are rarely played, hoping that in our interpretation, new and unusual sonorities and undeservedly forgotten pieces will also find their way to an open-minded audience.