Brno Philharmonic

Created in 1956 by merging the Brno-based Radio and Regional orchestras, the Brno Philharmonic earned critical international acclaim only a few months later at the Warsaw Autumn festival. Since then, it has been considered among the best Czech orchestras. On its tours abroad, it has performed about eight hundred concerts throughout Europe, the United States of America, Latin America, and the Far East. Of particular importance were the performance for Pope John Paul II in Vatican, the Toyota Classics Tour across the capitals of six East-Asian countries and tours in Japan. The orchestra has also appeared at the renowned concerts of the Klubhaus in Switzerland, at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival, in the Gasteig Hall of the Munich Philharmonic, Vienna’s Musikverein, Budapest’s Palace of Arts, the Brucknerhaus in Linz, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle.
With its 112 players, the Brno Philharmonic is today one of the largest orchestras in Central Europe. The extent and quality of its activities rank it alongside both the great orchestras of Prague and the celebrated ensembles from nearby Vienna. In its home city it gives around hundred concerts a year, both at the Janáček Opera House and at its seat, the neo-renaissance Besední dům, whose superb acoustics provide a more intimate setting.
Recently the orchestra’s organisational scope has been enlarged to encompass all three branches of the Brno International Music Festival.
The Brno Philharmonic Orchestra excels in recordings for television, radio, and on CD, and its discography reflects a repertoire emphasis on Leoš Janáček and twentieth-century music.