History
The professional symphony orchestra of the city of Miskolc was founded in 1963. Comprising more than 80 professional musicians, the ensemble has been led by artistic director and chief conductor Levente Török since 2024.
Thanks to its extensive international connections, the Orchestra frequently performs at international festivals and on the stages of prestigious European concert halls. To mention just a few recent years, in the autumn of 2016, they performed six times at the Paris Convention Center, accompanying the ballet company of La Scala in Milan in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Then, in March 2017, they spent a week in Nottingham, where they participated in performances of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker alongside the St. Petersburg Classical Ballet. In the autumn of 2017, they played in Athens; in February 2018, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris; and in August, they performed at Les Nuits de la Citadelle, an arts festival with a decades-long tradition in Sisteron, southern France. They have also been returning guests on Italian stages, performing in cities such as Perugia, Bergamo, Ravenna, and Varenna. Additionally, in previous years, they have toured Germany and China.
Each year, they introduce renowned artists and conductors to the Miskolc audience. They have shared the stage with such distinguished figures as Riccardo Muti, Lamberto Gardelli, Rico Saccani, Yuri Simonov, Erwin Ortner, Grigory Sokolov, Sergei Nakariakov, and Jean-Pierre Rampal.
Their high-level professional work is reflected in their subscription series, which, from 2024 onwards, will be named Maestro (8 concerts) and Capriccio (4 concerts). Additionally, the recently revived Downtown Musical Evenings chamber series welcomes concertgoers.
The Orchestra’s diverse children's and youth programs offer performances for all age groups and maintain close collaboration with conducting students from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. They are also the organizers of the Youth Concert Series, which has been running for decades under the auspices of Philharmonia Hungary.
Beyond their subscription series and youth programs, the ensemble plays a vital role in the cultural life of the city and the region, performing at numerous special concerts such as Christmas and New Year's concerts, Castle and Fortress Serenades, and other outdoor events. The Orchestra is also well-versed in lighter musical genres and eagerly participates in crossover projects (Filmfónia 1-2, Mesefilmfónia, Klazz Brothers Series, FeelHarmonic Love, Hooligans, Bon-Bon Symphonic, etc.).
Over the past decades, the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra has maintained a close collaboration with the Hungarian record label Hungaroton, producing numerous recordings. Among these, the Dohnányi and Weiner series stand out. In particular, the CD recording of Toldi, a symphonic poem by Weiner, was awarded the Golden Tuning Fork by the French music magazine Diapason in 2009. The album Hangol már a Zenekar by Kaláka was created as a joint production, and in 2023, a unique CD featuring works by Mihály Mosonyi was produced under the band's care.
The Orchestra’s artistic directors and conductors have included László Kovács (from 1984), Tamás Gál (from 2014), and Mátyás Antal (from 2018), all of whom left a significant mark on the orchestra’s history and contributed to its professional advancement.