Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
The Slovak Philharmonic (in Slovak, Slovenská filharmónia) is one of the youngest among Europe's great symphonic ensembles, yet it has gained international renown in the 1990s and early 2000s. The orchestra has recorded extensively and has attracted top-notch international collaborators. The Slovak Philharmonic was founded in Bratislava, then part of Czechoslovakia, in 1949. Its first conductor, Vaclav Talich, and first music director, Ludovit Ratjer, were key figures in the orchestra's formation and emergence. In the 1950s, the orchestra began giving concerts in the handsome 1773 Reduta Bratislava concert hall, which has remained its home base. After Rajter stepped down as conductor in 1976, the orchestra had several other highly regarded conductors including Ladislav Slovak (until 1981), Libor Pesek, and, in 1990 and 1991, Aldo Ceccato, its first conductor from outside Czechoslovak lands. After Slovakia split peacefully from the Czech Republic in 1993, the Slovak Philharmonic went from being a strong orchestra in a country with many of them to something of a national flagship, and it increasingly attracted foreign conductors and instrumental collaborators as guests. Among the former group have been Claudio Abbado, Sergiu Celibidache, and Mariss Jansons. The permanent conductorship, however, remained mostly in Slovak and Czech hands; the renowned Jiří Bělohlávek served a term in the 2003-2004 season. That changed with the appointment of France's Emmanuel Villaume in 2009; he remained in the job until 2016, when he was succeeded by Britain's James Judd, a former conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the founder of the Miami Music Project. The orchestra has also been led in recent years by its permanent guest conductors, Leos Svarovsky (until 2018), Rastislav Stur, and Petr Altrichter. The orchestra has a large collection of recordings, most of them on the Naxos, Zebralution, and Denon labels; on Naxos the group released a recording of symphonic poems from Bedřich Smetana's Swedish period.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Danube / Moravian Dances / Suite Op. 3
Zdenek Husek, Jana Valaskova, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Naxos on 31 Dec 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major / Serenade Melancolique / Souvenir d'un lieu cher
Mariko Honda, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Keith Clark
Classical - Released by Naxos on 16 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Carmen Suites
Classical - Released by Naxos Special Projects on 26 Aug 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns - Symphonie No. 3
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Ivan Sokol
Classical - Released by JamadaDigital on 10 Feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 8 - Rosamunde
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and Michael Halász
Classical - Released by SMOOTH CLASSICAL on 10 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
DVORAK: Rhapsody Op. 14 / Overtures
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Libor Pešek
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 'Organ'
Libor Pešek, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Denon on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 3 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Masterpieces - Grieg: Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Classical - Released by Menuetto Classics on 11 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Masterpieces - Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525 "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Classical - Released by Menuetto Classics on 11 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Lohengrin: Act I: Prelude (Digitally Remastered)
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Opera - Released by EMG Classical on 16 Oct 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11: II. Larghetto (Digitally Remastered)
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek, Ida Cernecka
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 13 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
VOCALISE - Classical Favourites for Relaxing and Dreaming
Classical - Released by Naxos on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Adrian Leaper
Symphonic Music - Released by Naxos on 12 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NOVAK: Pan, Op 43
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Zdenek Bilek
Classical - Released by Marco-Polo on 1 Feb 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classics from the Movies
Classical - Released by Naxos on 26 Apr 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Cello Concerto No. 1 & 2
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Bohdan Warchal
Classical - Released by Red Note OMP on 17 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janacek: Danube / Moravian Dances / Suite Op. 3
Jana Valaskova, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Marco-Polo on 31 Dec 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Dog Lovers: Canine Classics
Classical - Released by The Gift of Music on 5 Aug 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 3 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No.7 in A Major Op. 92
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Classical - Released by Red Note OMP on 17 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo