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Liszt Connects
As part of the Franz Liszt Festival, Festival3Cities, Liszt’s Dante Symphony will also be presented during the opening concerts of the Slovak Philharmonic’s 2026/2027 season.
This concert brings together the rich musical heritage of Central Europe, contemporary Slovak composition, and the monumental symphonic world of Franz Liszt. Kilar’s Orawa draws inspiration from the mountainous landscapes and folk traditions of the Polish–Slovak border region. Godár’s Meditation presents a contemplative violin monologue set against the powerful sonority of the string orchestra, while Janáček’s The Journey follows the restless voice of the solo violin through a fragmented orchestral landscape. The culmination of the programme is Liszt’s Dante Symphony, in which the poet’s vision is transformed into a magnificent symphonic drama.
Tickets for these concerts will be available through the Slovak Philharmonic.
Programme
- Wojciech Kilar: Orawa for Large String Orchestra
- Vladimír Godár: Meditation for Solo Violin, 48 String Instruments and Timpani
- Leoš Janáček: Violin Concerto, The Wandering of a Little Soul
- Franz Liszt: A Symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy
Performer
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1949. Two outstanding figures of international musical life played a decisive role in shaping its artistic beginnings: Václav Talich (1949–1952) and Ľudovít Rajter (1949–1976). The orchestra’s artistic profile was subsequently developed by a succession of distinguished chief conductors, including Tibor Frešo, Ladislav Slovák, Libor Pešek, Vladimír Verbickij, Bystrík Režucha, Aldo Ceccato, Ondrej Lenárd, Jiří Bělohlávek, Vladimír Válek, Peter Feranec, Emmanuel Villaume, and James Judd. Daniel Raiskin served as Chief Conductor from 2020 to 2025. Since the 2025/2026 season, Daniel Raiskin and Ondrej Olos have served as the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductors.
Throughout its history, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra has collaborated with an impressive list of internationally acclaimed guest conductors, including János Ferencsik, Witold Rowicki, Václav Smetáček, Karel Ančerl, Franz Konwitschny, Arvīds Jansons, Václav Neumann, Hermann Abendroth, Antonio Pedrotti, Sir Eugene Goossens, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Roberto Benzi, Kurt Masur, Sir Charles Mackerras, Carlo Zecchi, Serge Baudo, Claudio Abbado, Kurt Sanderling, Zdeněk Košler, Riccardo Muti, Karl Richter, Kirill Kondrashin, Leif Segerstam, Alain Lombard, Sergiu Celibidache, Thomas Sanderling, Oskar Danon, Marcello Rossi, Neeme Järvi, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Mariss Jansons, Christoph von Dohnányi, Dmitri Kitayenko, Otmar Suitner, James Conlon, Valery Gergiev, Ali Rahbari, Fabio Luisi, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Peter Schreier, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ralf Weikert, Michalis Caridis, Pinchas Steinberg, Peter Keuschnig, Tomáš Hanus, Jakub Hrůša, Juraj Valčuha, Tomáš Netopil, Ion Marin, Pavel Baleff, George Pehlivanian, Jun Märkl, Ilan Volkov, Wayne Marshall, Evan G. Jensen, Alan Buribayev, and many others. The orchestra has also worked with distinguished composer-conductors performing their own works, including Jean Martinon, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Aram Khachaturian.
The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra has made numerous recordings for radio, television, and leading record labels including OPUS, Supraphon, Panton, Hungaroton, JVC Victor, RCA, Pacific Music, Naxos, and Marco Polo. It is a regular guest at major European concert halls and festivals. During its extensive international tours, the orchestra has performed in almost every European country, as well as in Cyprus, Turkey, the United States, and has regularly toured Japan, South Korea, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
The orchestra continues to perform regularly on international tours in Japan and South Korea, as well as at prestigious venues such as the Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Cologne Philharmonie. It has also appeared in Zagreb, Maribor, Vienna, and at the Krumlov Festival alongside violinist Maxim Vengerov. During the previous season, the orchestra performed within the subscription series at the Salzburg Festspielhaus and undertook concert tours in Spain and Japan. Alongside its international engagements, it regularly appears at leading Slovak festivals, including the Košice Music Spring and the Allegretto Žilina Festival.
In the 2026/2027 season, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra continues its recording project of Franz Schmidt’s symphonies with Principal Guest Conductor Daniel Raiskin. During the season, the orchestra has also accepted invitations to perform at festivals in Jihlava and Kroměříž and will collaborate with the Prague Philharmonic Choir for a series of Christmas concerts in Prague.