The Slovak Philharmonic Choir, originally the Mixed Choir of the Czechoslovak Radio, was founded by conductor Ladislav Slovák in 1946, becoming part of the Slovak Philharmonic group in 1957. Jan Maria Dobrodinský led the choir for over 20 years from 1955, and it has since been led by Valentin Iljin, Lubomír Mátl, Štefan Klimo, Pavel Baxa, Pavol Procházka, Marián Vach, Blanka Juhaňakova and Jan Rozehnal. Jozef Chabroň has served as chorus master since 2014. The choir has received praise from renowned conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly and Esa-Pekka Salonen, among many others.
In addition to regular performances at home, the choir undertakes frequent tours abroad. It has collaborated with numerous prestigious orchestras, has performed at many international festivals, and has a rich discography. Highlights of the 2018–19 season included Les Troyens at the Wiener Staatsoper, concerts with Rastislav Štúr and Thomas Sanderling, and performances of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 with Emmanuel Villaume and Yutaka Sado.
Photo: Jan Lukas
|