Founded in 1928, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra has long established itself as one of the leading institutions in Bulgaria’s musical life, representative of the overall contemporary musical culture of the country. Throughout its history, the orchestra has worked with eminent conductors such as Bruno Walter, Hermann Abendroth, Kurt Masur, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Valery Gergiev, Karl Österreicher, Neville Marriner, Charles Dutoit and others. Soloists who have performed with the orchestra have included David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Alexis Weissenberg, Dmitry Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Ghena Dimitrova, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Sarah Chang, Thomas Hampson, Yuri Bashmet, Tabea Zimmermann, Elena Bashkirova, Sonya Yoncheva, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Maxim Vengerov, Angela Gheorghiu, Vadim Repin, Paul Badura-Skoda, Joshua Bell and many more world-renowned artists.
The orchestra has received many prestigious accolades including Musician of the Year, awarded by the programme Allegro Vivace radio contest hosted on the Horizont channel on Bulgarian National Radio, the Golden Lyre and Crystal Lyre awarded by the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers and Classic FM Radio, the Honorary Sign of Sofia and the Honorary Sign of the President of Bulgaria. From 2017, the director of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra has been Nayden Todorov.
For more information, visit www.sofiaphilharmonic.com.