The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Symfonický orchester Slovenského rozhlasu, also known as SOSR or the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, holds the distinction of being the first professional orchestra formed within the territory that now constitutes Slovakia. It continues to rank among the nation’s foremost ensembles, its catalog of releases on Western imprints having secured widespread international recognition.

Established in 1929 to meet the requirements of the newly launched Slovak Radio network, the orchestra began under the direction of Frantisek Dyk. Composer Alexander Moyzes, a dedicated advocate for Slovak music who then taught at the Music and Drama Academy for Slovakia in Bratislava, proved instrumental in its development by steadily raising performance standards. That work extended after Moyzes moved to the Bratislava Conservatory faculty in 1941 and ended only when the 1948 Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia compelled his resignation. By then the ensemble had begun to attract a succession of accomplished conductors, among them Ondrej Lenard (1970-1991), Róbert Stankovský (1991-2001), and current music director Peter Valentovic. Guest conductors of international stature have included Charles Mackerras, Neeme Järvi, and Kirk Trevor, while soloists such as Anna Netrebko and Boris Berezovsky have appeared with the orchestra. Tours have taken the group to the Musikverein in Vienna as well as to venues in Spain and Japan, and its schedule also encompasses the recording of soundtrack music for Slovak films.

Recordings remain central to the orchestra’s identity, highlighted by the world premiere release of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s I gioielli della Madonna (The Jewels of the Madonna). Extensive sessions, conducted chiefly outside Slovakia, have been undertaken for the Marco Polo and MMC labels and, most extensively, for Naxos. The ensemble has sustained its specialization in Slovak music; in 2018 it oversaw the re-release of the complete cycle of Moyzes’ 12 symphonies, originally recorded for Marco Polo, with two volumes issued on Naxos in 2019 under the direction of Ladislav Slovak.