Brno Philharmonic Orchestra

The Brno Philharmonic has an illustrious history of music making, its beginnings dating back to the 1870s, when its first predecessor, the amateur Czech Symphony Orchestra, was established under the auspices of Leoš Janáček and housed in the purpose-built Besední dům, the present orchestra’s magnificent home. Formed in 1956 after the merger of the Radio Orchestra and the Brno Region Symphony Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic has long been regarded as one of the best orchestras in the Czech Republic.

The Brno Philharmonic has often been labeled as Janáček’s orchestra, and rightly so. Brno, where the composer lived and worked, has always been a lively centre for his music. Since its foundation in 1956, the ensemble has given well over three hundred performances of works by Janáček, at concerts both in the Czech Republic and abroad. It has also recorded Janáček’s complete symphonic and cantata works.

The BPO has recorded extensively with Supraphon – a record company boasting a long and distinguished history, and which is nowadays the largest and most prestigious in the Czech Republic – and has also made a number of high quality recordings with Sony Music, IMG Records, and BMG, as well as with a number of other well-known record labels. Most recently, the orchestra has recorded with Music Sales, Classic FM and Sony BMG, Channel 4, Supraphon, the Royal National Theatre in London, Ablaze Records, and Universal. In 1956, when it was formed, the Brno Philharmonic began to collaborate with Czech Radio, and this relationship has continued up until the present day.