our history
In the Hungarian town of Sopron Ferenc Kurzweil, Regens Chori of St. Michael’s Church, organised a music society in 1829 under the name Ödenburger Musikverein. There had already been occasional gatherings for large-scale musical events, such as Haydn’s oratorios, but the founding of the music society marked the beginning of organised music education and civic concert life in Sopron.
The orchestra of the Sopron Music Society took the name of the Liszt Symphony Orchestra Sopron on the occasion of its 100-year anniversary. Bartók and Dohnányi were present at the centenary celebrations, and Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus was performed. After WWII, Sopron’s musical life was also integrated into the national music scene through the National Philharmonic Concert Association: the most important performers of the time i.e. Annie Fischer, Ede Zathureczky, Sándor Végh, György Cziffra, later Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki, Jenő Jandó, Miklós Perényi regularly appeared at the city’s music festivals and concerts with the Liszt Symphony Orchestra.
The world famous pianist and composer Franz Liszt was born in the county of Sopron that is why the Symphony Orchestra of the city took his name in 1929 – when the orchestra was already one hundred years old. Beside its duties in the region, the orchestra often represents Hungary and Sopron abroad, e.g. at the Bayreuth Liszt Festival in Germany (2019 and 2021).
Artistic director: Péter Kóczán. Principal conductor: Péter Oberfrank
