The Philharmonia Hungarica was formed from émigré Hungarian musicians who were exiled following the 1956 revolution. It was formed by conductor Zoltán Rozsnyai in Baden, Austria in 1956, with the aid of distinguished musicians such as Antal Doráti, Karl Böhm and Gottfried von Einem. The International Rescue Committee, the American Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation, as well as the French Cultural Freedom organisation supported the foundation of the orchestra. A few weeks after their first performance, their second concert, given at the Vienna Musikverein with Yehudi Menuhin was broadcast across Europe. Menuhin subsequently became their honorary president and following their initial Austrian concerts, undertook numerous successful world tours and recordings, including the entire Haydn symphonies. The Philharmonia Hungarica became internationally renowned for its convincing interpretations of Haydn, Kodály and Bartók. The orchestra, which communist Hungary refused to acknowledge in any way, worked with several hundred distinguished soloists and made over 360 records, giving over a thousand concerts on four continents. Their members not only promulgated Hungarian culture internationally but helped to keep the memory of the failed revolution alive. The legendary ensemble is still active and members of numerous leading European ensembles provide the kernel of the orchestra, which appears at the opening concert of the Budapest Biennale – Cultural Festival of Émigré Hungarians, which runs from October 17th to October 31st.

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