Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra

The original members of the orchestra were drawn from musicians of the Hungarian National Theatre. Its first concert was on 20 November 1853, under the baton of Ferenc Erkel. The programme consisted of works by Beethoven (7th Symphony), Mozart, Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer. Landmark events include: • 25 March 1865: the first complete performance in Budapest of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, "Choral" • 19 March 1888: the first performance in Hungary of Berlioz's Grande Messe des Morts (Requiem), conducted by Sándor Erkel • 20 November 1889: the world premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 "Titan", conducted by the composer • 8 April 1907: the first performance in Hungary of Liszt's oratorio Christus This was Hans Richter's final appearance with the orchestra. Many Hungarian composers have written works especially for the orchestra, including Erkel, Liszt, Goldmark, Dohnányi, Bartók, Kodály, Weiner, Kadosa and Szokolay. Many renowned foreign composers have conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra in performances of their works: Brahms, Dvořák, Mahler, Mascagni, Prokofiev, Ravel, Respighi, Richard Strauss and Stravinsky. Other conductors to appear with the orchestra include Denes Agay, Eugen d'Albert, Édouard Colonne, Arthur Nikisch, Gabriel Pierné, Felix Weingartner, Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber and Otto Klemperer. ==Chairmen-conductors==