Budapest Symphony Orchestra

The Budapest Symphony Orchestra was the earlier name of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Magyar Rádió Szimfonikus Zenekara; MRZE), a Hungarian radio orchestra founded in 1943 by conductor Ernst von Dohnányi. It is part of the Hungarian Television and Broadcasting Organisation, Magyar Rádió. A salon orchestra had been established by the Hungarian Radio in 1936, led by István Bertha and Miklós Fehér, with Tibor Ney as concert master, and some of its members became founding members of the symphony orchestra. The orchestra has performed internationally with distinguished conductors and soloists such as János Ferencsik, Otto Klemperer, Carlo Zecchi, Leopold Stokowski, John Barbirolli, Claudio Abbado, Charles Münch, Georg Solti, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Neville Marriner, Béla Drahos, Johanna Beisteiner, Giuseppe Patane, Igor Markevitch, Robert Gulya and Ilaiyaraaja. Through frequent broadcasts and recordings it has become widely known, and its tours have taken it to Eastern and Western Europe as well as to the United States and Canada. It enjoys a reputation for interpretations of Hungarian symphonic literature, especially works by living composers. Recordings are published by Naxos, Gramy and Hungaroton.