The professional symphony orchestra of the city of Miskolc celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2018. The ensemble of nearly 90 professional musicians is the only professional great orchestra in the region and a major player in the cultural life of the city. Its artistic director is Mátyás Antal a Liszt Prize and a Bartók Pásztory Prize conductor.

With more than 80 concerts a year, the orchestra takes pride in two self-organized season tickets. The Hangforrás season ticket includes four concerts; every year the program is built on something special about music. Classical music lovers can listen to a number of popular orchestra performances on 7 nights of Tűzvarázs season tickets. They also play in the season ticket of the Philharmonic Hungary Nonprofit Ltd.

Due to its extensive international contacts, the orchestra often performs at international festivals and on the stages of prestigious European concert halls; at the same time they are regular performers of the BartókPlusz Opera Festival in Miskolc. For example, in the fall of 2016, they performed at the Paris Conventient Center on six occasions, played for the Milan La Scala Ballet Company in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

In March 2017, they spent a week in Notthingham, where they performed The Nutcracker alongside the Swan Lake at the St. Petersburg Classical Ballet. In the fall of 2017, they starred in a Disney production in Athens. In February 2018, they performed at the Champs-Elysées Theater in Paris, and in August, they performed at the Les Nuits de la Citadelle, an art festival of decades in Sisteron, southern France. And in 2019, the Italian audience applauded the orchestra at a concert in Ravenna as part of the Ravenna Musica program.

Due to their international recognition, they can introduce famous artists and conductors to the audience of Miskolc every year.

Their children’s and youth programs include Ciróka baby concerts for the 0-3 age group, the highly successful “Let’s Play Music with the Symphony Orchestra” program, the Hang-ár, a series of concerts with the city’s youth ensembles, and the Philharmonic Youth Concert Series.

The orchestra is present in the city with many unique and permanent programs. Christmas festivals are held every year and followed by New Year’s concerts. They regularly perform in the Edelény Castle and on the Szinva Terrace. They close their season with a light Promenade concert and always show something new on World Music Day. The orchestra is also open to exceptional things; in the summer of 2017, for example, they gave a large concert together with the Hooligans. And in 2018, they dazzled their audience with the super-production Filmfonia 2.0.

The ever-growing cultural value of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra is welcomed by the audience throughout the country and even over the borders of the city of Miskolc!