Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra

The Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest orchestras in Europe . It was founded in 1835 by composer, violinist, and conductor Josef Labitzky as a seasonal spa ensemble . Forty years later, Labitzky’s son August turned it into a permanent symphony orchestra with a versatile repertoire . A significant achievement of the orchestra was the perfor- mance of the continental premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s New World Symphony in Poštovní Dvůr (The Postal Court) on July 20, 1894. It is impossible to name all of the important people who were and are connected with the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra . We must name at least one violinist and conductor Robert Manzer, thanks to whom the orchestra gained excellent relations with important personas of the European music world, including Pablo Casals and Richard Strauss . Many re- nowned conductors performed with the orchestra such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Dean Dixon, Aram Chačaturjan, Zdeněk Košler, Charles Mackerras, Libor Pešek or Petr Altrichter as well as famous soloists such as Ivo Kahánek, Ivan Klánský, Václav Hudeček, David Oistrach, Pavel Šporcl, Adam Plach- etka, Josef Suk, Ivan Ženatý, Mstislav Rostropovič, Jiří Bárta, Magdalena Hajóssyová, Dagmar Pecková and many others.