This refugee ensemble gathered together some of Hungary's finest musical talent and was directed by Zoltán Rozsnyai, former conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonic.
[1] In 1976 the Philharmonia Hungarica recorded Jon Lord's critically acclaimed 'Sarabande' album, an original collection of movements inspired by the baroque dance suites.
The withdrawal of state subsidies at the start of 2001, combined with the long-term decline in concert attendances, aggravated the financial problems that threatened the orchestra's survival.
After Rozsnyai, the chief conductors were Miltiades Caridis (1960–67), Alois Springer (1968–74), Reinhard Peters (1975–79), Uri Segal (1979–85), Gilbert Varga (1985–91) and finally George Alexander Albrecht.
[1] The beleaguered Philharmonia Hungarica finally disbanded after giving a farewell concert in Düsseldorf on 22 April 2001, featuring a performance of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No.