Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra

The Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Sarajevska filharmonija / Сарајевска филхармонија) is an orchestra in Sarajevo.

Its first concert was performed on October 24, 1923, with the program being "Lisinski: Overture from the opera "Porin"; Mendelssohn, Concert g-minor for piano and orchestra; Beethoven: Second Symphony." The conductors were A. Lukinić and J. Rozdalovski.

The outbreak of World War II disrupted the activities of the Orchestra, which was reestablished in October 1948. During the Bosnian War, the Orchestra again suffered disruption. During the Siege of Sarajevo, seven members of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra were killed and twelve were wounded. The archive of musical scores was damaged and many instruments were destroyed, damaged or lost. During the war, however, the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra continued its work and performed 60 concerts, 20 of them abroad. The rehearsals were performed in hard winter conditions, in basements, and without heating and only by candlelight.

The Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra performed on June 19, 1994 amongst the ruins of Sarajevo City Hall. Mozart's Requiem was performed, and maestro Zubin Mehta conducted the concert with soloists José Carreras, Ruggero Raimondi, Cecilia Gasdia and Ildikó Komlósi.

In September 1994, the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra toured in Italy, and subsequently in Austria (1995, 1996), Turkey (1995), the Czech Republic (1995), France (1997), Switzerland (1997, 2000), and again in Italy (1995–1997).

...
Wikipedia