The Slovac Philharmonic Choir is a prominent representative of the Slovak art of professional choir singing. It entered the music scene in 1946 as the Mixed Choir of Czechoslovak Radio. During the first years, it was led by its founder, conductor Ladislav Slovák. In 1957 the choir was incorporated into the group of Slovak Philharmonic ensembles under its current name. Several important personalities (including Jan Maria Dobrodinský, Štefan Klimo, Pavol Procházka, Marián Vach, Jan Rozehnal, Blanka Juhaňáková und Jozef Chabroň) took over the post of choir masters. Since the 2023/24 season, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir is led again by choir master Jan Rozehnal.
The sophistication of expression, the sound balance of vocal groups, as well as interpretive readiness, reliability and exemplary artistic discipline are reflected in sovereign performances, which have been appreciated by many renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Serge Baudo, Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Fedoseyev, János Ferencsik, Daniele Gatti, Pedro Halffter, Riccardo Chailly, Dmitri Kitajenko, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Franz Welser-Möst, Antonio Pedrotti, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Ralf Weikert.
The choir has collaborated with prestigious foreign orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Orchestre de Paris. Its rich discography includes recordings for Slovak and foreign television and radio stations, as well as for renowned recording companies, such as Opus, Supraphon, Deutsche Grammophon, Hungaroton, Sony, Marco Polo, Naxos, Nuova Era, Decca, etc.
In 2023, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir received an award from the German magazine Oper! in the category “Best Choir” for the collaboration in the opera production “The Queen of Spades” with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko at the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden and concerts at the Berlin Philharmonic (2022).
In the 2024/25 season, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir performs Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 8 in Bratislava, Prague, Vienna, and St. Pölten. At the beginning of the season it presents Schoenberg’s “Gurre-Lieder” in Vienna (Petr Popelka). It performs Berlioz’ dramatic symphony “Romeo and Juliet” at the Bratislava Music Festival (BHS) and in Hamburg (Sylvain Cambreling), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Dresden (Andrew Manze), Bruckner’s Te Deum, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass in Vienna (Stefan Vladar). As part of the Year of Czech Music, the choir performs Smetana’s opera “Libuše” in concert at the BHS, Dvořák’s Requiem at the St. Wenceslas Music Festival in Ostrava, and Handel’s “Messiah” in subscription concerts with the Brno Philharmonic. In April 2025, the choir appears at the Easter Festival in Salzburg in a new opera production of Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen.