Prager Symphoniker

Orchestra

Today's Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in the autumn of 1934 by the conductor and musical organizer Rudolf Pekárek. He defined the new ensemble's fields of activity with the words Film‐Opera‐Koncert, which as the abbreviation FOK became part of the orchestra's title. By recording music for the majority of Czech films in the 1930s and performing regularly in live broadcasts of Czechoslovak Radio the FOK Orchestra made a name for itself and its economic existence was assured.    After many years of efforts by the orchestra's leadership starting in 1945, the City of Prague followed the model of other European cities and in 1952 established its own professional concert ensemble to represent the city. The traditional acronym "FOK" was retained, and the new title of the orchestra became Symphony Orchestra of the Capital City of Prague — FOK. In 1957 the orchestra departed on its first foreign tours — to Poland, Italy, Austria, and Germany — and thus inaugurated its regular and intensive engagement on the international scene.