Founded in 1892, and long recognized as one of Bulgaria’s leading cultural institutions, the Sofia Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Bulgaria, represents a wide range of the country’s classical and contemporary musical traditions. The orchestra’s high artistic achievements are easily recognized in its performance history of collaborations with such legendary conductors as Bruno Walter, Kurt Masur, Valery Gergiev, Neville Marriner, Charles Dutoit, and Marin Alsop. Among prominent soloists who have performed with the orchestra are Sviatoslav Richter, Alexis Weissenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Spivakov, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Sarah Chang, Maxim Vengerov, Angela Gheorghiu, and Joshua Bell.