The Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1963 by former students at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. Its repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to music by contemporary composers. János Rolla, one of Hungary's leading violinists, has been concertmaster of the orchestra since its inception. The orchestra has made more than 200 recordings for the Hungaroton label and has released other discs for CBS, Teldec, EMI, Erato, Denon, and Sony Classical. The orchestra has received three Grand Prix awards of the French Academie du Disque in Paris, including one for a recording of Handel cantatas and one for Vivaldi motets, and has received numerous Hungarian "Record of the Year" awards. Together with presenting 30-35 concerts each year at home, the orchestra has toured in Europe, the United States, and Japan, and has been featured at festivals such as Besançon, Edinburgh, Bath, Flanders, Helsinki, Lucerne, Montreaux, and Salzburg. The orchestra has collaborated with many noted instrumentalists, including Jean-Pierre Rampal, Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Henryk Szeryng, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, and Isaac Stern.