The Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1968 in the cosmopolitan city of Kosice, the capital of Eastern Slovakia. The first music director of the orchestra was Bystrik Rezucha. The 90-member ensemble has recorded more than 200 works, mostly of the nineteenth century repertoire, but also new works by Slovak composers. The orchestra has toured throughout Europe and the Far East, and in 1994, it was the first orchestra from Slovakia to perform in America. The orchestra also performs annually at two international music festivals held in Kosice: the Kosice Music Spring Festival and the International Organ Festival. The orchestra's discography on the Naxos and Marco Polo labels include world premiere recordings of works by Spohr, Raff, Rubinstein, Furtwängler, Waldteufel, and von Suppé.