At the end of March 1998, hundreds of music lovers expressed their sympathy at the memorial ceremony and funeral of Sir Georg Solti in Budapest. Franciska Ispán Puskás, Director of Studies at the F. Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest, had the idea to preserve the name of the great Hungarian conductor by founding a chamber orchestra bearing his name. Lady Solti liked the idea very much and Mrs. Puskás asked Professor Géza Németh to be the Artistic Director. Mr. Németh is the viola player of the internationally renowned Bartók Quartet (praised by the Kossuth Prize, the most prestigious prize in performing arts in Hungary) and professor of the F. Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest. His experiences as a player and teacher guaranteed the high artistic level of the forming orchestra.

The orchestra was founded in April 1998 consisting of 16 young string players graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy. It has developed amazingly quickly since then, starting workshop activities and giving concerts. Even their debut at the end of October 1998 entitled “In memoriam Solti" was very well received and much praised. Tamas Vásáry, the conductor of this concert, expressed his willingness to work with the orchestra in the future, telling Lady Solti that the orchestra itself was jubilant at their music making.
This success encouraged Mrs. Puskás to invite the famous Russian conductor Yuri Simonov. After the December 29 concert, maestro Simonov announced that he would like to stay with the orchestra and urged further concerts.

In May 1999 Lady Solti decided to give her permission to use the name of his husband: Sir Georg Solti. Since then the orchestra appears as The Solti Chamber Orchestra of Budapest.

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