Whether in the recording studio or in live performance, the Prague Sinfonia Orchestra aims to strike a balance between authentic scholarship and modern performing techniques, under the motto “crystal clear in a velvet sound”. The word "velvet" hints at the orchestra's artistic and political inspirations. The late Václav Havel, the dissident playwright who served as the last president of Czechoslovakia before its dissolution, remains the group's honorary president and creative lodestar, and the orchestra strives to embody the spirit of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that swept him into office. In the aftermath of that revolution, Havel invited conductor Christian Benda, a descendant from a line of composers going back at least to the 18th century, to perform at Prague Castle, the country’s seat of government. Benda became chief conductor and artistic director, and he has taken the orchestra on tour to North and South America, Asia and Europe, focusing on Classical-era repertoire. Recordings for Sony Classical and Naxos include the complete overtures of Rossini and Schubert.