Miroslav Philharmonik 2: Complete Orchestral Library Guide
Miroslav Philharmonik 2 stands in continuity with a collection that became a benchmark around the turn of the 1990s, originally produced by Miroslav Vitous with the Czech Philharmonic in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague. This new iteration brings in the entirety of the historical material, optimizes it for a modern engine, and enriches it with a substantial amount of new recordings done at the CNSO Orchestra Studios, in the large hall nicknamed “The Gallery,” a more neutral and controlled space than the original concert hall. The practical consequence for the user is clear: the library combines the musical character captured in a prestigious acoustic with the flexibility of a drier environment, allowing you to apply the reverb and spaces of your choice in the workstation, using convolution tools or dedicated algorithms.
Miroslav Philharmonik 2 (Mixer)
The library’s structure is designed for orchestral writing in the broad sense. Every traditional family is represented: bowed strings, brass, woodwinds, pitched percussion, unpitched percussion, keyboards, guitars, harps, and choirs. Although there are more recent sound libraries today, Miroslav Philharmonik 2 remains to this day (ten years after its release in 2015) an absolute reference for orchestral classical music, and also for film music and pop.
For the three great pillars—strings, brass, and woodwinds—both ensemble and solo versions are provided. This duality meets complementary needs: ensembles immediately deliver the breadth and blend of a full section, while solo instruments provide the precision needed for contrapuntal writing, targeted doubling, or exposed lines. The folder organization reflects this breakdown and adds prepared mixed ensembles (full string sections, woodwind–brass blends, “full orchestra” combinations) that are useful for quick mockups and saving polyphony. Incidentally, if you’re looking for a high-quality orchestral sound library that’s quickly usable, Miroslav Philharmonik 2 is likely the best choice.
Several practical aspects are worth noting. All recordings are in stereo, and the main parts for strings, brass, and woodwinds are centered to give the user freedom to pan according to the desired seating plan. The historical content from the first generation, for its part, retains an image corresponding to traditional orchestral positions. You’ll also find mono versions of a large number of patches: they consume fewer resources and make heavy layering in complex combinations easier. So-called “Dyn Perf Elements” ensembles offer velocity switching between orchestral combinations, in order to obtain dynamic variations with a reduced number of tracks. Percussion is provided both as chromatic instruments, “full maps” ready for multi-instrument sequencing, and “menu maps” that make available, note by note, the samples of a single instrument. What’s more, a dedicated “pitch scaling” parameter for percussion elements lets you define how the timbre behaves across the keyboard range. Finally, the library includes player noises—breaths, scrapes, movements—intended to recreate, on demand, a realistic recording context. That is already a lot and amply sufficient regardless of the musical production style.
Miroslav Philharmonik 2 (Instrument Settings)
Beyond the inventory, the ergonomics rely on articulation switching. From a single instrument, the user can access playing modes essential to orchestral writing: accented/marcato attacks, détaché, staccato, spiccato, portato, pizzicato, tremolo, trills, glissandi, sul ponticello playing, variants with or without vibrato, as well as specific techniques like flutter-tongue for winds or stopped playing for the horn. Taken together, these form a coherent foundation for musicians who want to realize detailed orchestrations, while remaining modular enough to adapt to diverse workflows. As you’ll have gathered, we strongly recommend this sound library.
Now, let’s go into more detail for each instrument category.
Strings
In the Western tradition, the bowed string family comprises violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The acoustic principle is shared: the vibration of a stretched string sets the wooden body into resonance, pitch resulting from the string’s length, tension, and linear mass, with the height controlled by the left hand shortening the vibrating portion on the fingerboard. In a sampling context, the challenge is not only to capture range and dynamics, but also transient behaviors, legato continuity, and attacks. The Miroslav Philharmonik 2 library provides the indispensable articulations: détaché for separate attacks, staccato and spiccato for quick, biting passages, portato for a carried but non-legato articulation, pizzicato for plucked strings, tremolo for a dramatic sense of tension, as well as expression and vibrato variants.
Naturally, the violin occupies the highest tessitura and plays a central role in orchestral writing, from exposed melody to bright doublings. Tuned in fifths G, D, A, E, it offers the versatility one expects from a full section: long, singing legatos for themes, precise spiccatos for rhythmic energy, tremolos for color, and, as needed, sul ponticello playing for a grainy brilliance. The library provides violin ensembles for pads and a solo violin for lines where detail and micro-articulation are decisive.
Miroslav Philharmonik 2 – Violin
The viola, tuned a fifth lower, covers the middle range. Its timbre, darker and slightly nasal, provides harmonic thickness while being capable of taking the melody when the writing calls for it. In a mix, the viola supports doublings with flutes or clarinets well, to densify a theme without making it too bright, and the library offers the necessary articulations to move from a supporting role to a more expressive exposure.
The cello sits an octave below the viola and assumes a dual role: bass support and lyrical singing in the middle register. Long legatos are crucial here, as are marked attacks to underpin an orchestral accent. The presence of a solo patch in Miroslav facilitates writing detailed cantilenas, while the cello ensemble immediately delivers the grounding of an entire section. Held notes in the middle range, enriched with controlled vibrato, marry particularly well with horns and oboes, which the samples reproduce by capturing real nuances and attacks.
As the lowest instrument in the string family, the double bass provides the foundation of the orchestral spectrum. Its range covers the cello’s lower octave, with a practical extent that allows articulated bass lines and massive sustains. The challenge with virtual instruments in this category often lies in the readability of attacks: having crisp staccatos and full long notes helps structure harmonic supports. This has been perfectly recorded and reproduced by IK Multimedia. The option to use mono versions for doublings strengthens low-end effectiveness without excessive CPU load. Finally, the string family gains credibility when you add, sparingly, the integrated section and breathing noises in the library: these optional details bring the sound image closer to the reality of a session.
Listen to audio productions using strings:
Bach – Air – Miroslav Philharmonik 2 – Midi Audio Expert (Rough Mix)