Czech Philharmonic
Semyon Bychkov, Chief Conductor & Music Director
Sir Simon Rattle & Jakub Hrůša, Principal Guest Conductors
130TH SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT – 2025-2026
Every dream that becomes a reality gives birth to a new dream. The vision remains
and, for as long as the desire to sustain it lives, hopefully new dreams too will be
realized. SEMYON BYCHKOV
In its 130th season, the Czech Philharmonic continues to spread its wings and
give the limelight to the musicians of the Orchestra in concerts at its home in
Prague, on international tours, and to a growing educational programme hosted
by the Rudolfinum. With a projected audience of 150,000, this season the
Orchestra’s presence is equally divided between its audience in the Czech
Republic, its international fans – shared this year between Romania, Austria,
Italy, Germany, Luxemburg, Taiwan, Japan and Korea – and its burgeoning
community programme reaching out to audiences of every generation.
Voted Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year 2024, the Czech Philharmonic has an
enviable reputation for its definitive performances of Czech repertoire, but
increasingly it is not only Czech repertoire that accounts for its international
success. Mid-way through a complete Mahler cycle which will be released as a
box set in Spring 2026, the Orchestra has recently returned from a tour of major
European cities where Austria’s Die Presse described the Orchestra as excellent
in all sections while in London, The Telegraph wrote: That glow was abruptly
banished after the interval by the minatory trumpet call that launches Mahler’s
Fifth Symphony, played here with burnished magnificence by Stanislav Masaryk.
He was one of many wonderful principal players that stood out, above all horn
player Jan Vobořil, whose huge stentorian calls in the stormy second movement
had to be heard to be believed.
Following three performances at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, and concerts
in Prague led by the violinist Leonidas Kavakos and, conductor, Robin Ticciati,
the Czech Philharmonic’s 130th season opens at the Rudolfinum on 25th
September conducted by Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon
Bychkov. In this 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, Bychkov is joined by the
Korean pianist, Seong-Jin Cho for a performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G
major. Seong-Jin has recently recorded all of Ravel’s works for piano on a 3-CD
set containing both piano concertos and the complete works for solo piano.
Following the Ravel, Bychkov will conduct Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, a
signature work for Bychkov which he last conducted with the Orchestra in 2017
prompting Harmonie Online to comment: Tchaikovsky and Bychkov – are one.
That is the feeling that I got from their performance of the Fifth Symphony.
In a season that also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the most famous of
Smetana’s poems, Vltava, the Czech Philharmonic’s programmes are particularly
notable for their broad spectrum of composers and styles. This season’s
symphonic works includes those by Shostakovich, Elgar, Mahler, Beethoven,
Berlioz, Lutoslawski, Gershwin, Mendelsohn, Stravinsky, and Britten, alongside
classical period performances under Giovanni Antonini and Nicholas Kraemer
featuring works by Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn and Telemann: the concerto repertoire includes works by Sibelius, Elgar, Wynton Marsalis, Schumann, Brahms and Mozart.
Now resident in Prague, Evgeny Kissin, is this year’s Artist in Residence. He
opens his residency in late September with an evening of chamber music for
which he is joined by violinist, Joshua Bell and cellist, Steven Isserlis. He returns
to the Rudolfinum in November for three performances of Prokofiev’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 conducted by Semyon Bychkov, and in January for a solo recital
featuring works by Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Myaskovsky.
This season’s Composer in Residence is Bryce Dessner, whose Concerto for two
pianos was given its Czech première by the Czech Philharmonic in February 2021.
Later that year, the Orchestra gave the world première of Mari, one of five
international commissions initiated by Bychkov at the start of his tenure. Of the
performance, Bachtrack wrote: To open a bracing double bill of Shostakovich
and Rachmaninov, Bychkov led a piece written and dedicated to him [Mari] by an
American rock star, Bryce Dessner. The meeting of two musical worlds never
sounded so good. In February, Jakub Hrůša will conduct the Czech première of
Dessner’s St Caroline by the Sea with electric guitars played by Bryce Dessner
and David Chalmin. In April the Wihan Quartet will open their concert with
Dessner’s Circles; in May Bychkov will conduct Dessner’s Cello Concerto with
soloist, Anastasia Kobekina; and in June, Dessner’s Aheym will open the Danish
String Quartet’s chamber programme.
Principal Guest Conductor, Sir Simon Rattle will return to Prague for two
weeks in December. In the first week he will conduct the Czech Youth
Philharmonic (ČSF) in works by Berlioz, Lutoslawski and Beethoven; and for the
second week, he will conduct the Czech Philharmonic, the women of the
Prague Philharmonic Choir, and Magdalena Kožená in a programme of Debussy,
Messiaen and Mahler.
Meanwhile, fellow Principal Guest Conductor, Jakub Hrůša will be with the
Orchestra for two weeks in February when he will present two programmes that
both begin and end with works by Josef Suk. In the second week, Hrůša will be
joined by Augustin Hadelich for a performance of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto.
Zubin Mehta returns to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Resurrection with the
Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonic Choir, who recorded the work with him
and the Israel Philharmonic in 1995. The concert marks Zubin Mehta’s first visit to
the Czech Philharmonic in more than 50 years. Also returning to the Czech
Philharmonic this season are conductors Stéphane Denève, Christian Măcelaru,
Keith Lockhart, Dalia Stasevska, Petr Popelka, Thomas Adès, and David
Robertson. Soloists appearing this season include Vilde Frang, Kian Soltani,
Gautier Capuçon, Mao Fujita, Jaemin Han, Beatrice Rana, Jiří Vodička, Vikingur
Ólafsson, Amihai Grosz, Marie-Ange Nguci, Fleur Barron, Sol Gabetta, Jan
Mráček, Emanuel Ax, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Members of the Orchestra Jan
Fišer, Václav Petr and Karolína Pancernaite are the soloists for Beethoven’s
Triple Concerto conducted by Giovanni Antonini.
In a new departure, the Czech Philharmonic has invited the London Symphony
Orchestra to be part of the subscription series at the Rudolfinum. Sir Antonio
Pappano, the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor will lead the programme featuring
Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Mahler Symphony No. 5.
On 24th September, the Lobkowicz Trio, formed by Jan Mráček, one of the
Orchestra’s three concert masters; Ivan Vokáč, one of the Orchestras two
principal cellists; and pianist, Lukáš Klánskẏ give the opening concert in an
extensive chamber music programme. In October, Josef Špaček, former leader
of the Czech Philharmonic joins Denis Kozhukhin for a programme of Schnittke,
Beethoven and Arvo Pärt; and, harpsichordist, Mahan Esfahani, gives the first of
two concerts featuring Books 1 and 2 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
Also included on the chamber series are concerts by the Alinde Quintet, with
Czech Philharmonic oboist, Barbora Trnčiková; the Zemlinsky Quartet; the
Bennewitz Quartet joined by the Martinů Voices; cellist, Alica Weilerstein;
baritone, Franco Vasallo accompanied by Giovanni Brollo; the Wihan Quartet;
and the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.
The Czech Philharmonic’s education programme continues to grow. In addition
to the ongoing relationship with London’s Royal Academy of Music, this season
the Czech Youth Philharmonic (ČSF) participates in two subscription
programmes: with Simon Rattle in December 2025 and, with Giovanni Antonini
and his “court concertmaster” from Il Giardino Armonico, Stefano Barneschi in
January 2026. Members of the ČSF will also participate in the iPhilharmonic
programme and, Steps to the New World which includes Stravinsky’s Firebird,
Dvořák’s Cello Concerto and new works by conductor Marko Ivanović.
Working in collaboration with philharmonic ensembles, Martha in the Realm of
Musical Wonders, designed for 1st grade elementary school students and
parents with children, moves into its third year, this time working with the Low
Brass Association in a programme dedicated to the 120th birthday of Jaroslav
Ježek. And, entering its 11th year, the Joint Orchestra of Elementary School Pupils
continues with a new programme and new participants, while a wide range of
concerts and workshops cater to preschoolers, schoolchildren and high school
students, and visits to homes for the elderly are organised by the Orchestra.
Finally, in cooperation with Ida Kelarová and Čhavorenge, the Czech
Philharmonic’s education team is completing a songbook of Romani songs for
schools and the general public.