The Fantastic Czech Philharmonic

Gramophone’s 2024 ‘Orchestra of the Year’, the Czech Philharmonic gave its first concert – an all-Dvořák programme conducted by the composer himself – in the famed Rudolfinum Hall on 4 January 1896. The Orchestra is acknowledged for its definitive interpretations of Czech composers and recognised for its special relationship with the music of Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler, who conducted the world première of his Symphony No. 7 with the Orchestra in 1908. It is currently recording the complete cycle of Mahler symphonies with Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov for Pentatone.

The Czech Philharmonic’s extraordinary and proud history reflects both its location at the very heart of Europe and the Czech Republic’s turbulent political history, for which Smetana’s Má vlast has become a potent symbol. 2024 was the Year of Czech Music, a major celebration launched on the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth and held across the Czech Republic every ten years. The Czech Philharmonic marked Smetana’s bicentenary with a series of concerts at the Smetana Litomyšl Festival, including a rare concert performance of his opera Libuše, conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša.

The contribution of the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov to the Year of Czech Music was the Dvořák Festival, a combined performance of three overtures, instrumental concerts, and the last three symphonies of Antonín Dvořák, both in Prague and on tour in South Korea, Japan, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and France. The highlight of the Year of Czech Music performed by Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic was a series of three concerts in New York's Carnegie Hall.

Alongside the Czech Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra, Orchestral Academy, and Jiří Bělohlávek Prize for young musicians, a comprehensive education strategy engages with more than 400 schools, bringing students of all ages to the Rudolfinum – some travelling as long as four hours – to hear concerts and participate in workshops. An inspirational music and song programme led by singer Ida Kelarová for the extensive Romani communities within the Czech Republic and Slovakia has helped many socially excluded families to find a voice.

An early champion of the music of Martinů and Janáček, the works of Czech composers – both established and new – remain the lifeblood of the Orchestra. Instigated by Semyon Bychkov at the start of his tenure, nine Czech composers and five international composers – Detlev Glanert, Julian Anderson, Thomas Larcher, Bryce Dessner, and Thierry Escaich – were commissioned to write for the Orchestra.

source: Česká filharmonie

Robin Ticciati OBE has been music director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2017 and music director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera since 2014. He was principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 2009-18.

He is a regular guest with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In recent years, he has also appeared with the Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Staatskapelle Dresden and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. In the US, he has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.  

Since becoming music director at Glyndebourne, he has led critically acclaimed new productions of La damnation de Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, La Clemenza di Tito, Carmelites, Katya Kabanova, Smyth’s The Wreckers, and a double bill of Poulenc’s La voix humaine & Les Mamelles de Tirésias.  

He has conducted Peter Grimes at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival, and Eugene Onegin at both the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

His highly acclaimed discography includes Berlioz with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Haydn, Schumann, Berlioz and Brahms with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Dvořák, Bruckner and Brahms with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra; and Bruckner, Debussy, Duruflé, Duparc, Fauré, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Strauss with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.    

In season 2023/24, Robin Ticciati made his debuts with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, and at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, where he conducted its new production of Rusalka. He returned to the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. At Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he conducted a new production of Carmen and a revival of Tristan und Isolde.

Born in London, Robin Ticciati is a violinist, pianist and percussionist by training. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain when, aged fifteen, he turned to conducting under the guidance of Sir Colin Davis and Sir Simon Rattle. He holds the position of ‘Sir Colin Davis Fellow of Conducting’ at the Royal Academy of Music. Robin Ticciati was awarded an OBE for services to music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (2019).

source: Askonas Holt

In 2012, Vilde Frang was unanimously awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, which led to her debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker under Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.

Her profound musicianship and exceptional lyricism have elevated her to one of the foremost violinists of her generation. She continues to appear regularly with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra. She has enjoyed collaborations with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mariss Jansons, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Iván Fischer, Maxim Emelyanychev, Jakub Hrůša, Vladimir Jurowski, Manfred Honeck, Teodor Currentzis, Daniel Harding, Antonio Pappano, Lahav Shani, Paavo Järvi, and Yuri Temirkanov.

Highlights of the current season include her return to the Berliner Philharmoniker with Kirill Petrenko, as well as her much-anticipated debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Vilde is also embarking on international tours with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra with Klaus Mäkelä, London Symphony Orchestra with Antonio Pappano, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Robin Ticciati, Münchner Philharmoniker with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Vladimir Jurowski. She is also embarking on a Bach cycle with the Kammerorchester Basel.

A keen and prominent chamber musician, Vilde regularly appears at the Lucerne Festival, BBC Proms, Verbier Festival, Lockenhaus Festival, George Enescu Festival, Salzburg Festival, and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. She also frequently performs in recitals at Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Vienna Musikverein, Philharmonie Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, and BOZAR Brussels, as well as in North America as part of the Vancouver Recital Series, Boston Celebrity Series, and San Francisco Performances. Vilde returns to the Wigmore Hall as artist-in-residence, where she will join forces with the early music ensemble Arcangelo. Later in the season, she will take part in chamber music performances with her close collaborators Lawrence Power, Valeriy Sokolov, Denis Kozhukhin, and Maximilian Hornung.

Vilde Frang is an exclusive Warner Classics artist, and her recordings have received numerous awards, including the Edison Klassiek Award, Diapason d’Or (Diapason Magazine), Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Grand Prix du Disque, and two Gramophone Awards.

Born in Norway, Vilde was engaged by Mariss Jansons at the age of twelve to debut with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. She studied at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, with Kolja Blacher at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy.

Vilde performs on a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù, generously loaned to her by a European benefactor.

source: Askonas Holt