The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is one of the most important and oldest orchestras in the Czech Republic. For many decades, it has been a versatile orchestra with a broad repertoire of concert music and opera. Among the permanent and guest conductors to work with the orchestra have been Václav Talich, Karel Ančerl, Václav Neumann, Vladimír Válek, and Charles Mackerras. Its present chief conductor is Alexander Liebreich. A number of composers from around the world have performed their own works with the orchestra, including Sergei Prokofiev and Aram Khachaturian. The orchestra has always been heavily involved with recording activity, and it has to its credit the making of recordings of many Czech classics that are not a usual part of the repertoire. This is not its first appearance at the Dvořák Prague Festival: in 2014, for example, it took part in the world premiere complete concert performance of Dvořák’s first opera Alfred with its original German libretto, and in 2019 it gave a unique performance of Dvořák’s first musical setting of the libretto King and Collier in a modern-era premiere.

Richard Kollert started playing the violin at the age of five. Half a year later, he was already playing Vivaldi’s concerto with the PKF orchestra and he soon began performing at festivals around the world. Upon the occasion of his 10th birthday, he performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and he then performed Bruch’s concerto one year later. He achieved enormous success at the Louskáček International Competition for Young Musicians. Last year, he participated in the “Virtuosos Talent Show” organized by Hungarian television, where he received a number of prizes. Plácido Domingo introduced him as a rising star at the opening concert of the 30th annual Český Krumlov International Music Festival. He has recently performed in the Bartók Hall in Budapest, at EXPO 2020 in Dubai and the Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto with the PKF-Prague Philharmonia.

Filippo Lombardi is studying the trumpet at the C. Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano. He has won prizes at a number of national and international competitions, including the International Competition for Young Instrumentalists in Povoletto or the Premio Crescendo competition, since the age of eleven.  He has also received the National Prize for trumpet playing. In November 2019, he participated in the fourth year of the Prodigy competition, which is broadcast in prime time by Italian public television. He was selected as part of the 2021 summer program for young people at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has participated in master classes given by the most famous trumpeters, including Sergei Nakariakov, Stephen Burns, Friedemann Immer, Rex Richardson, Omar Tomasoni and Ruben Simeo.

Victor Vichev was born in Sophia in 2006. He is studying the piano at the National School of Music and Dance in Plovdiv. In 2014, he was awarded the first prize at the prestigious Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition, while he received a Special Diploma from the International Piano Competition in Smederevo, Serbia and the first prize at the Great Composers competition in London in 2019. He also received the first prize at the sixth National Academic Piano Competition of J. S. Bach and his Contemporaries in Plovdiv and a special prize from the Golden Talents 2021 international competition in the same year. As a soloist, he has performed, for example, Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D major in Plovdiv (2018) and in Sophia (2019) or Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major with the Sophia Sinfonietta in Sophia and Shumen (2021).

Diana Chausheva was born in Sophia in 2007. At the age of six, she was accepted into the National Music School, where she quickly began to develop her performance abilities. She has been awarded a number of prizes from international competitions, including the 1st prize at the 7th International String Instrument Competition in Nis (Serbia, 2015), the exceptional absolute prize at the 8th international Ohrid te sakam competition (Macedonia, 2020), the 1st prize at the Opus Artis music competition in Paris, the 4th prize at the prestigious 2021 Piccolo Violino Magico international violin competition (Italy), the 1st prize at the International Violin Competition “Young Paganini” in Legnica (Poland, 2021) and others. She has successfully participated at several master classes under the leadership of Stefan Tarara, Leonid Kerbel, Dora Schwarzberg and others.