In its 129th season, the Czech Philharmonic presents subscription cycles A, B, C and four special concerts. Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov will share the baton with Principal Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša. Sir Simon Rattle accepted the title of Principal Guest Conductor Rafael Kubelík Chair. Nathalie Stutzmann and Alan Gilbert will make their debut with the orchestra. Pianist Daniil Trifonov will take on the role of Artist-in-Residence.
The programming for Series A covers a broad range of history from Bach to Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Debussy, and Mahler, then on to Weill and two world premieres. Besides appearances by chief conductor Semyon Bychkov, Simon Rattle, and Tomáš Netopil and the returns of several other performers, two artists will be making their debuts.
At six concerts, you will hear repertoire of the 19th century—Brahms, Dvořák, Schumann, and Berlioz—with some overlapping into previous and subsequent epochs—Nielsen, Janáček, Shostakovich, Suk, Ravel. Jakub Hrůša will complete his Suk cycle with a performance of Epilogue, and Simon Rattle will present his conception of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass.
Series C could bear the subtitle “Vocal”. Three of the four programmes have a prominent vocal element, such as arias from the classical period sung by Magdalena Kožená, Honegger’s magnificent oratorio, or the Vocal Symphony by Vladimír Sommer.
Joining chief conductor Semyon Bychkov for the opening concerts for a second time is the phenomenal pianist Daniil Trifonov, this time in the role of the season’s artist-in-residence. Petr Popelka will make his debut for our traditional Velvet Revolution Concerts, and Tomáš Netopil will lead four performances on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
In our 129th season, you can attend a total of four regular morning public dress rehearsals and one special on the New Year’s Eve. The latter is the first of four appearances including the New Year’s Even afternoon concert and the two concerts on New Year’s Day. It is more festive than regular dress rehearsals, so the ticket price is different.
