The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

based in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. Curr ...

History

The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orchestra of the

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

. It played its first concert under its current name on January 4, 1896 when

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

conducted his own compositions, but it did not become fully independent from the opera until 1901. The first representative concert took place on October 15, 1901 conducted by

Ludvík Čelanský Ludvík or Ludvik is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ludvík Aškenazy (1921–1986), Czech writer and journalist *Ludvik Buland (1893–1945), Norwegian trade unionist * Ludvík Čelanský (1870–1931), Czech conductor and c ...

, the first artistic director of the orchestra. In 1908,

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

led the orchestra in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7. The orchestra first became internationally known during the principal conductorship of

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his ...

, who held the post from 1919 to 1931, and again from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, Talich and the orchestra made a controversial journey to Germany, where they performed

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

's ''

My Country "My Country" is a poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 while homesick in the United Kingdom. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started ...

'' in a concert enforced by the German offices. Subsequent chief conductors included

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ...

(1942–1948),

Karel Ančerl Karel Ančerl (11 April 1908 – 3 July 1973) was a Czechoslovak conductor and composer, renowned especially for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers. Ančerl was born into a prosper ...

(1950–1968),

Václav Neumann Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor, violinist, violist, and opera director. Life and career Neumann was born in Prague, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (violin), and ...

(1968–1989),

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

(1990–1992),

Gerd Albrecht Gerd Albrecht (19 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a German conductor. Biography Albrecht was born in Essen, the son of the musicologist Hans Albrecht (1902–1961). He studied music in Kiel and in Hamburg, where his teachers included Wilhel ...

(1993–1996),

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...

(1996–2003),

Zdeněk Mácal Zdeněk Mácal (; born 8 January 1936) is a Czech conductor. Mácal was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and began violin lessons with his father at the age of four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music an ...

(2003–2007), and

Eliahu Inbal Eliahu Inbal (born 16 February 1936, Jerusalem) is an Israeli conductor. Inbal studied violin at the Israeli Academy of Music and took composition lessons with Paul Ben-Haim. Upon hearing him there, Leonard Bernstein endorsed a scholarship fo ...

(2009–2012). In the wake of the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, under new conditions of financial insecurity, the orchestra reorganised in 1991 and controversially voted to appoint

its new chief conductor and to dismiss Bělohlávek. Instead of remaining until Albrecht's accession, Bělohlávek resigned from the orchestra in 1992. In December 2010, the orchestra announced the reappointment of Bělohlávek as chief conductor, beginning in 2012, with an initial contract of 4 years. The orchestra's official English name changed from the ''Czech Philharmonic Orchestra'' to the ''Czech Philharmonic'' at the beginning of 2015. In January 2017, the orchestra announced the extension of Bělohlávek's contract through the 2021–2022 season. Bělohlávek continued to serve as the orchestra's chief conductor until his death on 31 May 2017. In 2013, Semyon Bychkov first guest-conducted the orchestra, which subsequently named him director of its Tchaikovsky Project. In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Bychkov as its next chief conductor and music director, effective with the 2018–2019 season. In September 2022, the orchestra announced the extension of Bychkov's contract through 2028. Past principal guest conductors of the orchestra have included Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

and

Manfred Honeck Manfred Honeck (born 17 September 1958, in Nenzing) is an Austrian conductor. He is currently the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Early life Honeck was born in Nenzing, Austria, near the border with Switzerland and Liechten ...

Jakub Hrůša Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno), is a Czech conductor. Education Hrůša is the son of the architect Petr Hrůša. Hrůša studied piano and trombone, and developed an interest in conducting, during his years at Gymnázium třída K ...

is the orchestra's current 'permanent guest conductor', as of the 2015–2016 season. In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointments of Hrůša and of

Tomáš Netopil Tomáš Netopil (born 18 July 1975 in Přerov) is a Czech conductor. He conducted the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2005 and made his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2006. In 2006, he also conducted at the Salzburg Festiva ...

as joint principal guest conductors of the orchestra, effective with the 2018–2019 season. The Czech Philharmonic's first

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

recording dates from 1929, when Václav Talich recorded ''

'' for

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

. The orchestra recorded on the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

label during the Soviet era.

Honours and awards

*The Czech Philharmonic has won many awards, ten

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

de l'Académie Charles Cros, five Grand Prix du disque de l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and several Cannes Classical Awards. The Czech Philharmonic was nominated for

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2005, and also two

Wiener Flötenuhr The Wiener Flötenuhr or Viennese Musical Clock is a prize given by the Mozart Society of Vienna (German: Mozartgemeinde Wien) for notable recordings of works by Mozart. History The Musical Clock was designed by the sculptor Fritz Tiefenthaler f ...

awards, with Pavel Štěpán,

and

(1971 and 1982)
Supraphonline
. It was voted 20th place of the top 20 best orchestras in the world in a 2008 survey by '' Gramophone'' magazine.

Chief conductors

(1901–1903) * Vilém Zemánek (1903–1918) *

(1919–1931, 1933–1941) *

(1942–1948) *

Karel Šejna Karel Šejna (1 November 1896, Zálezly – 17 December 1982, Prague) was a Czech double bassist and conductor, the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950. Life and career Šejna's musical studies were at the Prague C ...

(1950) *

(1950–1968) *

(1968–1989) *

(1990–1992) *

(1993–1996) *

(1996–2003) *

(2003–2007) *

(2009–2012) *

(2012–2017) * Semyon Bychkov (2018-present)

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Česká filharmonie official site
*

František Sláma (musician) František Sláma (19 November 1923 – 5 May 2004) was a Czech chamber music performer. He was the first Czech cellist who focused on Early music. Biography Sláma was born in Herálec. Until the age of 18 he worked in the quarry. His meeting ...

br>Archive
More on the History of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s. ** Reminiscences - Photographs - Sound Archive. Section
''Czech Philharmonic Conductors''
** Part 1–3
''Czech Philharmonic Instrumentalists''
** Václav Talich's players and the younger CPO generations]
''Czech Philharmonic in Documents''

Film of Czech Philharmonic in rehearsal

Václav Talich recording Dvorak Slavonic Dances with the Czech Philharmonic in 1955More about this recording
{{Authority control Music in Prague Czech orchestras Musical groups established in 1896 1896 establishments in Austria-Hungary