The Czech National Symphony Orchestra (ČNSO or CNSO) ( cs, Český národní symfonický orchestr) is a Czech symphony orchestra based in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. The orchestra principally gives concerts at the Smetana Hall, Municipal House (''Smetanova síň Obecního domu''). The CNSO also performs at the Rudolfinum.

History

In 1993,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

player Jan Hasenöhrl and

Zdeněk Košler Zdeněk Košler (March 25, 1928 – July 2, 1995) was a Czechoslovak conductor, who played an important role in Czechoslovak musical life of the second half of 20th century, notably during the 1960s and 1980s.Sleeve note of the Supraphon CD (SU 007 ...

formed the CNSO, with Košler as the orchestra's first chief conductor. Košler held the post until 1996. From 1996 to 2007, the American conductor Paul Freeman was chief conductor of the CNSO. Since 2007, Libor Pešek is the orchestra's chief conductor. He is scheduled to stand down from the post after the 2018–2019 season. In March 2019, the CNSO announced the appointment of

Steven Mercurio Steven Mercurio (born 1956, Bardonia, New York (state), New York) is an American conductor and composer. Early life and education Mercurio was raised in New York and is of Italian descent. For most of his adolescence, he gravitated towards rock an ...

as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019–2020 season. In popular music collaborations, the orchestra played on the

Ulf Lundell Ulf Gerhard Lundell (born 20 November 1949) is a Swedish writer, poet, songwriter, composer, musician and artist. He made his debut in 1975 with the LP '' Vargmåne'' and was immediately hailed as "Sweden's Bob Dylan". In 1976 his first novel, t ...

album ''På andra sidan drömmarna'' in 1996.

Lotta Engberg Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer. She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with " Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodifestivalen in 19 ...

recorded ''Nära livets mening'' together with the orchestra in 2003, and the song was included on the 2005 album '' Kvinna & man''.Dansbandsbloggen 8 March 2005 - ''Påkostat och välgjort''
On 20 August 2003, in a

Symphonic Game Music Concert The ''Symphonic Game Music Concerts (''shortened to: ''Game Concerts'') are a series of award-winning orchestral video game music concerts first performed in 2003 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, notable for being the longest running and the ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the orchestra became the first ensemble to perform music written for video games live outside Japan. The CNSO has collaborated with Ennio Morricone on several projects, including the soundtrack to Giuseppe Tornatore's ''

The Best Offer ''The Best Offer'' ( it, La migliore offerta – entitled ''Deception'' in the UK) is a 2013 English-language Italian psychological thriller film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. The film stars Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks ...

'' (2003). In 2015, the CNSO toured with the composer during his 60th anniversary tour. In July 2015, Morricone conducted the orchestra for recording sessions of his film score to

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's ''

The Hateful Eight ''The Hateful Eight'' (sometimes marketed as ''The H8ful Eight'' or ''The Hateful 8'') is a 2015 American Western mystery thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leig ...

''.

Chief conductors

* Zdeněk Košler (1993–1996) * Paul Freeman (1996–2007) * Libor Pešek (2007–2019) *

(2019–present)

References

External links

*
Czech National Symphony Orchestra

CNSO studios
{{Authority control 1993 establishments in the Czech Republic Musical groups established in 1993 Czech orchestras National orchestras Music in Prague Organizations based in Prague Cedille Records artists