The Prague Philharmonia (''Pražská komorní filharmonie'', abbreviation: PKF; literal translation, "Prague Chamber Philharmonia") is a Czech orchestra 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 gives concerts in several venues in Prague, including the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, the Church of St. Simon and Juda, the Švanda Theatre (Smíchov) and the Salon Philharmonia. The orchestra receives government and civic sponsorship from the Czech Ministry of Culture, the City of Prague and the Prague 1 Municipal Authority.

History

Jiří Bělohlávek founded the orchestra in 1993, after his resignation as chief conductor of the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the titl ...

the previous year. The Czech Ministry of Defence had offered funding for training 40 young musicians to act as their own music ensemble, to replace the

Prague Symphony Orchestra The Prague Symphony Orchestra (Prague, Czech Republic, cs, Symfonický orchestr hlavního města Prahy ''FOK'') is a Czech orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra has traditionally been known by the acronym 'FOK', standing for 'Film-Opera-Koncert' ...

in that capacity. Bělohlávek decided to form a new chamber orchestra instead with the funds, and had auditioned musicians for the orchestra. However, the ministry withdrew its funding the next year. Bělohlávek subsequently secured private funding for the orchestra, which made its public debut in 1994. Bělohlávek served as the orchestra's first music director and chief conductor, from 1994 to 2005. He led the orchestra in its debut at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

in London in July 2004. Bělohlávek subsequently held the title of conductor laureate of the orchestra from 2005 until his death in 2017. The Swiss conductor

Kaspar Zehnder Kaspar Zehnder (born 27 August 1970 in Riggisberg, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss conductor and flutist. He studied classical languages at the Lyceum in Bern and music at the University of the Arts Bern. His music teachers included Heidi Indermühle ( ...

became the orchestra's second chief conductor in 2005, and

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 ...

simultaneously became principal guest conductor. Zehnder stepped down from the chief conductorship in June 2008 at the expiration of his contract. In March 2008, the orchestra announced the appointment of Hrůša as their third chief conductor, effective in September 2008. Hrůša held the post through the 2014-2015 season. In October 2014, the orchestra announced the appointment of

Emmanuel Villaume Emmanuel Villaume (born 1964 in Strasbourg, France) is a French orchestra conductor. He is currently music director of the Dallas Opera and chief conductor of the Prague Philharmonia. Biography Villaume began his musical education at the Stras ...

as its fourth chief conductor, effective with the 2015-2016 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. The orchestra has made recordings for a number of labels, including Supraphon,

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

, EMI,

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''harm ...

, and Pentatone.

Chief conductors

* Jiří Bělohlávek (1994–2005) *

(2005–2008) *

(2008–2015) *

(2015–present)

References

External links

Prague Philharmonia official homepage, Czech-language version

Prague Philharmonia official homepage, English-language version
{{Authority control Czech orchestras Musical groups established in 1994 1993 establishments in the Czech Republic Arts organizations established in 1994