Czech Philharmonic: Velvet Revolution Concert 2022

Madgalena Kožená, Simon Rattle and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra live from the Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall in Prague.

Celebrating democracy, freedom and non-violence, the Czech Philharmonic’s concert to mark the Velvet Revolution was presented for the first time in 2020. In 2022 Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená perform with the Czech Philharmonic. The season’s artists-in-residence have chosen songs by Maurice Ravel and Bela Bartok, and the final symphony of Gustav Mahler—a hymn celebrating life and humanity.

Sir Simon Rattle recalled: “It isn’t often that I fall in love with an orchestra, and most of my relationships with orchestras date back quite a while. But when I conducted the Czech Philharmonic for the first time, the kind of music I would like to hear the orchestra play occurred to me immediately. It has been able to preserve its own typical sound, which is perfectly suited to Mahler. One of my old mentors was Berthold Goldschmidt, who conducted the British premiere of Mahler’s Third Symphony, among other things. Of the many wonderful things he told me about Mahler’s Ninth, one thing really stuck with me: ‘Remember that Mahler put everything he hated about Austria into the first scherzo and everything he hated about Vienna into the second one. If you have that in mind, you’ll never be far off the mark.’”

Genre Orchestral Music
Recording location Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall in Prague
Recording date 16 & 17 November 2022
Duration 100'
Video format 4K/UHD
Production Company Czech Philharmonic
TV Director Michael Beyer
Distribution TV EuroArts Music
Distribution VOD EuroArts Music
English title of music work Ravel: Mélodies populaires grecques (5 Greek Folk Songs), Bartók: Five Hungarian Folksongs, Sz 101, BB 108, Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Orchestra / Band Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor Simon Rattle
Soloist Madgalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano