The Czech Philharmonic opens 123rd season

Semyon Bychkov, the Czech Philharmonic's new Chief Conductor, opens his first season with the Orchestra on 10 October with Mahler's Symphony No. 2.

Joined by soloists Christiane Karg and Elisabeth Kulman, the symphony will be repeated in Bratislava, New York and Vienna. The Orchestra under Bychkov will also undertake major international tours to the United States, Germany and Belgium.

For his inaugural season, Bychkov will conduct five subscription weeks spanning repertoire including works by Dvořák, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Schubert, as well as continuing The Tchaikovsky Project. Bychkov will also conduct the first performance in the Czech Republic for 20 years of Berio's Sinfonia for 8 Voices and Orchestra, and the Czech première of Glanert's Weites Land. Glanert is one of fourteen composers that the Czech Philharmonic has commissioned for future seasons alongside Thomas Larcher (Austria); Bryce Dessner (US); Julian Anderson (UK); and Thierry Escaich (France); and nine Czech composers Jiří Teml; Jiří Gemrot; Pavel Zemek Novák; Martin Smolka; Adam Skoumal; Miloš Orsoň Stědroň; Miroslav Srnka; Petr Wajsar; and Slavomír Hořínka.

On 3rd October 2018, a week before the launch of the new season, the Czech Philharmonic will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovak independence in Prague. The all-Czech programme features works by Smetana, Martinů and Dvořák, and is the first of four concerts given by the Czech Philharmonic and Bychkov to mark this auspicious anniversary. Subsequent anniversary concerts will be held in London (October 24); New York (October 27); and Washington (October 29).