Concert in Madrid

National Music Auditorium, Madrid

The third subscription concert of the Orchestral Series will be once again conducted by our Chief Conductor Emmanuel Villaume. The second protagonist of the evening will be his namesake, the exceptional player and principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic, who has already won the favor of our audience with his previous performances: Emmanuel Pahud. The program of the concert builds a symbolic bridge between the Classical masters and the composer who was inspired by their style within the Neo-Classical trends.

Mozart. Poulenc. Haydn

Dvořák Hall Rudolfinum

French tenor Benjamin Bernheim literally dazzled Prague during his first performance on 19th November 2024. He didn't even sing any opera hits, but fragile, lyrical, intimate compositions by French masters of the song repertoire! „It was an Encounter with Perfection," wrote a reviewer on the KlasikaPlus website. Benjamin received a standing ovation! It also seems that it was an instant mutual love; during the encores, Benjamin Bernheim addressed the enthusiastic audience by saying that this concert was the beginning of a promising relationship between him and the Czech audience – a relationship that will certainly develop further in the coming years. Naturally, such a publicly stated promise cannot remain unanswered. So, here comes a new date! In a year, in November 2025, Benjamin will return to Prague, this time with the French-American soprano and his life partner Sandra Hamaoui.

Opera gala – L’amour. Benjamin Bernheim & Sandra Hamaoui

Smetana Hall Municipal House

Gluck. Salieri. Mozart

Lobkowicz Palace

At the closing concert of the Talich’s Beroun International Music Festival, Prague Philharmonia will appear with the distinguished soloist, Jan Fišer, concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, under the baton of Jiří Habart, one of the most promising young Czech conductors of today. A highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of Jiří Pelikán’s Dvě brány (Two Gates), commissioned by the festival to mark the 760th anniversary of the first written mention of the town of Beroun.

Talich’s Beroun: Closing Concert

KD Plzeňka, Beroun

The third chamber music concert will focus on a lesser known musical form presented less often at chamber music evenings, namely the piano quartet. The concert program consists of three seminal pieces in this genre by the most qualified composers Antonín Dvořák, Robert Schumann and Bohuslav Martinů.

Schumann. Martinů. Dvořák

The Professed House, Prague

The second subscription concert of the Orchestral Series will combine the latest music with works by masters of earlier periods. Oscar Jockel will perform the demanding, but historically traditional dual role of composer-conductor.

Despite his young age, he has managed to captivate audiences, critics, as well as the world’s leading conductors. He has been conducting assistant to Kirill Petrenko, the Chief Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, and demonstrated his professional qualities with the Prague Philharmonia in the past.

Jockel. Haydn. Bach. Mozart

A Journey to the King Inyoni

The program tonight, framed by works of Robert Schumann whose anniversary we are celebrating, will employ the sound of the clarinet as an instrument typical of folk music. The clarinet will also be heard in Marko Tajčević’s Seven Balkan Dances, which will take the audience to the distant Balkans.

Schumann. Juon. Tajčević

Asian Tour: Japan and Thailand

Cultural Centre, Tochigi

Thailand Cultural Center, Bangkok

Hamamatsu Act Tower

Civic Assembly Hall, Nagoya

The Symphony Hall

Rexxam Hall, Takamatsu

Metropolitan Theatre, Tokyo

Tokyo Opera City Tower

Queen's Square Yokohama

Composer with a focus on electroacoustic music, sound designer and music director. In his compositions he deals with the human body, the human breath, the human pulse and the human movement, which he reflects in his music.

He has received many major awards and his works have been performed by prominent orchestras and musical ensembles around the world (such as the Klangforum Wien, the Trio Catch, the Quatuor Tana, the Fama Q, the Ostravská Banda, the Cluster Ensemble and the Bennewitz Quartet).

Jakub Rataj – The Human Body as a Symbol

Studio of Švanda Theater

Bratislava Music Festival: The Epic of Gilgamesh

Slovak Philharmonic

Our tribute to Robert and Clara Schumann culminates in a concert featuring works by both spouses. Clara Wieck-Schumann was a pioneering pianist—one of the first to perform from memory—and a gifted composer, balancing her artistry with raising eight children. Robert, an accomplished composer, writer, and pianist, damaged his hands through obsessive technical practice.

From the opening notes of Clara’s Piano Concerto, the deep connection between them is unmistakable—a bond unmatched in the 19th century. Robert’s Cello Concerto, no less moving and contemplative, seems to call out Clara’s name in the final movement’s intervals, according to cellist Mischa Maisky. This music unfolds like a personal film, with the cello’s lyrical voice and the orchestra’s rich palette painting vivid scenes.

Dvořákova Praha: A Tribute to the Schumanns & Gilgamesh

Mozart. Beethoven

The opening concert of the Chamber Music Series will present an unusual program with an unusual instrumentation. The world-renowned Zemlinsky Quartet will be complemented by oboe, clarinet and double bass, which forms the basis of folk music. Symbolically, the concert will also feature Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G major, Op. 161, which was composed in 1826 and is one of Schubert’s masterpieces.

Milhaud. Martinů. Schubert

St. Wenceslas Music Festival: Mahan Esfahani & Prague Philharmonia

Kostel Sv. Cyrila a Metoděje

The opening of the season is not only a musical event, but also a social event, and those closest to you must not miss it. Naturally, we will open the season with our Chief Conductor Emmanuel Villaume. Under his direction, the Prague Philharmonia will play works by composers who are close to the heart of the members of the orchestra.

Mozart’s elegance, for example, has long been uniquely understood by our string section. Their brilliant way of playing and compact sound are also perfectly suited to the rather lucid, albeit quite complex overture to The Magic Flute. With Mozart we will listen to the music of Viennese Classicism – after all, this style has long been the focal point of our ensemble.

Mozart. Saint-Saëns. Haydn. Schubert

A Message from Nachtigall Artists, the Concert Organizer
It is a great honor and pleasure for us that we have been able, for the last 25 years, to bring the most famous opera stars to you – the Czech audience. We value the support of all of you, whether you have been our fans since our beginnings or you started coming our concerts recently. Whether we like it or not, a quarter-century makes us to look back, reflect on what we have accomplished, but above all, we are now obliged to throw a really big party.

Anniversary gala: 25 years of Nachtigall Artists

Enjoy an evening full of emotions and let yourself be enchanted by the magic of music and the unique atmosphere of Freiburg's Münsterplatz!

We invite you to an extraordinary open-air concert, as part of the Münsterplatz-Konzerte 2025, where we will present masterpieces of classical music under the direction of Jiří Habart.

Allow yourself to be captivated by the majestic beauty of Smetana's famous tone poem "The Moldau," which brings to life the diversity of the river in all its forms, and by the dramatic intensity of "Šárka."

Open-air concert: Smetana & Dvořák

Münsterplatz, Freiburg im Breisgau

George Bizet's timeless work, Carmen, combines a powerful theme with absolutely iconic music. One emotional melody follows another, and you can hear the colourful orchestras, the sophistication of the parts, the rhythmic dances and the songs.

Czech mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů will perform as Carmen. She belongs to the role, both on domestic and European stages, just like a red rose.

Don José will be played by the most sought-after tenor of today, Joseph Calleja. It will be his first appearance at the Krumlov Festival.

The trio of exceptional voices will be joined by the local baritone Svatopluk Sem.

IMF Český Krumlov: Passionate Carmen (opera, ballet)

Brewery Garden, Český Krumlov

“From Bohemia to the end of the world” – that's how one could articulate the successful artistic career of tenor Petr Nekoranec, who made his debut in South Africa in August 2024 while in March 2025 he will travel to Brisbane, Australia to make his debut in the Queensland opera house as Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La cenerentola. Petr was born in Nové Dvory by the City of Polná, studied singing in Pardubice, Munich, and New York, performed in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Bayreuth, Florence, Teatro Real in Madrid, Warsaw, São Paulo, Brazil, etc. He is also a popular guest of French opera houses such as the Théâtre du Capitole v Toulouse a Opéra national de Lorraine v Nancy. In July 2024 he made his debut at the famous festival in Aix-en-Provence. He is a soloist at the National Theatre Opera, where he added his first ever Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème in the 2024/25 season to the roaster of his many beautiful roles.

Petr Nekoranec and guests: Night at the Castle

Castle Courtyard, Polná

Between the dramatic tones of the overture to Mozart’s last opera and the most dramatic Symphony by L. van Beethoven, the tones of the trombone concerto by a Danish composer from the first half of the 20th century, almost unknown in our country, will be heard.

Leoš Janáček IMF: An evening full of contrasts

DK Poklad, Ostrava

The 2024/2025 season traditionally concludes with Music Director and Chief Conductor Emmanuel Villaume. The evening's honored solo position will be taken by outstanding violinist Romana Špačková, Prague Philharmonia's long-standing concertmaster.

The evening opens with Anton Webern's Passacaglia, an early work combining strong Romantic influences with experimental tendencies. The epic arch of this Baroque-inspired variation form sets the stage for the dramatic atmosphere of the early 20th century, which we'll fully explore in Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor. The post-war period during which the concerto was written marked another turbulent phase in the composer's life, as he faced intense criticism of his work and political persecution.

Webern. Shostakovich. Beethoven

Le Roi David is one of the masterpieces by the Swiss composer Arthur Honegger, written in 1921. It represents a significant milestone in his musical development. This oratorio is based on the biblical figure of King David from the Old Testament. Le Roi David is a notable work not only for its musical qualities but also for its ability to create an emotional and dramatic space in which the biblical story comes alive as an intense experience for the audience.

Smetana’s Litomyšl Festival: Arthur Honegger — Le Roi David

Courtyard of the castle, Litomyšl

David Koller will perform his legendary songs during a special set with the Prague Philharmonia!

Thanks to its long-term partnership with Komerční banka, the Prague Philharmonia returns to Rock for People regularly. After collaborating with Vypsana fiXa, Clarinet Factory and its own Prague Philharmonia Cover Band, this year the orchestra has prepared an ambitious project.

David Koller has put together a special programme consisting of the greatest hits from his solo career and the band Lucie, which will be performed in original symphonic arrangements.

Rock for People: David Koller & Prague Philharmonia

Park 360

The final concert in the Prague Philharmonia's contemporary music cycle will have a distinctly different character and program from the previous concerts. Two guests, both esteemed in their fields and united by their interest in contemporary music, particularly the integration of classical with electroacoustic and electronic music, will share the stage.

Between Classical & Electronic Music: Karel Havlíček and Vadim Petrov

Český rozhlas, Praha

The 2024/2025 season concludes its chamber cycle in an unconventional way – with baroque music. Not only will Vivaldi and Czech baroque composer Antonín Reichenauer be featured, but also instruments with "baroque" in their very names. Travel back in time with baroque bassoon and oboe!

Vivaldi. Reichenauer. Kramář

Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman came to Prague for the first time in January 2024 and completely captivated the Dvořák Hall, filled to the last seat, with his singing and charm. He also provided an unexpected and spectacular surprise at the end of the concert when choral singing resounded from both sides of the galleries and the balcony: students from the Jan Deyl Conservatory in Prague and the Pardubice Conservatory accompanied Jonathan in the most famous opera hit, Calaf's aria "Nessun dorma". It was an unforgettable evening!

Jonathan Tetelman

Haydn. Debussy. Méhul

Paganini, then Dvořák: the young American violinist Kevin Zhu, most recently heard at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Paganini’s 24 Caprices, »scaling the Mount Everest of violin literature« (thus the publication »Musik in Dresden«), returns this season with Dvořák’s only Violin Concerto, a gem heard far too rarely. Stylistically, it forms part of the so-called Slavic period, in which the Czech composer dedicated himself with particular intensity to the folklore of his homeland. 

Zhu – Prague Philharmonia – Villaume

Frauenkirche Dresden

The young American violinist Kevin Zhu, most recently heard at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Paganini’s 24 Caprices, »scaling the Mount Everest of violin literature« (thus the publication »Musik in Dresden«), returns this season with Dvořák’s only Violin Concerto, a gem heard far too rarely. Stylistically, it forms part of the so-called Slavic period, in which the Czech composer dedicated himself with particular intensity to the folklore of his homeland.

Weber. Dvořák. Wagner

"My Praguers understand me." Cast in bronze and mounted as a plaque on Prague's Estates Theatre, this expression of Mozart's affection for the Bohemian capital stands proud. While it's not documented whether he actually put it in these exact words, there is no doubt about his deep affection for Prague and its inhabitants. It must have been love at first sight when he first traveled to the Vltava in 1787 and received an exceptionally warm welcome.

Mozartfest Würzburg

Würzburg Residence

The contrabassoon completes our chamber series' trilogy of lowest-pitched instruments. Come enjoy the powerful tones of the longest wooden instrument in Memoria by Finnish composer and conductor Salonen.

Verdi. Salonen. Jersild

The opening concert of the 24th annual Mahler Jihlava 2025 festival, themed "Symphony of a Thousand," will take place on the Grand Stage of the Horácké Theatre in Jihlava.

The program will feature popular works by Viennese classical masters Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, alongside a song cycle by Gustav Mahler.

Opening Concert of the Mahler Jihlava 2025 Festival

Horácké divadlo, Jihlava

The three best oboists are looking for victory in the Prague Spring competition, accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia in works by Bohuslav Martinů, Jiří Gemrot and B. A. Zimmermann. Experience the adrenaline rush at a concert which will transform the professional life of one of our young finalists. Witness a thrilling contest between three of the finest oboe players, who made it through to the final round of the Prague Spring competition.

Prague Spring | Competition Finals: Oboe

Known for centuries as the "viola of love," this enchanting instrument has captivated and inspired countless musicians and composers with its delicate, honey-toned voice. Our fifth chamber concert features its sublime sonorities in works by Marin Marais and Joseph Haydn.

Haydn. Stamic. Mozart

Four world premieres in one evening are promised by this concert of two representatives of the contemporary school of composition in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Kateřina Horká (1993) has composed more than 150 works of various forms and characters, from chamber music to jazz and symphonic works. She profiles herself as an arranger and composer for all genres. She has been a finalist in numerous competitions, including the Cory Brass Band Composition Prize (Cardiff, UK) and the River City Brass Composition Prize (Pittsburgh, USA). In 2023, she won the St. Christopher International Composition Competition in Vilnius (Lithuania).

Kateřina Horká and Marián Lejava. The Czech–Slovak Contemporary Scene

The penultimate concert of the season transports us into the world of 19th-century German vocal music. Prague's Rudolfinum will first resound with Weber's overture to his most famous opera Der Freischütz, considered the first German Romantic opera in history and a cornerstone of Romantic music itself.

Weber. Wagner. Mahler

This concert brings together renowned artists such as Marc Coppey and Emmanuel Villaume with the young generation of soloists, represented by Emmanuel Coppey. The program presents two major works of the symphonic repertoire - Brahms' Double Concerto and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

Prague Philharmonia, Emmanuel & Marc Coppey

Église Saint-Matthieu de Colmar

The three presented works share a spirit of refinement and virtuosity, illustrating key moments in music history, each in its own style.

Maurice Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, composed between 1914 and 1917, is a neoclassical work paying homage to baroque music while enriching it with Ravel's characteristic impressionist palette. The piece stands out for its lightness, finesse, and elegant dances.

Prague Philharmonia, Marc Coppey & Sayaka Shoji

Vivaldi. Haydn

If you think all piano trios are created equal, think again. Experience the profound impact of Ravel's Trio in A minor through the masterful interpretation by Prague Philharmonia musicians and pianist Filip Martinka.

Haydn. Ravel. Beethoven

Can we escape the destiny written for us in the stars? Our destiny can be either a love or a sickness, a wonderful encounter with another person or the loss of someone we care about. All of this is hidden in symphonies and operas. You can look forward to the fateful moments of life and to stories about the desire to live freely in your own way.

E4 In the Hands of Destiny

D4 In the Hands of Destiny

In the last season the Prague Philharmonia cel ebrated great success with Cherubini’s Requiem No. 1 in C minor. The orchestral evening in March will offer another piece of the composer’s oeuvre, namely that made him famous in Paris at the beginning of the 19th century. The opera Les Abencérages was very popular in its time and its premiere was attended by Napoleon himself. After Napoleon’s fall, however, Cherubini’s music fell into near oblivion and is only now beginning to enjoy a new wave of interest.

Cherubini. Beethoven. Brahms

Vladimír Franz (1959) is a distinguished figure in the Czech cultural landscape. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University while simultaneously pursuing private studies in painting with Karel Souček and Andrej Bělocvětov, and composition with Vladimír Sommer and Miroslav Reichl, as well as art history and music history. As a visual artist, he has organized more than fifty solo exhibitions both in the Czech Republic and abroad, displaying his work in galleries across three continents.

His musical oeuvre is particularly extensive. Since the 1980s, he has mainly focused on composing incidental music, for which he has received numerous significant awards. However, he also composes classical, film, and radio music. To date, he has created incidental music for over 120 theatrical productions for leading Czech theaters (National Theatre in Prague, National Theatre Brno, Vinohrady Theatre in Prague, Zlín City Theatre, West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb, among others).

Vladimír Franz 65: Music as Energy

Švanda Theatre, Smíchov

The harp is one of the oldest musical instruments and is characteristic of Romantic period music. Come dream with its sound at our March concert – Satie's works will be an especially delightful treat.

Pasculli. Koechlin. Saint-Saëns

We welcome two international stars at our sixth orchestral evening – conductor Angus Webster and cellist István Várdai.

Dawning, written in 2020 by contemporary British composer Huw Watkins for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, joins other Czech premieres this season. The world premiere was conducted a few years ago by Angus Webster, who was so enchanted by Watkins's academically refined yet highly accessible music that he included it in his Prague debut program.

Watkins. Shostakovich. Schumann

In February 2025, Prague will host a starry opera gala. The phenomenal Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat, who receives offers from the most famous opera houses, accepted the invitation of the Nachtigall Artists agency, and found a place in his busy calendar for one performance in Prague.

In 2012, his victory in the Operalia world competition opened his way among world opera elite. Yet, it still took some time before the opera houses noticed him. Other competition successes followed, including the Francesco Viñas International Competition in Barcelona as well as the famous BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. Consequently, invitations to the Metropolitan Opera in New York followed (Giorgio Germont in La traviata), La Scala in Milan (Rigoletto and Macbeth), and in April 2024 Amartuvshin Enkhbat will perform as Scarpia in Tosca at the Vienna State Opera.

Juliana Grigoryan & Amartuvshin Enkhbat

Solo tuba. Is this the first time you've heard this combination? If so, you must attend the sixth chamber concert in the Baroque Refectory of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, as an opportunity like this won't come around often.

Arensky. Duda. Shostakovich

The fifth concert of the season is imbued with feminine energy. The orchestra has invited the star New Zealand conductor Gemma New, who will present the Overture No. 2 by the 19th-century French composer Louise Farrenc. Given the social classification and the limited women's rights at the time, Farrenc was an extraordinary phenomenon. Not only did she manage to study composition in addition to the piano, taking private lessons with Antonín Rejcha, but she also succeeded in having her work, which includes three symphonies in addition to numerous chamber pieces, performed on international concert stages.

Farrenc. Brahms. Sibelius

Kostiantyn Tyshko is a Czech-Ukrainian pianist who graduated from JAMU in Brno (piano class of Prof. J. Jiraský, orchestral conducting class of Prof. R. Hališka). He has attended masterclasses with renowned professors such as Muza Rubackyte, Teresa Dussaut (France), Eduardus Halim (USA), Arkadi Zenziper (Germany), and Alan Weiss (Belgium).

Kostiantyn has graced concert stages in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Ukraine. He is a laureate of international competitions in Lithuania (Muzika be sienu), Ukraine (Horowitz Debut), and Prague (K. Czerny Competition). As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras in Ukraine and the Czech Republic, including Kyiv Camerata, "Seasons" Orchestra, Lviv Philharmonic, Chernihiv Philharmonic, Chernivtsi Philharmonic, Chordata Brno Orchestra, Prague Chamber Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, and Brno Philharmonic.

International Conducting Masterclass 2025

Ládví Cultural Centre (KD Ládví)

These two composers have been active in the musical avant-garde in New York City since the 1970s, a common point where they create, compose, and organize concerts and major artistic projects.

What influenced them most in the early days of their musical involvement? Werethey fundamentally shaped by their family background? Petr Kotík, who has been a long term friend of Philip Glass, will guide you through an evening on the development of the musical avant-garde in New York City since the 1970s.

Petr Kotík and Philip Glass: 50 Years in New York City

Who doesn’t love Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart? It is cheerful, amusing, and exhilarating! It’s all in vain, though, fatigue comes over us, our eyes close, we are falling asleep… What can we experience in the mysterious night hours, when we do not even know we are asleep – and yet awake? You see your dreams at night, then you wake in the daylight. The melodies that lure us into dreamland remain in the back of our minds.

E3 Wandering in Dreamland

D3 Wandering in Dreamland

Last season, the Greek flutist Stathis Karapanos recorded an album with the Prague Philharmonia for the prestigious Warner Classics label. It features the complete repertoire for flute and orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki, a leading figure of Polish music in recent decades. Karapanos will perform one of these works, Sinfonietta for Flute and String Orchestra, on the fourth evening of Orchestral Series A under the direction of Polish conductor Łukasz Borowicz. 

Mozart. Penderecki. Gluck. Martinů

The Association of Friends of Musical Talents not only supports young Czech artists, it is also the first to present young singers from abroad, laureates of major world singing competitions, to the local audiences. In January 2025, we will welcome artists whose careers were launched in 2022 and 2023 by Plácido Domingo's famous Operalia Competition.

In November 2023, the French soprano Julie Roset charmed the Operalia jury with a rousing performance of Bell Song from Lakmé and secured a triumphant win. However, prior to that, she already won several competitions, including the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. The OperaWire ranked her among the Top Ten Rising Stars in 2023 and Julie confirms her status as a rising star with successful guest appearances at the Opéra Comique in Paris, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, at the Teatro Real Madrid, at the Opéra National du Rhin or in August 2023 at the Salzburg Festival, where she participated in the performance of Mozart's opera Il re pastore in the role of Tamiri.

The Operalia Winners: Julie Roset & Anthony Léon

The Czech Christmas Mass, also known as "Hey, Master!" or colloquially as "Rybovka," was composed in 1796. This famous work by Jakub Jan Ryba became so popular that it quickly spread throughout the Czech lands through handwritten copies.

Czech Christmas Mass

Pictures at an Exhibition, originally composed for piano, gained worldwide recognition through Maurice Ravel's brilliant orchestration, which transformed Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky's masterpiece. This festive pre-Christmas concert presents a fresh interpretation of this iconic work arranged for wind quintet.

Rimsky-Korsakov. Ravel. Mussorgsky

The famous music from the symphonic poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas tells the story of what happens when someone summons spirits and then does not know how to tame them. Our December concert will be dominated by this wild, colorful, danceable music. It is a sign that magical creatures are awakening from their slumber. Fortunately, in the run-up to Christmas, the angels, who have the power to defeat all evil, are always present.

E2 When Spirits Wake Up

D2 When Spirits Wake Up

On May 10, 2023, Prague Philharmonia signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with the International Chamber Music Festival Konvergencie, based in Slovakia, which organizes a composition competition for Czech and Slovak composers under 35 as part of its activities. One of the main prizes for the competition laureates was the opportunity to have their winning composition performed in Prague Philharmonia's contemporary music series during the 2024/2025 concert season.

"Write us a quartet!"

With one foot in the world of opera, the other in musicals, and an idealist’s belief in the power of theatre, Australian Barrie Kosky is one of today’s most sought after directors. He has the ability to draw out the pure essence of each piece and convey it radiantly to the public.

This year’s Antonín Dvořák Prize thus goes to this artist, whose masterful grasping of music extends to many of the most beautiful Czech operas: Rusalka, The Cunning Little Vixen, From the House of the Dead, and, most recently, Katya Kabanova. This latest production, conducted by Jakub Hrůša at the 2023 Salzburg Festival, has been nominated for the 2024 Gramophone Awards.

The 2024 Antonín Dvořák Prize Award Ceremony: Laureate Barrie Kosky

Prague Castle

The third evening will start in a very progressive spirit with the world premiere of a new composition for orchestra and solo trombone. Petr Wajsar, a contemporary Czech composer loved by performers and audiences alike, will present his legendary sense of humor and compositional skills. In addition to its wit and theatrical elements, his work is characterized by a crossover between many genres of classical and non-classical music. He regularly collaborates with the members of the Prague Philharmonia, especially in Contemporary Music Series S.

Wajsar. Mendelssohn. Dvořák

Did you enjoy the concert performance of Rossini's operatic fairy tale Cinderella in December 2023? We have another title for you! This time it will be the popular opera Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti. And what can you look forward to? In addition to an absolutely stellar cast?

Don Pasquale is a pure, unadulterated farce with sparkling music and a geyser of humorous scenes that will make you cry - of course, tears of laughter! The wealthy old Don Pasquale wants to prevent his nephew Ernesto from marrying the young and poor widow Norina. He threatens to disinherit Ernesto, which is a problem for Ernesto because without the inheritance he cannot consider getting married. Moreover, Don Pasquale decides to get married himself and calls on Doctor Malatesta for help. However, this decision will cost him dearly! Doctor Malatesta devises a colossal deception, and in the end, Don Pasquale is glad to get rid of his young "wife", who is actually Norina.

Gaetano Donizetti: Don Pasquale

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” is undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions to concert halls all over the world. The Prague Philharmonia has had it in its repertoire almost since our inception, and our players still especially remember our detailed, deeply immersive performances with the orchestra’s founder, Jiří Bělohlávek.

Mozart. Strauss. Beethoven

Saint-Saëns. Fauré. Mahler

The cantata based on Dante Alighieri's poems La Vita Nuova (The New Life) for narrator, soprano, and orchestra will be presented in Prague by its composer, the Oscar-winning Italian composer and conductor Nicola Piovani. "It's a musical composition inspired by Dante's amazing poetic work, overwhelming both in its narrative content and its remarkable form – prosimetrum, which still amazes Dante poetry experts today," says Nicola Piovani.

La Vita nuova is Dante Alighieri's first known work. Written in 1292-1293, it consists of 42 chapters alternating between poetry and prose (this literary genre is called prosimetrum). Their theme is Dante's platonic love for his beloved Beatrice. Nicola Piovani's cantata premiered in summer 2015 at the Ravenna Festival.

Nicola Piovani: La Vita Nuova

Church of Sts. Simon and Jude

The Czech Society has declared 2024 the Year of Czech Music, which marks a number of important anniversaries of our leading composers and performers, in particular the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana and the 120th anniversary of the death of Antonín Dvořák.

This gala concert is a celebration not only of the Year of Czech Music and the aforementioned Antonín Dvořák, but especially of his phenomenal work, Svatební košile (The Spectre’s Bride), which this year celebrates 140 years since it was written.

140th anniversary of Antonín Dvořák's The Spectre's Bride

The Prague Philharmonia opens the 2024/2025 season in the final phase of the Year of Czech Music. Who would be more suitable for the opening ceremony than Bedřich Smetana? From the works of this great composer we have selected the overture to his masterpiece – The Secret. In this opera, Smetana draws from Shakespeare and transforms the theme of forbidden love into a comedy.

Smetana. Novák. Husa. Dvořák

Händel. Haydn

The jubilee 20th concert season of the Prague Philharmonia's contemporary music series will be ceremoniously opened by Miloš Štědroň – a prominent contemporary music composer, musicologist, author of chamber, orchestral, and vocal music, as well as countless compositions for stage plays and films. Among his most well-known works is the "Ballad for a Bandit," composed for the Husa na Provázku (Goose on a String) theater in Brno, which he co-founded.

Miloš Štědroň: An Evening of Ballads and More

The clarinet is one of the most frequently used instruments in classical music. Its "big brother" – the bass clarinet, capable of vibrating even window panes with its deep, resonant tones and extensive range, will be masterfully played this evening by Anna Paulová, a leading Czech clarinetist.

Rabl. Vorlová. Piazzolla

Final concert of the International Conducting Course led by Maestro Alim Shakh.

Conducting Masterclass: Bartók, Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven

These musical stories of the landscape tell what is hidden in the forests, rockfaces and watery depths of the Czech lands. We will discover what such music sounds like in the October concert, where music by Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák and other Czech composers will be heard.

E1 Stories of the Czech Landscape

D1 Stories of the Czech Landscape

Mozart. Neukirchner

The guitar serves as a fundamental pillar across all genres of popular music. However, you can also experience its captivating presence in classical music, as demonstrated in this opening concert of our chamber series, featuring works predominantly by Spanish composers.

Boccherini. Ximenes. Vila de Forns

The festival will close with the most famous playwright whose work has inspired composers for 460 years since his birth next year. To mark William Shakespeare’s anniversary, we will perform his most famous play Romeo and Juliet in four musical settings by composers from two centuries, accompanied by Les Ballets Bubeníček ensemble in a choreography by Jiří Bubeníček.

Shakespeare 460: Romeo & Juliet

The silver screen has attracted and fascinated classical composers since the beginning, and from their combination, film music arose. Erich Korngold composed on both sides: film and classical, and by winning the first Academy Award for film music, he opened the door for composers who have devoted themselves entirely to film. The concert will showcase the development of film music from the now classic Oscar-winning melodies of Between Two Worlds, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur or Star Wars and Harry Potter by the legendary, Oscar-winning record holder John Williams, who celebrated his 92nd birthday this year.

Festival Krumlov: Night in Hollywood

At twilight, the voice of the world-famous baritone Plácido Domingo will transform the poetic scenery of the city park. From the meadows surrounding the Vltava River, he will lure us into the splendor of the dramatic and imaginative world of opera. Alongside Plácido Domingo, the greatest arias and duets will be performed by the soprano Serena Sáenz, and the mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů. Under the baton of Alessandro Crudele leading the Prague Philharmonia, we will experience stories of times long past, which have lost none of their urgency and beauty, just like Český Krumlov.

Opera Gala: Plácido Domingo

Municipal park, Český Krumlov

Gala concert of the British-Italian tenor, who is considered to be the successor of Luciano Pavarotti.

Stars of the Opera – Freddie De Tommaso & Iulia Maria Dan

Festival Hall, Litomyšl

Zdenek Merta is a distinguished composer and pianist and a lover of classical music and jazz, chanson and opera. He will present his own works, including a string quartet composed especially for this evening, which will be heard in its world premiere.

Zdenek Merta – Music, Theater and the Advent Blues

The last chamber music concert of 2025 will be full of folk rhythms, especially at the very end, thanks to Nikolai Kapustin’s lively Trio, Op. 86, which includes a jazzy flute part. The concert will also include works by Clara and Robert Schumann, to whom the entire 32nd season of the Chamber Music Series is dedicated.

Schumann. Hummel. Kapustin

The Snowman has a problem! Can you help us get him back to the Himalayas?

A rescue party only for fit musical mountaineers who do not feel dizzy when hearing high notes and whose feet do not slip when climbing on slippery holds.

Shimmering frozen music from icy lakes and dramatic alpine caves.

Save the Yeti!

From Bohemia to America: what a contrast in the 19th century! Here, the Bohemian homeland with Smetana's excerpts from My Fatherland and there, Dvořák's From the New World, which hinted at elements of American folklore in his symphony but also did not deny characteristic Bohemian sounds.

Concert in Cologne

Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany

In the history of Czech music there is hardly a more iconic work than Bedřich Smetana’s set of symphonic poems My Country. After all, it is an exceptional opus not only in the Czech context. Reactions from abroad often suggest that it is something for which the Czechs and their classical music tradition are to be envied. This extraordinary, mature and imaginative composition is first and foremost a celebration of the composer’s homeland, but it can equally well be seen as a demonstration of Smetana’s mastery.

Prague Philharmonia

Dec 10, 2025

Zdenek Merta – Music, Theater and the Advent Blues

Dec 15, 2025

Schumann. Hummel. Kapustin

Dec 21, 2025

Save the Yeti!

Jan 11, 2026

Concert in Cologne

Jan 12, 2026

My Country

Dec 4, 2025

Concert in Madrid

Nov 30, 2025

Mozart. Poulenc. Haydn

Prague Philharmonia