The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra © Petra Hajska
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, under Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov, will perform three concerts during New York’s Czech Week, in celebration of its 2024 residency – offered by Carnegie Hall to the world’s finest orchestras only.
Appropriately, the Czech Philharmonic has chosen works by Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, since it was in New York that Dvořák experienced the highpoint of his international career, and this year is the 200th anniversary of the year of Smetana’s birth. The programmes also include works by Gustav Mahler and Leoš Janáček, and feature illustrious solo artists such as Yo-yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Daniil Trifonov.
The Czech Philharmonic residency opens with a programme of music by Dvořák and Smetana – Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, featuring Yo-yo Ma as the soloist, and the first symphonic poems of Smetana’s cycle of Má vlast (My Country) – Vyšehrad, Vltava (The Moldau) and Šárka.
Dvorak began work on sketches for his Cello Concerto in November 1894, finishing the concerto in February 1895, although he made a major revision to the finale after returning to Bohemia. Regarded as one of the most beautiful, but also amongst the most difficult pieces in the repertoire of the cello, it was written for Dvořák’s friend, cellist Hanuš Wihan, but was premiered by English cellist Leo Stern in London on March 19, 1896, with the Philharmonic Society led by the composer.
Multi-award-winning Yo yo Ma is renowned worldwide for the diversity of his repertoire, ranging from the unaccompanied cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach to contemporary music such as the film music of John Williams, and also Chinese folk melodies. Acclaimed by critics as one of the world’s greatest cellists, he performs with major orchestras worldwide.
In Smetana’s Má vlast, the composer captured the soul of the Czech people, in that it reflects people, places and stories of both past and present. It was written between 1874-79 as six separate orchestral pieces, and is now deeply ingrained in the history of the Czech Philharmonic, part of a great performance tradition that dates back to 1901, including a number of commemorative performances on which Smetana’s music has had a special resonance.
Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 is one of his most popular and most frequently performed works. He wrote the first version of the concerto between July and September 1879, and despite the fact that the concerto is dedicated to Joseph Joachim, the famous violinist probably never performed it. Dvořák was certainly relying on him to perform at the premiere, but Joachim seemed to lose interest in the piece, and it was played by the young Czech violin virtuoso František Ondříček in Prague’s Rudolfinum on October 14, 1883, with the National Theatre Orchestra led by conductor Mořic Anger.
Gil Shaham has been described thus by OperaPlus magazine: “His breathtaking virtuosity knows no bounds, yet on stage he makes a most delicate, modest impression.” Multiple Grammy Award-winner and Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, Gil Shaham collaborates regularly with orchestras from the Berlin Philharmonic, to the Orchestre de Paris, the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is a frequent recitalist and appears with ensembles not only on the world’s great concert stages, but at the most prestigious festivals as well.
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor, in five movements, reflects the composer at his most joyous, even though he was going through a difficult time, struggling with his health and enduring artistic issues with his orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic. He began writing the Symphony in 1901 and completed it the following year. It premiered in Cologne on October 18th, 1904, but Mahler set about revising it not long afterwards. He conducted it nine more times over the following seven years, revising it each time. The Symphony is perhaps best known for the beautiful fourth movement, the Adagietto, which is often performed as a stand-alone piece.
Semyon Bychkov leads the Czech Philharmonic © Petra Hajska
Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 33 is the composer’s only work for piano and orchestra, and the first of his three instrumental concertos. He worked on the Piano Concerto in August and September 1876, and dedicated it to leading music critic Eduard Hanslick, to express his appreciation for the attention Hanslick had given his work. Dvořák made a number revisions and adjustments to the work while he was finishing it at the end of the summer of 1876, and made many others before its publication in 1883. It ultimately premiered in Prague on March 24, 1878, with pianist Karel Slavkovský, and conductor Adolf Čech.
Daniil Trifonov has been referred to by the LA Times as “….. an astonishing pianist”. Winner of the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018, and Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year, Trifonov is this season’s Artist in Residence with both the Czech Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony orchestras. Dvořák’s Piano Concerto is a highlight of his Czech Philharmonic tenure, and Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto of his Chicago Symphony residency. A renowned chamber music and vocal collaborator as well, he is also a composer. Trifonov has most recently appeared with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Amsterdam and Vienna playing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1, and in Munich with the Schumann Piano Concerto.
Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass is a cantata for vocal soloists, choir, orchestra and organ, set to an Old Church Slavonic text. Janáček started the mass after a trip to Great Britain in 1926. The five vocal movements correspond to the Catholic mass (minus the dona nobis pacem in the Agnus) and in fact the work began as a Latin setting of the Kyrie, Agnus, and Credo for organ and chorus, as early as 1908. The term ‘Glagolitic’ refers to the original script in which Old Church Slavonic was written, and the words date from the 9th century. Janáček was a strong supporter of pan-Slavism, and the mass, which has been viewed as a celebration of Slavic culture, was used in church services on July 7, the feast day of St Cyril and St Methodius.
The soloists in this performance are soprano Lyubov Petrova, mezzo-soprano Lucie Hilscherová, tenor Aleš Briscein and bass David Leigh, with organist Daniela Valtová Kosinová and the Prague Philharmonic Choir (choirmaster Lukáš Vasilek).
New York’s Czech Week opens on December 3 with a concert by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestral Academy, the Royal Academy of Music and Alumni of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the USA, at the Bohemian National Hall. The conductor is Jiří Vodička. This is followed by three performances by Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on December 4, 5 and 6 at Carnegie Hall. Further information on performances and ticket reservations are available on the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra website.
The North American tour concludes with two performances in Toronto. Details can be found on the Czech Philharmonic website.
Information sourced from:
Czech Philharmonic programme notes
Violin Concerto
Piano Concerto
Janacek Glagolitic Mass
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