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Czech Philharmonic • Velvet Revolution Concert
The Concerts for Freedom and Democracy are intended to remind us of our civilisation’s democratic values and to present a programme that supports those ideals. For the occasion, the season’s artists-in-residence have chosen songs by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and the final symphony of Gustav Mahler—a hymn celebrating life and humanity.
Programme
Maurice Ravel
Five Greek Folk Songs
Béla Bartók
Five Hungarian Folk Songs, Sz 33, BB 97
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 9 in D major
Performers
Magdalena Kožená mezzo-soprano
Simon Rattle conductor
Czech Philharmonic

Rudolfinum — Dvořák Hall
Customer Service of Czech Philharmonic
Tel.: +420 227 059 227
E-mail: info@czechphilharmonic.cz
Customer service is available on weekdays from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Customer Service of Czech Philharmonic
Tel.: +420 227 059 227
E-mail: info@czechphilharmonic.cz
Customer service is available on weekdays from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.
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.’”