Czech Phil Media, or Dvořák Hall on Every Display

At Rudolfinum, the third millennium is in full swing. The Czech Philharmonic has significantly expanded into the world of modern technologies, which paved the way for Czech Phil Media. This project covers primarily the operation of the new audiovisual studio in the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall and also the journey of recorded materials to the television as well as computer screens, tablets or phones of music-loving audiences.

The brand covers the recording, distribution and related communication activities of the Czech Philharmonic. In the current phase of the project, it is mainly concerned with the operation of the new audiovisual recording studio in the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall, sound and visual recordings production and their distribution to audiences in the Czech Republic and abroad. Recorded and, in some cases, broadcast live are the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra concerts whose dramaturgy appeals to the first Czech orchestra fans around the world, with the main role among the performing artists played by the chief conductor Semyon Bychkov and the two main guest conductors, Jakub Hrůša and Tomáš Netopil. In addition, recordings of educational programs for all ages as well as a variety of accompanying materials–interviews with the artists, behind-the-scenes videos and clips from international tours–are being produced. The goal of this project is to bring music and life of the first Czech orchestra to listeners not physically present in the Dvořák Hall of Rudolfinum, in the highest possible quality which, in all respects, meets the demands of modern times.

What Equipment Is Available Here?

In the Dvořák Hall interiors, the first television studio in the Czech Republic capable of broadcasting in 4K resolution and HDR color mode is situated. Leading international as well as Czech experts in the field of classical music recording manage the studio production teams. The highest quality equipment was supplied by the Sony company.

The studio is equipped with seven SONY HDC-P43 broadcast 4K cameras and two SONY HDC-4300 cameras; the camera system is fully flexible–up to five cameras can be "man operated". For selected concerts, technocrane and other motion elements are used.
The picture direction team uses SONY products including two four-channel recording servers. The sound designer is equipped with Sequoia and ProTools recording software and Solid State Logic Duality 72 Channel mixing consoles. Neumann, Schoeps, and DPA microphones are used.

See the result

And How Does the Concert Make It to the Screen?

Concerts and recordings not only need to be filmed and carefully post-produced, respectively, but also delivered to an audience, to the platforms they prefer to use. In the Czech Republic, the orchestra's long-standing partner in this endeavor is the Czech Television which regularly includes the first national orchestra music in its broadcasts.

For the international area, the Czech Philharmonic has teamed up with the global in the distribution of classical music sound and video recordings: the German EuroArts company that distributes Czech Philharmonic content to TV screens and internet platforms worldwide. Selected concerts are also broadcast live.

EuroArts

EuroArts Music International was founded in 1979 by Bernd Hellthaler and is one of the worldwide leading independent producers and rights owners of audio-visual classical music programmes. The current TV broadcast catalogue contains more than 2500 hours of music material that includes all noteworthy artists in classical and contemporary music of the past decades and the EuroArts label distributes its catalogue with more than 700 titles worldwide. The renowned and innovative production team and the ongoing acquisition activities will further expand the catalogues in the future.

"We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the prestigious Czech Philharmonic and to add their extremely high quality performances to our extensive catalog. The beautifully recorded concerts will be a tremendous enrichment to our customers and to a worldwide audience."

— Bernd Hellthaler, EuroArts Music International Managing Director