In the music world, there have been polemical debates for years about how orchestras should plan their programming. The core of the dispute is over whether the programming directors or the performers should have the last word.
Subscription series B | Duration of the programme 1 hour 40 minutes
Leoš Janáček
The Wandering of a Little Soul, Violin Concerto (12')
Josef Suk
Triptych, Op. 35 (24')
Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale ‘Saint Wenceslas’, Op. 35a (8')
Legend of the Dead Victors, Op. 35b (9')
Towards a New Life, Op. 35c (7')
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Bedřich Smetana
Triptych (47')
Richard III, Op. 11 (14')
Wallenstein’s Camp, Op. 14 (16')
Hakon Jarl, Op. 16 (17')
Jan Mráček violin
Jakub Hrůša conductor
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In the music world, there have been polemical debates for years about how orchestras should plan their programming. The core of the dispute is over whether the programming directors or the performers should have the last word. The programme of the fifth concert in Subscription Series B is an example of a programme put together by the conductor. He was guided by the sound effect of the compositions on the listeners and the core of the programme was determined by a long-term recording project. With Jakub Hrůša, the Czech Philharmonic is recording the complete orchestral works of Josef Suk, consisting of both large-scale and several shorter compositions, including the famous Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale 'St. Wenceslas' and the Sokol movement march Towards a New Life, with which Suk won an anonymous composition competition. Suk thus became the main composer of the evening and Jakub Hrůša was faced with the rather difficult task of building a logical yet musically attractive programme around Suk’s music.
Bedřich Smetana’s Swedish symphonic poems belong to his popular works and they are frequently performed abroad. The Suk as well as the Smetana triptych are also a clear demonstration of the characteristic features and stylistic differences of the two composers and they represent the best of Czech orchestral music. The number three, which accompanies us throughout the evening, also represents the three composers, opening with Leoš Janáček, whose Violin Concerto will be played by Czech Philharmonic concertmaster Jan Mráček, winner of the Fritz Kreisler International Competition in Vienna.
Jan Mráček violin
The Czech violinist Jan Mráček was born in 1991 in Pilsen and began studying violin at the age of five with Magdaléna Micková. From 2003 he studied with Jiří Fišer, graduating with honors from the Prague Conservatory in 2013, and until recently at the University of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna under the guidance of the Vienna Symphony concertmaster Jan Pospíchal.
As a teenager he enjoyed his first major successes, winning numerous competitions, participating in the master classes of Maestro Václav Hudeček – the beginning of a long and fruitful association. He won the Czech National Conservatory Competition in 2008, the Hradec International Competition with the Dvořák concerto and the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in 2009, was the youngest Laureate of the Prague Spring International Festival competition in 2010, and in 2011 he became the youngest soloist in the history of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he was awarded first prize at Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition at the Vienna Konzerthaus. When the victory of Jan Mráček was confirmed, there was thunderous applause from the audience and the jury. The jury president announced, “Jan is a worthy winner. He has fascinated us from the first round. Not only with his technical skills, but also with his charisma on stage.”
Jan Mráček has performed as a soloist with world’s orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Symphony of Florida, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Romanian Radio Symphony, Lappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland) as well as the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and almost all Czech regional orchestras.
Jan Mráček had the honor of being invited by Maestro Jiří Bělohlávek to guest lead the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in their three concert residency at Vienna’s Musikverein, and the European Youth Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda and Xian Zhang on their 2015 summer tour. He has been a concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic since 2018.
In 2008 he joined the Lobkowicz Piano Trio, which was awarded first prize and the audience prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach, Austria in 2014.
His recording of the Dvořák violin concerto and other works by this Czech composer under James Judd with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra was recently released on the Onyx label and has received excellent reviews.
Jan Mráček plays on a Carlo Fernando Landolfi violin, Milan 1758, generously loaned to him by Mr Peter Biddulph.
Jakub Hrůša principal guest conductor
Born in the Czech Republic, Jakub Hrůša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Music Director Designate of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (Music Director from 2025), Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He is the 2023 Opus Klassik Conductor of the Year.
He is a frequent guest with the world’s greatest orchestras, including the Vienna, Berlin, Munich and New York Philharmonics; Bavarian Radio, NHK, Chicago and Boston Symphonies; Leipzig Gewandhaus, Lucerne Festival, Royal Concertgebouw, Mahler Chamber and The Cleveland Orchestras; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. He has led opera productions for the Salzburg Festival (Káťa Kabanová with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2022), Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, and Opéra National de Paris. He has also been a regular guest with Glyndebourne Festival and served as Music Director of Glyndebourne On Tour for three years. In the 2023/2024 season, he conducts Janacek’s Jenůfa for the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
His relationships with leading vocal and instrumental soloists have included collaborations in recent seasons with Daniil Trifonov, Mitsuko Uchida, Hélène Grimaud, Behzod Abduraimov, Anne Sofie Mutter, Lisa Batiashvili, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gautier Capuçon, Julia Fischer, Sol Gabetta, Hilary Hahn, Janine Jansen, Karita Mattila, Leonidas Kavakos, Lang Lang, Josef Špaček, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuja Wang, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alisa Weilerstein and others.
As a recording artist, Jakub Hrusa has received numerous awards and nominations for his discography. Most recently with Bamberg Symphony, he received the ICMA Prize for Symphonic Music in both 2023 and 2022, for his recordings of Rott’s Symphony No. 1 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4. He was awarded the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and in 2021 his recording of Martinů and Bartók violin concertos with Frank Peter Zimmermann was nominated for BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone awards, and his disc of the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Augustin Hadelich was nominated for a Grammy® Award. His recordings of Dvořák and Martinů Piano Concertos with Ivo Kahánek and the Bamberg Symphony (Supraphon), and Vanessa from Glyndebourne (Opus Arte) both won BBC Music Magazine Awards in 2020.
Jakub Hrůša studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where his teachers included Jiří Bělohlávek. He is currently President of the International Martinů Circle and The Dvořák Society, and an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. He was the inaugural recipient of the Sir Charles Mackerras Prize, and in 2020 was awarded both the Antonín Dvořák Prize by the Czech Republic’s Academy of Classical Music, and – together with Bamberg Symphony – the Bavarian State Prize for Music.
Leoš Janáček
The Wandering of a Little Soul, Violin Concerto
Podobně jako programní symfonie Dunaj, zůstal také houslový koncert „Putování dušičky“ (jiné dílo Janáčkova vrcholného období) nedokončen. V obou skladbách se Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) obrátil k velkým orchestrálním žánrům 19. století, jimž se předtím celý život vyhýbal; daný žánr v nich však pojal tak svébytným způsobem, že je proto řadíme mezi nejoriginálnější plody hudebního myšlení první poloviny 20. století. Na základě skladatelových náčrtů koncert v roce 1988 rekonstruovali muzikologové Miloš Štědroň a Leoš Faltus.
Autorský obsahový záměr skladby (koncentrované do jediné věty) vysvítá z několika indicií obsažených v rukopisných skicách, a můžeme jej snad vyjádřit jako přemisťování se duše skrze různé lidské (nebo vůbec živé) bytosti a tím je posvěcující, coby ona Dostojevského „jiskra boží“. Životní zkušenost několika setkání se smrtí – především milované dcery Olgy – se prolíná s upnutím se na vidinu věčného života, jíž mu ztělesňuje mladá Kamila Stösslová (obě zmíněné ženy důvěrně oslovoval „dušičko“), a zřejmě ji rozdmýchává pohled do tváře umírajícího člověka během londýnských demonstrací…
Janáček začal na skladbě pracovat v roce 1927, zakrátko však ideu koncertu opustil a část zkomponovaného materiálu použil pro operu Z mrtvého domu. Instrumentačním specifikem Janáčkovy pozdní tvorby jsou mj. akordické tympány exponované v samém úvodu skladby; zvuk okovů v jejím závěru snad reprezentuje osvobozování se duše ze zajetí lidského těla.
