Czech Philharmonic • New Year’s Concerts

Simona Houda-Šaturová is a sought-after performer of Mozart (“She sings Konstanze with such amazing coloraturas, deeply felt pianos and stylistic perfection that take the breath away,” Der neue Merker) and bel canto roles, as well as an internationally renowned concert artist. The highlights of recent years include her performances with the Wiener and Münchner Philharmonikers, the Tokyo and Boston Symphony Orchestras, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and a tour with the Bamberger Symphoniker, conducted by Jakub Hrůša. She has also sung in productions of the Mozart–Da Ponte trilogy at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, portraying Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and debuting as Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro). 

Her extensive discography includes recordings for Supraphon, Sony BMG and other labels. She lent her voice to the actress performing the prima donna Caterina Gabrielli in the film Il Boemo.

Simona Houda-Šaturová studied at the Bratislava Conservatory, and further honed her skills with Ileana Cotrubas and Margreet Honig. She has received the Charlotte and Walter Hamel-Stiftung Preis, the Czech Thalia Prize and other coveted accolades.

The Czech violinist Jan Mráček was born in Pilsen and began studying violin at the age of five with Magdaléna Micková. From 2003 he studied with Jiří Fišer, graduating with honours from the Prague Conservatory in 2013, and then 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 Beethoven’s 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 2014, he was awarded first prize at Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition. 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.”

In 2011, he became the youngest soloist in the history of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed as a soloist with world’s orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Symphony of Florida, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Romanian Radio Symphony, and others. In June 2026, he will also perform with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performs with a wide range of Czech ensembles. Jiří Bělohlávek first brought him on as guest concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, where he has served as principal concertmaster since the 2018/2019 season. In this role, he has performed, for example, with the European Union Youth Orchestra on a summer tour in 2015 under the baton of conductors Gianandrea Noseda and Xian Zhang; he has also appeared as a guest concertmaster with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra.

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. In early 2026, they performed at the Antonín Dvořák Memorial to mark the 130th anniversary of the Czech Philharmonic’s first concert. Together with violinist Jiří Vodička, who is also the concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, they created the project “Two Masters, One Stage,” in which they can be heard in musical dialogue in works for two violins at various venues across the Czech Republic.

His recording of the Dvořák’s 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. He is currently preparing a CD recording featuring works by Suk, Mendelssohn, and Schubert.

In 2021, he was awarded the Jiří Bělohlávek Prize at the Czech Philharmonic’s Open-Air concert. Jan Mráček plays a 1770 Nicolò Gagliano violin, which was loaned to him by the Dutch Fidula Foundation. 

Russian-British conductor Vasily Petrenko, “Artist of the Year” by Gramophone, is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he took on in 2021, becoming Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra following his hugely acclaimed fifteen-year tenure as their Chief Conductor from 2006‒2021. His immense impact he has had on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the city’s cultural scene has been recognised by two Honorary Doctorates.

He is Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra (since 2015), the Associate Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, and has also served as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013‒2020) and Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (2009–2013). He stood down as Artistic Director of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’ in 2021 having been their Principal Guest Conductor from 2016 and Artistic Director from 2020.

Born in 1976, Petrenko was educated at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School – Russia’s oldest music school – and the St Petersburg Conservatoire where he participated in masterclasses with such luminary figures as Ilya Musin, Mariss Jansons and Yuri Temirkanov. He began his career as Resident Conductor (1994–1997) of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre. He has worked with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Symphony, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and several ones in North America. He has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, Grafenegg Festival and made frequent appearances at the BBC Proms. Equally at home in the opera house, and with over thirty operas in his repertoire, Vasily Petrenko has conducted widely on the operatic stage, including at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

In addition, he has established a strongly defined profile as a recording artist. Amongst a wide discography, his Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Elgar symphony cycles with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra have garnered worldwide acclaim. With the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, he has released cycles of Scriabin’s symphonies and Strauss’ tone poems, and selected symphonies of Prokofiev and Myaskovsky.

In 2023/2024 he returns to tour the US and Europe with the Royal Philharmonic, makes his debut with the NDR-Elphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg and returns to the Seoul, Hong Kong, Israel and Dresden Philharmonics, the Pittsburgh and Dallas Symphonies, the Filarmonica della Scala, Milan, and the orchestra of the Palau de Les Arts, Valencia.

Marek Eben is perhaps best known as a television presenter. He serves as the host of the popular StarDance competition and has been one of the key figures of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival since 1996. A graduate of the Music and Drama Department at the Prague Conservatoire, Eben is also an accomplished musician.
The son of the late organist and composer Petr Eben, he continues his father’s artistic legacy in his own distinctive way as the sole songwriter for The Eben Brothers, a band that released its sixth album, Co my víme, at the start of the 2023/2024 academic year.
Eben’s work as a composer extends beyond his own ensemble. He has written music for the films Bizon and Hele on letí, as well as for the television series Poste restante. He has also composed music and lyrics for around twenty stage productions, including Othello at Studio Ypsilon and A Winter’s Tale at the National Theatre.
On Czech Television, in addition to StarDance, Eben has appeared in the quiz show The Treasure of Agnes of Bohemia, and his long-running talk show Na plovárně has become a beloved classic. He has twice been the overall winner of the TýTý Award, formerly presented to the most popular television personalities.