Tours and Festivals

In the spring, the orchestra will go on a tour of Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, and France. A total of 14 concerts will be performed in the most famous European halls: the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Isarphilharmonie in Munich, and Paris’s Philharmonie.

After a 25-year absence, the Czech Philharmonic returns to the German spa town Baden–Baden, where it last appeared at the local Festspielhaus under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy in 1999. This time, they are bringing Gustav Mahler’s monumental Third Symphony. Looking forward to working with Semyon Bychkov is the outstanding Fleur Barron.

In past seasons, the participation of the Czech Philharmonic in a joint project with the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has taken several forms. This year they are coming to the spa city with a programme from the Classical period that they will play under the baton of principal guest conductor Tomáš Netopil.

After a longish break caused by the Covid–19 pandemic, the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov are heading back to Asia. Some of the concerts on this year’s tour have been rescheduled from their planned dates in 2021. The orchestra begins its tour with two concerts in South Korea, then it will appear in Japan eight times.

Czech Philharmonic concerts at the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival have become a tradition. On this occasion, the leading Czech orchestra attempts to bring original programming to its home venue the Rudolfinum and to attract special guest artists. Its three appearances this year will offer a major work for voices and orchestra.

At Romania’s biggest classical music festival, where the orchestra last appeared with the Romanian conductor Cristian Măcelaru in 2017, the Czech Philharmonic will now appear for a residency of two concerts. The conductor Manfred Honeck has prepared varied programmes for the concert hall known as the Athenaeum.

In recent years, Bad Kissingen has been a regular tour destination of the Czech Philharmonic. With its chief conductor Semyon Bychkov, the orchestra returns in July 2023 to give two concerts.

The Smetana Litomyšl Festival is the second oldest music festival in the Czech Republic and one of the largest regular classical music festivals in the country. The Czech Philharmonic will open the 65th anniversary year with a gala concert under the baton of conductor Tomáš Netopil.

Stabat mater by Antonín Dvořák, cantata for solos, mixed choir, and orchestra, is one of the most beautiful and powerful works among world musical compositions. The ambience of the Cathedral of the Divine Saviour in Ostrava and the rendering of conductor Tomáš Netopil will intensify the experience for sure.

Mahler’s symphonies appear not only in the recording schedule of the Czech Philharmonic or in its Prague season, but also on tour. At the Leipzig Gewandhaus Mahler Festival, the orchestra will play the Sixth Symphony, in which the composer attempted to depict his wife Alma. Leading the top Czech orchestra will be its chief conductor Semyon Bychkov.

The year was 1946, and the very first Prague Spring international festival of classical music was taking place in Prague. The former Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, Rafael Kubelík, took the initiative in establishing the festival, and Dr. Edvard Beneš served as the festival patron, starting a tradition that continues to this day.

In spring 2023 the Czech Philharmonic is going on tour to Graz, Vienna, Budapest, Zagreb, Aix-en-Provence, and Milan, where the orchestra last played at the Teatro alla Scala in 1962 under the baton of Karel Ančerl. This time, Semyon Bychkov will conduct, and the soloist for selected concerts is the pianist Seong-Jin Cho.

In 2021, the festival tradition Variations began as a joint project of the Czech Philharmonic and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. This year the orchestra comes to the Karlovy Vary Municipal Theatre with the young chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Domingo Hindoyan.

A highpoint of the season will be the big tour in October to some of Europe’s most famous concert halls in conjunction with the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU. The orchestra will travel to Hamburg, Munich, Essen, Cologne, Luxembourg, Paris, and Brussels. Gautier Capuçon and Víkingur Ólafsson will be appearing as soloists.

Right after the opening concerts at the Rudolfinum, the Czech Philharmonic will present the same programme in Bratislava. The Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili will play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, and the orchestra’s chief conductor Semyon Bychkov has chosen Strauss’s Alpine Symphony for the second half of the programme.

The Dvořák Prague festival has joined forces with the Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov in order to jointly follow on from the previous activities of the festival’s Opera in Concert series with a performance of Dvořák’s operatic gem.

The Czech Philharmonic will perform on a unique floating stage on the Vltava River on the occasion of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In addition to Smetana's Vltava and Dvořák's Carnival, Janáček's monumental Glagolitic Mass, one of the most powerful sacred compositions ever, will be performed.

Summer festivals will open and conclude the tours of the Czech Philharmonic in its 127th season. In August 2022 the orchestra is headed for the Scottish city Edinburgh, where it will perform two different programmes, one with Czech music and the other with Mahler. Both concerts will be under the baton of the chief conductor Semyon Bychkov.

After a long break caused by the covid pandemic, the Czech Philharmonic will return to the Bad Kissingen. The orchestra will perform at the Kissinger Sommer music festival together with the holder of many international awards, violinist Isabelle Faust. Under the baton of conductor Petr Popelka, compositions by Czech composers will be performed.

In accordance with tradition, the Czech Philharmonic will conclude its 126th season with two appearances at the Smetana Litomyšl Festival. Leading it this time will be its principal guest conductor Jakub Hrůša. Joining them on the first evening will be the pianist Lukáš Vondráček.

The year was 1946, and the very first Prague Spring international festival of classical music was taking place in Prague. The world-famous conductor Rafael Kubelík took the initiative in establishing the festival, and Dr. Edvard Beneš served as the festival patron, establishing a tradition that continues to this day.

In Příbram, where the philharmonic last gave a concert with Zdeněk Košler in 1976 featuring Dvořák’s Eight Symphony, In the 126th season, the orchestra with conductor Petr Altrichter will return to Příbram and open the 53rd Antonín Dvořák Music Festival.

The spring European tour will take place mainly in the most famous concert halls of the Old Continent - in Vienna's Musikverein, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and London's Barbican Centre. One of the mainstays of the tour program will be Janáček's monumental Glagolitic Mass, which the orchestra will perform under the baton of Semyon Bychkov.

In the autumn, the Czech Philharmonic will perform in the metropolis of western Bohemia. The members of the orchestra will play Vivaldi's Four Seasons together with Jiří Vodička on the Karlovy Vary hot spring colonnade. At the Karlovy Vary Municipal Theater, cellist Kian Soltani will join the orchestra with the conductor Jakub Hrůša.

At the end of the summer, the Czech Philharmonic will visit Austria again. The orchestra under the direction of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Semyon Bychkov will perform at the Grafenegg International Music Festival. The musicians will play on the Wolkenturm open-air stage for two evenings.

In accordance with tradition, the season of the Czech Philharmonic will culminate with two performances at a partner event, the Smetana’s Litomyšl National Festival. This time, it will be led by its Principal Guest Conductor Tomáš Netopil, and concertmaster Jiří Vodička will appear as the soloist.

In mid-June, Czech Philharmonic will return to the Austrian capital after two weeks. The orchestra with its Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov will be joined by pianist Kirill Gerstein performing Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto. Then Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony will be on the programme.

The Czech Philharmonic will go on a tour to Austria, where it last performed eight months ago. It is the first large foreign orchestra that will perform in Vienna's Konzerthaus after the spring lockdown. Pianists Marielle and Katia Labèque will join the orchestra under the direction of Chief Conductor Semjon Bychkov.

Tour was canceled due to the spread of coronavirus.

Tour was canceled due to the spread of coronavirus.

Tour was canceled due to the spread of coronavirus.

Czech Philharmonic will play at autumn edition of the International Music Festival Český Krumlov. Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov will be joined by trumpeter Stanislav Masaryk and piano virtuoso Ivo Kahánek. Music by Shostakovich and Dvořák is on the programme.

Czech Philharmonic with its Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov will play in Vienna's Konzerthaus. They will be joined by trumpeter Selina Ott and pianist Daniil Trifonov. Schostakovich and Dvořák are on the programme.

Tour was cancelled due to spread of coronavirus.

Tour was cancelled due to spread of coronavirus.

Tour was cancelled due to spread of coronavirus.

In March, the orchestra with conductor Jakub Hrůša and cellist Sol Gabetta will visit five German cities - Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Stuttgart, Friedrichshafen, and Freiburg. The program includes exclusively Czech music.

At the end of November, the Czech Philharmonic will perform in the modern hall of the Philharmonie de Paris. The programme will consist entirely of works by Tchaikovsky. There will be three performances led by Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov. The Czech Philharmonic will be joined by Gautier Capuçon, Renaud Capuçon, and Kirill Gerstein.

Czech Philharmonic with its Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov will play in Wiener Musikverein three times this November. The programme will consist entirely of works by Tchaikovsky. Cellist Gautier Capuçon, violinist Renaud Capuçon and pianist Kirill Gerstein will perform with the Czech Philharmonic.

In October, the orchestra will return to Japan and Taiwan after a two-year absence. With Semyon Bychkov, it will first appear at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, then there will be eight concerts in Japan. Two of them will take place at one of the world’s most famous halls: the Suntory Hall and the NHK Hall.

Immediately after its opening concerts, the Czech Philharmonic with Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov will make its first appearance in five years at the prestigious BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall. They will be joined by soprano Elena Stikhina. Smetana, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich are on the programme.

In June, the Czech Philharmonic will make its traditional visit to the German spa town Bad Kissingen. The orchestra has already played at the festival Kissinger Sommer forty-five times. This time it has prepared two concerts. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will join conductor Tomáš Netopil in the first, and cellist Truls Mørk in the second concert.