Czech Philharmonic ⬩ Premiere Evening

When Jiří Bělohlávek became the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic in 2012, one of his artistic goals was to create dignified conditions for young artists, to stimulate their professional development, and to contribute towards their success internationally. Besides working with young musicians in the orchestra and supporting talented soloists, maestro Bělohlávek and the composer Miroslav Srnka were attempting to come up with an effective way to support young composers. Thanks to this, the first Czech Philharmonic Composition Competition took place in 2014, and another followed four years later. The first round drew a respectable 57 applicants from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. From among them, a committee consisting of players of the Czech Philharmonic, concert programming experts, and renowned composers selected the three finalists. The Czech Philharmonic commissioned Adrián Demoč, Matouš Hejl, and Jana Vörösová to compose the works that you will be hearing on this special concert programme. The members of the jury for the finals were the Harvard University professor Chaya Czernowin, the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra David Robertson, and the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Semyon Bychkov, and they decided on Jana Vörösová as the winner. They were also made high demands when choosing the conductor to give the works their premiere: Keith Lockhart is not only a first-class musician, but also one of the most popular conductors with whom our players collaborate.