Czech Philharmonic ⬩ Open Air Concert 2020

Performing to an audience in excess of 500, the Czech Philharmonic's concert on Wednesday 24 June is the culmination of a series of concerts that the Orchestra has presented since the beginning of lockdown which started with two players wearing masks and has built to an orchestra of 62 players. With borders opening across the Schengen area on 15 June, the concert celebrates the re-opening of galleries, museums, cinemas and theatres in the Czech Republic.

Held in the grounds of the neo-gothic Sychrov Castle just outside Prague, the performance will be conducted by Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov in his first appearance with the Orchestra since the start of the pandemic. “Under any circumstance it is always a source of joy to come back to our beloved Czech Philharmonic and its public, however short or long our separation may have been. Yet this time is unlike any other. All of us had to be apart for many months, reduced to a musical silence and worrying about the well-being of all our colleagues and their families, as well as humanity in general. The pandemic isn’t over, the fight for life continues. Except now a new medication is allowed which heals the soul. It is of course music, whose spiritual power sustains us in life’s most difficult moments. Even more than ever we all need the kind of music that is life affirming, that simply carries the joy of living, the strength of the human spirit and its capacity to absorb the losses that come its way. The music of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Haydn that we will perform for you on 24 June represents exactly the life we lead, the challenges we face and our ability to overcome them. Welcome to our Celebration of Life!” said Semyon Bychkov.

The concert – on the evening of Midsummer's Day - opens appropriately with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture and Scherzo followed by Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E flat major. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 will close the concert which will be broadcast live on Czech TV and via the Czech Philharmonic’s Facebook. Prior to the concert each of the musicians taking part, in addition to conductor Semyon Bychkov, trumpet soloist Stanislav Masaryk and, presenter Marek Eben, will be tested for coronavirus. 

Attesting to the importance of the occasion, the concert will be attended by Czech Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek in collaboration with the National Heritage Institute. The concert is a thank you to the doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals from across the Czech Republic who have been fighting the pandemicand will form a large proportion of the invited guests. The Czech Philharmonic's first Covid-19 benefit was also in their honour and raised a record 7.5 million crowns (£250,000) from an international audience of more than 180,000.