Jakub Hrůša, the Czech Philharmonic

ABOUT THE CONCERT 

Principle Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša has once again prepared a bold programme based on dramatic contrasts. The concert opens with the world premiere of a work by Pavel Zemek Novák followed by a gem of the piano literature played by the brilliant Leif Ove Andsnes. After Grieg comes Vladimír Sommer’s evocative Vocal Symphony which will mark the Czech Philharmonic’s fourth performance of the work. 

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Programme

Pavel Zemek Novák
CANTO. Unisono per orchestra (world premiere)

Edvard Grieg
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

Vladimír Sommer
Vocal Symphony for mezzo-soprano, narrator, choir, and orchestra

Performers

Leif Ove Andsnes piano
Markéta Cukrová mezzo-soprano
Martin Myšička narrator

Prague Philharmonic Choir
Lukáš Vasilek choirmaster

Jakub Hrůša conductor

Czech Philharmonic

“I was a rather shy and insecure boy from the Norwegian countryside”, recalls one of today’s most celebrated pianists Leif Ove Andsnes. At age 15, he met the Czech piano pedagogue Jiří Hlinka, who was later his teacher at the conservatoire in Bergen. “Hlinka was a passionate person; to him, music was a matter of life and death. He opened up lots of new horizons for me, and I always came away from lessons with enormous motivation to go onwards, and I felt ever more secure in my playing”, says Andsnes in reference to, among other things, learning Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which he first studied under Hlinka’s guidance. 

Because of their shared nationality, Andsnes is frequently asked to perform this work which has followed him throughout his career. He first played it aged 20 in 1990 and after a break of a few years, returned to it in the early 2000s including recording it with the Berlin Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons. The New York Times hailed their release as the ‘Best CD of the Year’ and at the 2004 Gramophone Awards, it won the Award for ‘Best Concerto Recording.’ 

Alongside Grieg’s beautiful concerto, the Czech Philharmonic’s Principal Guest Conductor Jakub Hrůša has programmed works by two Czech composers. The first, CANTO by Pavel Zemek Novák, receives its world premiere: “A composer must be a madman and must be regarded as such. He mustn’t be surprised by this because he is doing things that others regard as madness: he works in isolation for a long time, sometimes without getting paid or even getting performances. He must give up hope of recognition from those closest to him or from the people where he lives. These are destructive elements. The humiliation that goes along with this must not come as a surprise. He has to watch how his peers enjoy great success, running government ministries. He can’t get caught up in that game. But in the end, he finds peace” – Pavel Zemek Novák in an interview for Harmonie.

Vladimír Sommer’s Vocal Symphony is a composition with an established reputation. The Czech Philharmonic first performed it in 1964 with Václav Neumann, and the Orchestra gave it further performances in the 1990s and early 2000s. The evocative composition, regarded as one of the most powerful works written by a Czech composer since the Second World War, was described by the music journalist Bohumil Vítek as follows: “Already at first hearing, the listener is crushed by a wide-ranging probe into the conscience of a cruel society indulging in gross violence without any scruples whatsoever. This, then, is a topical allegory with validity for all times, including today.”