CNSO - Czech National Symphony Orchestra

Over the past 30 years the Czech National Symphony Orchestra has grown to become one of the leading Czech ensembles, currently ranking among the most highly sought-after orchestras in Europe. Its glowing reputation can be attributed to the members’ versatility, performing a wide range of genres, spanning classical works, film music and jazz, as well as musicals, which attract large domestic and international audiences.

Notable conductors, composers and film directors who have been collaborating with the orchestra or who worked with them at concerts and in the CNSO Studio in Prague include Lalo Schifrin, Pino Donaggio, Giuliano Taviani, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Quentin Tarantino, Vince Mendoza, Giuseppe Tornatore, Carl Davis, Steven Mercurio, Marcello Rota, Vladimir Cosma, Christian Lindberg and Chick Corea.

We should also mention the valuable and long-standing collaboration the orchestra enjoyed with the legendary Ennio Morricone (1928-2020), involving studio recordings and a series of concerts performed on numerous European tours.

In the studio the orchestra has recorded a wealth of wonderful music, including a Christmas
album with acclaimed tenors Placido Domingo and Vittorio Grigolo, as well as music for Tarantino’s Western “The Hateful Eight”. On the strength of the aforementioned concert collaboration, the composer Ennio Morricone also booked the Czech National Symphony Orchestra for a recording, and they subsequently created a truly exceptional soundtrack together at London’s famous Abbey Road studio. Morricone’s music went on to pick up a number of awards, among them a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and an Oscar.

In recent years, artists to have performed on several occasions with the orchestra include Andrea Bocelli, Rolando Villazén, José Carreras, Placido Domingo, Jonas Kaufmann, as well as Piotr Beczala, while in the field of pop music collaborations have included top names such as Sting, George Michael, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Angélique Kidjo, Denise Donatelli and Ute Lemper, along with instrumentalists James Morrison, Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Shew, Joe Lovano, John Abercrombie, John Patitucci, Dave Weckl, Chick Corea and many more.

Since 2005, the CNSO has organized the Prague Proms International Music Festival, and it is also its resident ensemble.