Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Brno Contemporary Orchestra, Strings of the London Symphony Orchestra
Biographie Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Brno Contemporary Orchestra, Strings of the London Symphony Orchestra
The Janáček Philharmonic
is a world-class symphony orchestra based in Ostrava, Czech Republic and an emerging figure on the international performance scene. With over 100 top-level musicians, the orchestra aims to introduce unique, quality repertoire while showcasing their own recognizable sound.
Around the same time that Ostrava was being frequented by composers like Paul Hindemith, Leoš Janáček, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky, a Radio Orchestra was formed in the city. In 1954, this ensemble was established as the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, and began touring two years later. The orchestra has appeared over its history with notable names such as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Diana Ross, and Joseph Calleja to name a few, and it has remained one of the most notable orchestras in the Czech Republic.
The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra
is one of the foremost and oldest symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic. It is based in the historical capital of Moravia, the city of Olomouc, and has been a leader of music activities in the region for the past 70 years. Its artistic development was directly influenced by distinguished figures from the Czech and international music scene. Namely, they include conductors like Otto Klemperer and Václav Neumann, violinists Josef Suk and Gidon Kremer, or cellist Pierre Fournier.
During the course of its long history, The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra has put together an exceptionally broad, rich and varied repertoire. Its focus is mostly on the grand figures of classical music of the 19th and 20th century. Nonetheless, it also seeks to promote contemporary Czech and worldwide musical compositions, as evidenced by the fact that the Orchestra has performed over 250 new compositions. Moreover, the Orchestra is an authentic performer of Czech classics such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, and Bohuslav Martinů.
The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra takes pride in having a rich discography under its belt and performing at renowned international festivals both in the Czech Republic and abroad. However, first and foremost, it is a cultural institution and a major contributor to the organization of artistic life in the region of Olomouc. It holds the Dvořák’s Olomouc festival and the International Organ Festival and also organizes a number of educational activities for children and young people.
The Brno Contemporary Orchestra (BCO)
was founded in 2011 with the aim of performing the world’s contemporary music and selected 20th-century works in Czechia and Czech music throughout the world.
The ensemble includes top-level professional musicians employed in the leading Czech orchestras. It draws on a large pool of permanent collaborators who perform in various lineups according to the needs of each project.
The ensemble has performed to great acclaim at many festivals at home and abroad. In addition to repeated appearances at festivals in Krakow and Malta, the BCO regularly performs at major Czech festivals, including Moravian Autumn, Janáček Brno and the Hradec Králové Forum. Many of their concerts have been recorded by Czech Radio. During the coronavirus crisis in spring 2020, the orchestra gave the first ever Prague Spring concert that was not performed in the city. This was a stream of a BCO performance in the foyer of the Janáček Theatre in Brno, which included the world premiere of a piece by Jan Ryant Dřízal. The BCO has commissioned numerous new works, pitting them in its programs against well-established 20th and 21st-century works as well as less known or somewhat forgotten recent works, as this is an important aspect of its programming concept.
Many celebrated soloists have appeared alongside the BCO, including the violinist Milan Paľa, the soprano Irena Troupová, the pianist Nikol Bóková, the percussionist Colin Currie, and the oboist Vilém Veverka.
Since its foundation, the orchestra has established itself thanks to its carefully thought-out programming, which puts the musical works in the context of other kinds of art, be it architecture, literature, the visual arts, film, or dance. Linked with this are the commissions of new works that are tailor-made for the orchestra by contemporary composers at home and abroad. Viktor Pantůček, the musicologist, is the programmer and is responsible for the overall concept, while Pavel Šnajdr is the founder, artistic director, and conductor of the ensemble.
The London Symphony Orchestra
Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The London Symphony Orchestra was named by Gramophone as one of the top five orchestras in the world.
A world-leader in recording music for film, television, and events, it was the official orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, memorably performing Chariots of Fire on stage in the opening ceremony, conducted by Simon Rattle and with Rowan Atkinson. The LSO has also recorded music for films including Philomena, The Monuments Men, four of the Harry Potter movies including The Deathly Hallows Parts I and II, The Queen, The Ides of March, Star Wars Episodes I–VI, Superman, Nanny McPhee, and hundreds more.
The LSO is set apart from other international orchestras by the depth of its commitment to music education, reaching over 65,000 people each year. Their Discovery program enables the orchestra to offer people of all ages opportunities to get involved in music-making and to enter the extraordinary sound world of the orchestra.
Recent projects include LSO On Track, a long-standing venture involving young musicians from across East London, which has given a platform to talented teenagers to appear in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, at outdoor concerts in Trafalgar Square, on Abbey Road recordings side-by-side with LSO musicians, and LSO Sing, a program of singing activities designed to draw in singers of all ages and abilities.
With long-standing relationships with some of the leading musicians in the world — Bernard Haitink, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mitsuko Uchida and Maria João Pires, amongst others — the orchestra is self-governing and made up of nearly a hundred talented players who also perform regularly as soloists and in chamber groups at LSO St Luke’s.
