Filharmonie Brno is entering its 70th season, symbolised by the word ‘connection’. This represents a link between the past and the future, as well as the idea of interweaving concerts to form a network of connections between composers, works, soloists, and anniversaries. The aim is to offer a more interconnected musical experience than isolated performances.
“This year, we are paying special attention to soloists from within our own orchestra and to works that we performed during our very first season,” said Marie Kučerová, director of Filharmonie Brno.
The orchestra will open the season on 14 September with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. During this concert, the children’s choir Kantiléna, which is part of Filharmonie Brno, will also celebrate its 70th anniversary.
“Anniversaries are milestones that offer an opportunity to reflect on the passage of time, often evoking feelings of joy, gratitude and reverence, but also sometimes concern,” said Dennis Russell Davies, chief conductor of Filharmonie Brno. “Our new season is full of events that express all of these emotions through masterpieces composed over the centuries — some well-known and beloved, and others perhaps a little overlooked. I’m delighted that we’re entering this jubilee season – my eighth in Brno – alongside Kantiléna, who are celebrating with us.”
Among the works performed during the orchestra’s anniversary season will be Vítězslav Novák’s monumental The Tempest, a sea fantasy for large orchestra, solo voices, and mixed choir (conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Robert Kružík), first performed at the Prague Spring festival in 1956.
Many concert programmes emphasise connections between composers. For example, a programme featuring Cherubini, Rejcha, Franck and Gounod will explore the teacher-student relationship, as will a programme featuring Salieri, Schubert, Meyerbeer and Beethoven.
The Arvo Pärt 90 & Tigran Mansurian concert is themed around friendship, while inspirational connections are explored in Bach and His Admirers and the piece Lotus Under the Moonlight, composed by the Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa as a tribute to Mozart. “I’m thrilled that the world-renowned pianist Momo Kodama will perform the solo part here in Brno,” said the orchestra’s dramaturge, Vítězslav Mikeš.
Other major international artists appearing in Brno for the first time include pianist Thomas Enhco, violinist Christian Altenburger, clarinettist Sharon Kam, and conductors Rumon Gamba, Robert Treviño and Ryusuke Numajiri. Returning favourites include Fazil Say, who will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3; and Igor Ardašev, who will perform two works in one evening: Franck’s Symphonic Variations and d’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air, conducted by French conductor Lucie Leguay.
As well as celebrating its own anniversary, Filharmonie Brno will mark several others, including the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt and the 80th birthday of Pēteris Vasks. William Walton’s Hamlet: A Shakespeare Scenario, arranged by Christopher Palmer, will be performed at the Janáček Theatre, with the renowned English actor Simon Callow as the narrator.
To mark the orchestra’s 70th anniversary, all five Family Subscription concerts will revisit key moments in its history, such as the first Philharmonic concert, the visit of the Queen of England, and major international tours. The New Year’s Concert will feature former members of the orchestra performing alongside current members.
This season, Filharmonie Brno offers nine subscription series: two main cycles at the Janáček Theatre, a concert and chamber series at Besední dům, two family programmes, a jazz series, concerts by Kantiléna and orchestral academy students, and a series of Special Concerts, such as the Opening and New Year’s concerts, or the In the Orchestra project, where the audience sits among the musicians.
Current subscribers have their seats reserved until Friday, 6 June. Individual tickets go on sale the following evening.
Individual tickets and Season à la Carte (through which buyers receive increasing discounts based on the number of concerts they purchase) go on sale on Monday, June 9.
To mark the anniversary, a special Philharmonic tram will ride through the streets of Brno on Tuesday 17 June. Inside, visitors can enjoy performances by various ensembles, such as a double bass duo or a string quartet, and chat with the director or the dramaturg for advice on choosing concerts.
