SEMYON BYCHKOV

Chief Conductor & Music Director – Czech Philharmonic
Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting – Royal Academy of Music
Günter Wand Conducting Chair – BBC Symphony Orchestra

BIOGRAPHY

Marking his fifth season as Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic in 2022-23, Semyon Bychkov’s season started in Prague with the official concert to mark the Czech Republic’s Presidency of the EU and continued at the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival with concert performances of Dvořák’s Rusalka, later conducting the work a new production of the work at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

In recent seasons, the focus of Bychkov’s work with the Czech Philharmonic has turned to the music of Gustav Mahler with performances of the symphonies at its home in Prague, on tour and ultimately on disc. Performances during the season feature Mahler symphonies at the Edinburgh International Festival, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Mahler Festival, and in Paris, Luxembourg, Graz, Vienna, Budapest and Milan. PENTATONE’s complete Mahler cycle with Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic launched in 2022 with Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 4 and has subsequently seen the release of Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 2.

CONCERT SCHEDULE

october

23oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

24oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

25oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

november

22nov7:30 pmKarlovy Vary, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Dvořák, Janáček

23nov7:30 pmKarlovy Vary, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Ivo Kahánek, piano - Dvořák, Smetana

CONCERT SCHEDULE

october

23oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

24oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

25oct7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano - Mozart, Mahler

november

22nov7:30 pmKarlovy Vary, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Dvořák, Janáček

23nov7:30 pmKarlovy Vary, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Ivo Kahánek, piano - Dvořák, Smetana

NEWS

Czech Philharmonic Named Gramophone’s ‘Orchestra Of The Year’

Czech Philharmonic Named Gramophone’s ‘Orchestra Of The Year’

Winning ‘Orchestra of the Year’ in the 2024 Year of Czech Music – celebrated by arts organisations across the Czech Republic every decade since Bedřich Smetana’s 100th birthday in 1924 – is especially poignant.  The Orchestra’s contribution to the Year of Czech Music...

Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 ,9 on Pentatone

Dvořák Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 ,9 on Pentatone

Today, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic present a new recording of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphonies 7, 8 and 9, coupled with the composer’s concert overtures In Nature’s Realm, Carnival and Othello. The album is part of the 2024 Year of Czech Music. Dvořák’s...

SMETANA’S MA VLAST ON PENTATONE

SMETANA’S MA VLAST ON PENTATONE

Today, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic mark Bedřich Smetana’s bicentenary (2nd March 1824) with the release of Má vlast, released by PENTATONE. The recording of Má vlast is the Czech Philharmonic’s first release in 2024’s Year of Czech Music, a major...

FEATURED VIDEO

FEATURED ALBUM

Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 ,9

Pentatone releases Antonín Dvořák’s Symphonies 7, 8 and 9

The album is part of the 2024 Year of Czech Music. Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” has been part of Semyon Bychkov’s repertoire since the 80’s when he emigrated to the United States. He first conducted the work with the Czech Philharmonic in 2015 when he returned to conduct the Orchestra. Also featured on the 2-CD release is Dvořák’s overture cycle, Nature, Life and Love composed between Symphony No. 8 and Symphony No. 9.  Although, each work in the cycle, In Nature’s Realm, Carnival and Othello has a clear mood and narrative, sharing a distinctive melodic idea, they are also powerfully symphonic.