SEMYON BYCHKOV
Chief Conductor & Music Director – Czech Philharmonic
Music Director (from 1 August 2028); Music Director Designate (from 1 August 2026) – Opéra national de Paris
Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting – Royal Academy of Music
Günter Wand Conducting Chair – BBC Symphony Orchestra
BIOGRAPHY
Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov marked the Orchestra’s 130th anniversary in 2026 with extensive tours of Asia and Europe and, PENTATONE’s release of Mahler’s Nine Symphonies. In 2026/27, he returns to the repertoire of his formative years, and alongside Czech masters will conduct works by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky. “What amazes me is how strongly Shostakovich’s existential music resonates in a world which seems, outwardly, very different from the one in which he was fighting for his life both as a human being and a composer. But maybe we’re all faced with a struggle to be true to ourselves against odds of various kinds, even insidious ideologies which hide their true nature.”
CONCERT SCHEDULE
September 2026
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA – SMETANA, GLANERT, MUSSORGSKY
October 2026
PRAGUE, CZECHIA – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – ADAMS, BRUCH, MUSSORGSKY
PRAGUE, CZECHIA – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – ADAMS, BRUCH, MUSSORGSKY
PRAGUE, CZECHIA – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – ADAMS, BRUCH, MUSSORGSKY
PRAGUE, CZECHIA – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, RACHMANINOFF
PRAGUE, CZECHIA – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, RACHMANINOFF
NEWS
Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 on Pentatone
No music is more essential to Semyon Bychkov, or closer to the bone, than Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. In November 2026, Pentatone will release Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7, performed by the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of its Chief Conductor...
Semyon Bychkov opens the Czech Philharmonic’s 131st season
Next month’s opening of the Czech Philharmonic’s season with Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, comes in the middle of guest engagements at four prestigious festivals: Stockholm’s Baltic Festival, the Helsinki Festival, the Lucerne Festival and...
Mahler No. 1-9 on Pentatone
The Czech Philharmonic’s complete Mahler Cycle under Bychkov has been released today. The Mahler symphonies have been central to Bychkov’s programming with the Czech Philharmonic since 2018 when he opened his tenure as Chief Conductor and Music Director with...
FEATURED VIDEO
FEATURED ALBUM
Mahler: Symphony No. 1-9
Pentatone releases Mahler’s Symphony No. 1-9
The Czech Philharmonic’s complete Mahler Cycle under Bychkov has been released. The Mahler symphonies have been central to Bychkov’s programming with the Czech Philharmonic since 2018 when he opened his tenure as Chief Conductor and Music Director with performances of Mahler Symphony No. 2. Symphonies Nos. 1–5, released by PENTATONE beginning in April 2022, have received universal acclaim.
