Semyon Bychkov gives the German première of Thomas Larcher’s Piano Concerto this December with the Berlin Philharmonic and dedicatee Kirill Gerstein. Performances take place on 2, 3 and 4 December with the last being live-streamed via the Berlin Phil’s Digital Concert Hall. Bychkov first conducted Larcher’s music in 2016 when he gave the world première of his Symphony No. 2 Kenotaph with the Vienna Philharmonic. In February 2022, he’ll conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Gerstein in the UK première of the work.
Later in the month, Bychkov will be in Prague to give the Czech première of Bryce Dessner’s Mari with the Czech Philharmonic with performances taking place on 15, 16 and 17 December. Bychkov gave Mari its first performances earlier this year in Zurich and Leipzig.
Both Larcher and Dessner were commissioned at the start of Semyon Bychkov’s tenure at Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic in 2018. Julian Anderson, another of the commissioned composers, will have his new symphony Prague Panoramas premièred by Bychkov first in Munich and then in Prague next year.