“You can put anything in front of them and they will play it!” That is how Sir Simon Rattle characterized the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, which he conducted in June 2020. The orchestra has been working mainly on educational programs for a long time, but is also beginning to make guest appearances as part of the Czech Philharmonic regular subscription series.
“I think the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra still has room to grow, and I will happily continue to help with that process,” added Marko Ivanović, their chief conductor and a supporter of the young musicians since 2006. That is when the student ensemble’s history began under the protective wing of the Czech Philharmonic with Steps to the New World, a cycle of concerts with commentary for students.
What is the idea of the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra? We want to give the upcoming generation of musicians–mostly students at music schools–the opportunity to regularly rehearse and perform great works of the worldwide symphonic and vocal-instrumental repertoire as well as symphonic concertante. We aim to build a permanent orchestra with the musicians where long-term relationships and understanding can arise among them; our goal is to support the musicians in improving the art of ensemble playing.
However, Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra musicians also act as "beacons of light" in relation to their peers, showing them that young people can love classical music and enthusiastically pass it on to others. And the orchestra's reputation is so high now that their dramaturgs are not afraid of including it in the Czech Philharmonic subscription concerts so that the orchestra can be known by even a larger audience.
Do you want to learn more about the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra? Contact us.
Daniela Dvořáčková
Education Programmes, Production
Haydn, Vivaldi and Gluck
with Josef Špaček (violin), Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra… on the programme
The Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra performances within the Steps to the New World educational cycle are regularly recorded by Studio Rudolfinum. This makes many guided concerts in which the young musicians, together with conductor Marko Ivanović and presenter Petr Kadlec, present key works of the classical music repertoire, accessible to the public. Here we offer a triple taste, all together on the Czech Philharmonic's YouTube channel.
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