We continue our celebration of 70 years Filharmonie Brno with a colorful and challenging series of virtuoso works for our wonderful orchesta in combination with an impressive group of international and Czech artists. I am especially gratified to share the experience of working with  our exceptional musicians with some very fine conductor-colleagues including Petr Altrichter, Tomáš Hanus, Anna-Maria Helsing, Robert Kružik, and David Robertson, and I appreciate very much their enthusiasm for the kind of programming that has established the Filharmonie Brno as a model of innovation with quality, and that has led to a dramatic increase in our audiences at home and abroad.

For example, Tomáš Hanus and I have each connected star cello soloists (Daniel Müller-Schott and Julia Hagen)with a most unique orchestral form, the Symphony-Concerto written by two of the greatest twentieth century composers, Prokofieff and Britten. Bobby McDuffie, the brilliant and innovative American violinist brings us Samuel Barbers exciting Violin Concerto, a work that he learned in his early twenties from the composer himself. “Our own” Iva Bittova will help us celebrate Philip Glass’s 90th(!) birthday, and Allan Ginsburg’s 100th with her special interpretation of Philip and Allan’s Sixth Symphony (Plutonium Ode) on an exciting program where Laurie Anderson will perform her “Amelia”, a portrait of the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The wonderful soprano Chen Reiss will be with us not only on the Spilberk in August, but will also help us to honor  Beethoven’s memory later in the season with his concert arias, and the complete theater music to “Egmont”. I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to perform Mahler’s magnificent Fifth Symphony with our musicians, and our holiday program in December presents a colorful combination of pieces by Wagner, Reicha, and Stravinsky, with Christoph Prégardien returning with beautiful and evocative songs from Mahler’s “Das Knaben Wunderhorn”. Even now in the midst of a wonderful concert season, I can hardly wait for the next one to start. Please join us!

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