Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša in conversation with musicologist Nigel Simeone - short excerpt

(Please note that the full recording is available to BCSA members only. To become a member see below.) The British Czech and Slovak Association and the Dvořák society UK organised a special discussion between two experts on Czech music. This was part of the celebration the Year of Czech music 2024, as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Dvořák society in the UK. Years ending in a four have special significance in Czech music, often coinciding with the anniversaries of the birth, death of the most prominent Czech composers, or else the creation of key some of their key works. JAKUB HRŮŠA is the Royal Opera House Music Director Designate, the Bamberg Symphony Music Director and the Czech Philharmonic Principal Guest Conductor. NIGEL SIMEONE is a prolific writer and musicologist. Together, they discussed topics connected to their musical careers, and especially relating to the current Year of Czech Music 2024. They went back to their musical beginnings, their life experiences in various countries, and the role classical music, and Czech music plays in contemporary society. Their common loves, such as Leoš Janáček or Leonard Bernstein, were at the forefront of the discussion. 2024 marks the one hundred-and-twentieth anniversary of the passing of Antonín Dvořák and 130 years since composition of his piano pieces Humoresky. It is two hundred years since the birth Bedřich Smetana, 140 years since his death and 150 years since composition of his famous symphonic poems Má vlast. It is also 170 years since birth of Leoš Janáček and 120 years since composition of Jenůfa. More information about the Year of Czech Music can be found at: Year of Czech Music | Rok české hudby 2024 (rokceskehudby.cz) Jakub Hrůša Born in the Czech Republic, Jakub Hrůša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Music Director Designate of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (Music Director from 2025), Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra and of Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He is the 2023 Opus Klassik Conductor of the Year. Hrůša is a frequent guest with many of the world’s greatest orchestras, enjoying close relationships and performing regularly with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, NHK Symphony and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra – and in the US with The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Jakub is one of the ambassadors of the 2024 Year of Czech Music, a patron of the Smetana 200 project and is due to perform Smetana’s opera Libuše with the Czech Philharmonic at the Prague Spring and Smetana Litomyšl festivals. Nigel Simeone Nigel Simeone was born in London in 1956. He is a writer and broadcaster with a lifelong interest in Czech music – an enthusiasm ignited by seeing a production of The Cunning Little Vixen during a school trip to Germany in 1970. He is the author of three books on Janáček including Janáček’s Works (1997) and The Janáček Compendium (2019). His other books include three with a focus on the relationship between composers and conductors: The Leonard Bernstein Letters (2013), Charles Mackerras (2015) and Ralph Vaughan Williams and Adrian Boult (2022). He appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 (Record Review and Opera on 3) and contributes articles to Opera and Gramophone (most recently a feature on Smetana in the March 2024 issue). He also writes programme notes for the Salzburg Festival, Wexford Festival, Royal Opera House, London Symphony Orchestra and the Wigmore Hall. This video was made by Erik Weisenpacher. Thank you to Czech embassy London for their cooperation. Join us in order to have full access to our events, Review and networking opportunities. Membership is very reasonable: £30 individuals, £17 full-time students, £35 families, £38 non-UK residents, £50 non-profit organisations, £75 corporate bodies https://www.bcsa.co.uk/join-the-bcsa/