The Prague Philharmonia

In 1994 the world-renowned Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, together with a group of talented young musicians, founded the Prague Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. Its successes abroad and its rapidly expanding repertoire led the orchestra first to change its name to PKF–Prague Philharmonia, and since the 2024/2025 season it has appeared by the name of Prague Philharmonia.

During the thirty years of its existence the orchestra has won acclaim throughout the music world for its characteristic, crystal-clear sound as well as for its stylistically refined performances of its main repertoire focus – the music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Its core repertoire also includes music by Dvořák, Smetana and other Czech composers; German Romanticism (its interpretations of Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms being in particularly highly regard); and French music of the 19th and 20th centuries. Modern and contemporary works are an integral part of its repertoire, including works specially commissioned by and for the orchestra. The Prague Philharmonia retains its chamber style of playing as well as its passionate commitment and attention to detail, although today it is midway between chamber orchestra and small symphony orchestra in terms of format and repertoire.

Since its founding the orchestra has been directed by a number of internationally renowned chief conductors, each of whom has contributed in his own way to the development of the Prague Philharmonia’s distinctive sound. Following Jiří Bělohlávek, the role of chief conductor was taken in 2005 by Kaspar Zehnder and then in 2008 by Jakub Hrůša. Since the 2015/2016 season the orchestra’s music director and chief conductor has been the Frenchman Emmanuel Villaume.

The Prague Philharmonia has also performed with internationally famed soloists including Julian Rachlin, Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, András Schiff, Gil Shaham, Isabelle Faust, Emmanuel Pahud, Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Damrau, Anna Netrebko, Midori, Plácido Domingo, Gautier Capuçon, Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann and many others.

The orchestra is regularly invited to international music festivals (BBC Proms, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, MITO Settembre Música, Prague Spring, Festspiel Baden-Baden) and gives concerts at top world venues (Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gasteig Munich, Philharmonie Köln, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre in Kuwait, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Seoul Arts Center, Musikverein and Théâtre Champs-Elysées, among others).

The discography of this ensemble includes more than 90 compact discs for prestigious international and Czech music labels (Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Sony Classical, Decca, EMI, Harmonia Mundi and Supraphon).

Its recordings have garnered numerous prizes: a Gold Record RAC Canada in 2000, a Harmonie Award in 2001 and a Diapason d’Or in 2007. Its CD Héroïque with Bryan Hymel was nominated for the International Opera Award in 2016, and its CD Bohemian Rhapsody with Gábor Boldoczki was nominated for an International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in 2017. Its Ravel, Debussy & Bizet CD on the Warner Classics label received excellent reviews from the London Sunday Times, Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine, the last of which included it in its Top 10 recordings of the week, and a 2019 CD with acclaimed tenor Benjamin Bernheim for Deutsche Grammophon received an Opus Klassik Award and numerous accolades in the international press (including Diapason d’Or and Choc de Classica). In 2023 the orchestra recorded a CD of music by Krzysztof Penderecki with flautist Stathis Karapanos, once again for Warner Classics; and in 2024, together with Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman and conductor Carlo Rizzi the orchestra received a prestigious award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards for the CD project The Great Puccini.

The orchestra has recently toured in Japan, Italy, Turkey, France and Taiwan, and has performed at the Musikverein in Vienna. In this season it performs in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Japan, Thailand and the USA.

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