SEMYON BYCHKOV

Chief Conductor & Music Director – Czech Philharmonic
Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting – Royal Academy of Music
Günter Wand Conducting Chair – BBC Symphony Orchestra

BIOGRAPHY

Marking his fifth season as Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic in 2022-23, Semyon Bychkov’s season started in Prague with the official concert to mark the Czech Republic’s Presidency of the EU and continued at the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival with concert performances of Dvořák’s Rusalka, later conducting the work a new production of the work at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

In recent seasons, the focus of Bychkov’s work with the Czech Philharmonic has turned to the music of Gustav Mahler with performances of the symphonies at its home in Prague, on tour and ultimately on disc. Performances during the season feature Mahler symphonies at the Edinburgh International Festival, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Mahler Festival, and in Paris, Luxembourg, Graz, Vienna, Budapest and Milan. PENTATONE’s complete Mahler cycle with Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic launched in 2022 with Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 4 and has subsequently seen the release of Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 2.

CONCERT SCHEDULE

march

19mar8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Czech Philharmonic; Pablo Ferrández, cello - Dvořák

21mar8:00 pmAntwerp, Belgium - Czech Philharmonic; Bertrand Chamayou, piano - Dvořák

22mar8:00 pmParis, France - Czech Philharmonic; Pablo Ferrández, cello - Dvořák

23mar8:00 pmParis, France - Czech Philharmonic; Bertrand Chamayou, piano - Dvořák

april

11apr7:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

12apr7:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

14apr5:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

17apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

17apr10:00 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms (Dress Rehearsal)

18apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

19apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

24apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

25apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

26apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

CONCERT SCHEDULE

march

19mar8:00 pmMunich, Germany - Czech Philharmonic; Pablo Ferrández, cello - Dvořák

21mar8:00 pmAntwerp, Belgium - Czech Philharmonic; Bertrand Chamayou, piano - Dvořák

22mar8:00 pmParis, France - Czech Philharmonic; Pablo Ferrández, cello - Dvořák

23mar8:00 pmParis, France - Czech Philharmonic; Bertrand Chamayou, piano - Dvořák

april

11apr7:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

12apr7:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

14apr5:00 pmHamburg, Germany - NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester - Mahler

17apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

17apr10:00 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms (Dress Rehearsal)

18apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

19apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic; Steven Osborne, piano - Beethoven, Brahms

24apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

25apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

26apr7:30 pmPrague, Czechia - Czech Philharmonic - Shostakovich

NEWS

SMETANA’S MA VLAST ON PENTATONE

SMETANA’S MA VLAST ON PENTATONE

Today, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic mark Bedřich Smetana’s bicentenary (2nd March 1824) with the release of Má vlast, released by PENTATONE. The recording of Má vlast is the Czech Philharmonic’s first release in 2024’s Year of Czech Music, a major...

MAHLER’S FIRST SYMPHONY ON PENTATONE

MAHLER’S FIRST SYMPHONY ON PENTATONE

Today, Semyon Bychkov with the Czech Philharmonic continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the composer’s First Symphony, one of the most evocative and colourful symphonic debuts in the history of the genre. Released internationally by PENTATONE this will be the...

FEATURED VIDEO

FEATURED ALBUM

Mahler: Symphony No. 2

Pentatone releases Mahler Symphony No. 2, together with maestro Semyon Bychkov and Czech Philharmonic, in April 2023.

Personal Contemplation on Overcoming Death
After critically-acclaimed recordings of Mahler’s Fourth and Fifth Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov continue their Pentatone Mahler cycle with a rendition of the composer’s Second, nicknamed “The Resurrection”. They are joined by soprano Christiane Karg, alto Elisabeth Kulman and the Prague Philharmonic Choir. Starting with a funeral march, passing through the introspective alto song “Urlicht” and ending in choral bliss and euphoria, Mahler’s Second is a deeply spiritual and personal contemplation on the secret of life and the possibility of overcoming death. For Bychkov, the symphony “shows the life cycle in all its struggles: suffering, joy, irony, humour, love and doubt.”