Semyon Bychkov will be working with the Czech Student Philharmonic for the first time this month, and together they’ll present a concert on Saturday 20 February streamed live on the Orchestra’s Facebook and YouTube pages from 8.15pm CET. The concert will also be cross-posted on Maestro Bychkov’s Facebook page.

“The desire to share music with the younger generation of musicians has been with me ever since the 1970’s when I led the Mannes College of Music Orchestra in New York. As they discover the repertoire and confront its challenges, the intensity of their feeling and the realisation of music’s value in life are extremely palpable. They have no preconceived idea of the traditions, they have no habits or reflexes. They are instinctive and receptive. They are a fertile soil to be planted and cultivated.

At the Czech Philharmonic, we are all highly conscious of the uniqueness of the Orchestra’s sound and its musical culture. It perpetuates regardless of generational change thanks to the immense educational program that reaches all over the country, and the fact that many of our musicians devote their time to teaching. The youngsters grow up with the sound and musicality of the Czech Philharmonic in their ears, many of them dreaming of joining the orchestra one day. When they do they quickly become integrated into our tradition and help carry it forward.

I look forward to working with the Czech Student Philharmonic with enormous pleasure.”

Their programme includes the Overtures to Verdi’s La forza del destino and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg as well as the First Movement of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with solost Cédric Tiberghien.

Click here to find out more.