SEMYON BYCHKOV
Chief Conductor & Music Director – Czech Philharmonic
Music Director (from 1 August 2028); Music Director Designate (from 1 August 2026) – Opéra national de Paris
Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting – Royal Academy of Music
Günter Wand Conducting Chair – BBC Symphony Orchestra
BIOGRAPHY
Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov marked the Orchestra’s 130th anniversary in 2026 with extensive tours of Asia and Europe and, PENTATONE’s release of Mahler’s Nine Symphonies. In 2026/27, he returns to the repertoire of his formative years, and alongside Czech masters will conduct works by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky. “What amazes me is how strongly Shostakovich’s existential music resonates in a world which seems, outwardly, very different from the one in which he was fighting for his life both as a human being and a composer. But maybe we’re all faced with a struggle to be true to ourselves against odds of various kinds, even insidious ideologies which hide their true nature.”
CONCERT SCHEDULE
November 2026
PARIS, FRANCE – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, RACHMANINOFF
BARCELONA, SPAIN – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – RACHMANINOFF, SMETANA
MADRID, SPAIN – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, STRAUSS, RACHMANINOFF
MADRID, SPAIN – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, STRAUSS, RACHMANINOFF
ALICANTE, SPAIN – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – SMETANA, STRAUSS, RACHMANINOFF
VALENCIA, SPAIN – CZECH PHILHARMONIC – RACHMANINOFF, SMETANA
NEWS
Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic Tour Europe
This November, coinciding with Pentatone’s release of Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic will embark on a seven-city European tour, opening in Antwerp and concluding in Zaragoza. Over the course of ten days the...
Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 on Pentatone
No music is more essential to Semyon Bychkov, or closer to the bone, than Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. In November 2026, Pentatone will release Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7, performed by the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of its Chief Conductor...
Semyon Bychkov opens the Czech Philharmonic’s 131st season
Next month’s opening of the Czech Philharmonic’s season with Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, comes in the middle of guest engagements at four prestigious festivals: Stockholm’s Baltic Festival, the Helsinki Festival, the Lucerne Festival and...
FEATURED VIDEO
FEATURED ALBUM
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
Pentatone releases Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7
Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic present two of Dmitri Shostakovich’s most powerful symphonic statements: the Fifth and Seventh Symphonies. This release continues the acclaimed partnership between the Czech Philharmonic and PENTATONE. Previous recordings with Semyon Bychkov include Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1–5, released individually between 2022 and 2026 before being joined by the remaining symphonies in a complete Mahler box set; as well as the acclaimed recordings of Smetana’s Má vlast and Dvořák’s Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 & 9 (2024).
