Prague Philharmonic Choir

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Prague Philharmonic Choir
Choir photo or logo
Seat: Prague
Carrier: Czech Philharmonic
Founding: 1935
Genus: mixed choir
Founder: Jan Kühn
Head : Lukáš Vasilek
Website : Homepage of the choir (English or Czech)

The Prague Philharmonic Choir (original Czech : Pražský filharmonický sbor ; international English: Prague Philharmonic Choir ) is a world-renowned Czech choir of classical music from Prague .

history

In 1935 the singer and choir director Jan Kühn initially founded a choir for the Czechoslovak radio. Over time, the original amateur ensemble developed into a professional choir, which was integrated into the Czech Philharmonic in 1953 . In 1959 Josef Veselka took over the direction of the choir, who created their own sound brand with the ensemble and made it known beyond the borders of his country. In the 1960s, already under its current name, the choir received invitations from all over Europe; In 1970 the choir performed for the first time in Japan. The 1980s shaped Lubomír Mátl . With him, the choir became a returning guest at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro , Italy. Influential recordings of important works such as Dvořák's Stabat Mater under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch , Johannes Brahms' Deutsches Requiem and cantatas under Giuseppe Sinopoli , Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony under Zubin Mehta and many other projects with operatic works also go back to this time . The recordings in collaboration with the Czech Philharmonic have won international prizes from Paris, Cannes, Berlin and Tokyo.

In 1990 the Prague Chamber Choir emerged from the choir, founded on the initiative of some members . In the following decade, the Prague Philharmonic Choir emancipated itself under the direction of Pavel Kühn to become an independent choir and began to maintain international contacts with leading orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic , the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra . The decade also marked appearances in the most renowned opera houses in the world such as the La Scala in Milan , the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Opéra de Monaco , the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Semperoper Dresden and the Zurich Opera House . Jaroslav Brych directed the choir from 1997 to 2005. Today it is under the direction of Lukáš Vasilek .

Today the ensemble is one of the most important parts of the Czech cultural scene and some of its concerts are considered to be the socio-cultural highlights of the history of his country. For example, the performance of Antonín Dvořák's Die Heilige Ludmilla in Prague Castle under Rafael Kubelík amid political tensions in 1948, the performance of the oratorio Le Roi David under the direction of the composer Arthur Honegger himself in 1949 and, last but not least, the interpretation of Beethoven's Ode of joy during a concert conducted by Václav Neumann during the country's Velvet Revolution in 1989.

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