Czech music, creativity and talent are great sources of joy and inspiration appreciated around the globe. In recognition of this, PPF Group, a European investment company, proudly supports the Czech Philharmonic’s excellence on international stages.
The way in which the Czech Philharmonic enhances the Czech Republic’s international reputation, bringing with it the story of our cultural heritage and musical talent, is truly unique. One would be hard-pressed to name another so universally positive, recognisable, appreciated, and yet inimitable phenomenon that could represent our country on the global stage.
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm – Musiikkitalo, Helsinki – KKL, Lucerne – Reduta, Bratislava – DE SINGEL, Antwerp – Philharmonie de Paris, Paris – Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona – Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid – Auditorio de la Diputacion de Alicante, Alicante – Palau de Valencie, Valencia – Auditorio de Zaragoza, Zaragoza – Barbican Centre, London – Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam – Musikverein, Vienna – Brucknerhaus Linz, Linz – Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg
The partnership between the Czech Philharmonic and PPF is truly exceptional by international standards. The level of support the orchestra receives from PPF is rarely seen even in Western Europe, let alone Central Europe. The scale, longevity, and sheer scope of this backing enable the Czech Philharmonic to pursue its artistic ambitions on the global stage, while also inspiring other cultural institutions and elevating the prestige of Czech music and culture abroad.
Bychkovʼs repertoire spans four centuries. His highly anticipated performances are a unique combination of innate musicality and rigorous Russian pedagogy. In addition to guest engagements with the world’s major orchestras and opera houses, Bychkov holds honorary titles with the BBC Symphony Orchestra – with whom he appears annually at the BBC Proms – and the Royal Academy of Music, who awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in July 2022. Bychkov was named “Conductor of the Year” by the International Opera Awards in 2015 and, by Musical America in 2022.
Bychkov began recording in 1986 and released discs with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio, Royal Concertgebouw, Philharmonia Orchestra and London Philharmonic for Philips. Subsequently a series of benchmark recordings with WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne featured Brahms, Mahler, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Strauss, Verdi, Glanert and Höller. Bychkov’s 1993 recording of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with the Orchestre de Paris continues to win awards, most recently the Gramophone Collection 2021; Wagner’s Lohengrin was BBC Music Magazine’s Record of the Year (2010); and Schmidt’s Symphony No. 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic was BBC Music Magazine’s Record of the Month (2018).
Semyon Bychkov has one foot firmly in the culture of the East and the other in the West. Born in St Petersburg in 1952, he studied at the Leningrad Conservatory with the legendary Ilya Musin. Denied his prize of conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic, Bychkov emigrated to the United States in 1975 and, has lived in Europe since the mid-1980’s. In 1989, the same year he was named Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris, Bychkov returned to the former Soviet Union as the St Petersburg Philharmonic’s Principal Guest Conductor. He was appointed Chief Conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra (1997) and Chief Conductor of Dresden Semperoper (1998).
PPF Group has lent musical instruments worth nearly CZK 20 million, crafted by master instrument makers, to the Czech Philharmonic’s violin section. These six rare string instruments, when placed in the hands of seasoned musicians, have made the sound of the orchestra all the richer.
| a violin made by Giovanni Maria Valenzano’s workshop in 1825 |
| a 1924 Pietro Messori violin |
| violins by the Italian master violin makers Giovanni Cavani and Onorato Gragnani from the early nineteenth century |
| a 1927 Ettore Soffritti viola |
| a cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the finest French violin maker ever, from 1844 |
