Czech Week at Carnegie Hall

Photos: Courtesy of Czech Philharmonic (Česká filharmonie)

As part of the worldwide Year of Czech Music—a major musical celebration that happens once per decade—audiences were treated to Czech Week at Carnegie Hall in New York from December 2 to 7. Carnegie Hall presented three consecutive performances by the great Czech Philharmonic and superstar soloists with conductor Semyon Bychkov.

In each program, they paired one of Dvořák’s singular concertos for Cello, Violin, and Piano—performed by soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, and Daniil Trifonov—with an orchestral masterwork by Smetana, Gustav Mahler, and Janáček, the latter also featuring the Prague Philharmonic Choir and vocal soloists. Each of these three concerts was performed in the legendary Stern Auditorium which witnessed the premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony “From the New World” in December 1893.

In addition, the Czech Week at Carnegie Hall in New York included a collaborative concert of young international stars at Bohemian National Hall and leading choral and chamber music performances at Zankel Hall and Weil Recital Hall.