Czech Philharmonic Gives Blast Of Performance At London's Barbican

It was certainly a blast of a performance at The Barbican this March, in the first of the Czech Philharmonic’s (Česká filharmonie) two-concert residency at the London venue in The City. Má vlast (‘My Country), Czech composer Bedřich Smetana’s epic symphonic poem extolling his homeland, is in the very DNA of the people of the Czech lands. 

The orchestra’s chief conductor and musical director, Russian-born Semyon Bychkov, hailed “this Rock” of Bedrich Smetana’s, in a short speech to the packed Hall at The Barbican Hall on Tuesday (15 March 2022), prior to playing the symphony. This had a followed Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Chinese-born pianist Yuja Wang, one the world's best pianists today, accompanying the 50-odd players in the ensemble. It was top draw stuff and delivered with great virtuosity. For that she received a thunderous 5-minutes of applause and took four bows in the process. Some playing from the orchestra's 'Artist in Residence' for the 2021/2022 season.

First performed in its entirety on 5 November 1882, Má vlast is an immense and rousing musical work - comprising six symphonic poems that were composed between 1874 and 1879. It has gained huge international appeal over the last hundred years and since 1902 when the Czech orchestra engaged in a residency in London between May and June of that year. And, rightly so.

As a composer, Smetana has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. On the international scene he is best known for his opera The Bartered Bride and for this symphonic cycle that is Má vlast.

The latter portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. Containing the famous symphonic poem ‘Vltava’, it also popularly known by its German name ‘Die Moldau’ and is the most popular of Má vlast’s movements. This evokes the course of the major Czech river, which first flows from its source through a huge part of Bohemia, from its source as two rivulets, then past a woodland hunt, a peasants’ wedding and subsequently mermaids in the moonlight. If you had not previously been to the Czech and Slovak lands, it would surely transport there - in spirit at least.

Ranked among the best in the world for its particular sound, the orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum in Prague, a neo-renaissance style building opened back in 1885 and situated on the bank of the Vltava. The ensemble has won a host of awards - ten Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros no less, five Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie française and several Cannes Classical Awards. They were was also nominated for Grammy Awards in 2005.

Bychkov, referring to the "tragedy of the Ukraine", informed the audience that the orchestra would play the national anthem of the Ukraine prior to Má vlast. He remarked that iconic music as contained in Ma Vlast “...bring us even closer to recognising that everyone has roots in lands that brought us into the world.” Furthermore, he was: "...Certain that the vibrations [of the music] - the intensity - and in our hearts will reach them [in Ukraine]."

His conducting was something to behold with subtle hand and baton movements; he could be deft when it was required coaxing the players to up the tempo or slow it down. At times he would almost literally reach for sky with his baton pointing in a perpendicular direction. By the end and just before he took three bows, one could see how just much effort he had exerted in leading the orchestra as he wiped his forehead. 

At times he would almost become animated during certain musical sections, all designed to bring the best out of the players - across the thirty odd violinists to the eight double bass players, wood wind instruments, as well two harp players and timpani. This is a well-oiled orchestra that is in total sync. 

On the sidelines of the main event, Bychkov remarked that the Czech Philharmonic was "a unique ensemble" that dates back some 126 years. He added in respect to the Smetana's symphony: "Má vlast resonates with everyone and corresponds to what we feel and think. You couldn't find a more worthy [orchestra] of your support. And, I guess I am the biggest beneficiary. As well as the ensemble's players all having good character, they possess exceptional musical talent. Keep supporting." 

Following up on Má vlast, on the second day of their Barbican residency, the orchestra performed the mighty and triumphant Glagolitic Mass by Leoš Janáček, another leading force in Czech classical music, along with Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No.8, composed in 1896 on him being elected to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts in Prague. It was infact Dvořák who had christened the orchestra at it very beginning. The City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus lent their vocal pipes to Janáček's work, which was first performed in Brno in 1927. It represents one of the most important musical religious works of the twentieth century. Bravo all round.

Photo by Petr Kadlec.

For more information on the Czech Philharmonic see: https://www.ceskafilharmonie.cz/en/