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This cycle of Mahler’s symphonies is not only the result of several years in the life of the Czech Philharmonic — countless rehearsals and performances shared with our Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov — but also the natural culmination of this orchestra’s long and remarkable history. Mahler’s music has been at the heart of the Czech Philharmonic’s story from the very beginning: from the world premiere of his Seventh Symphony on 19 September 1908 in Prague, performed together with members of the New German Theatre under the composer’s own baton, through the unforgettable interpretations of Václav Talich and Karel Ančerl, the complete recording made by Václav Neumann in the 1970s and 1980s, to the many Czech and international performances of Mahler conducted by Semyon Bychkov in recent years.

For generations, the musicians of the Czech Philharmonic have carried Mahler’s music in their veins — just as they have the music of Dvořák and Smetana. Gustav Mahler wrote about the world we belong to, a world shaped by the creativity and spirit of those who came before us. We are deeply grateful that our shared journey through Mahler’s universe can now reach your ears and hearts, and we hope it speaks to you as profoundly as it moves us every time we perform it live.

With sincere respect,
David Mareček
CEO of the Czech Philharmonic

Everyone who loves Mahler’s music knows why, even if not always able to explain it. They risk dying of an overdose, but don’t mind. They are right.

Why has Mahler’s music become so relevant today that we keep on trying to convincingly re-create it, keep on listening to it and, keep on rediscovering what has always been there but eluded us, as it eluded most of its early listeners? For me, the answer lies in Time: Time to have lived individually and collectively as a human society. A society that needed the 20th century (and to this day) with all its creations and all its destructions to recognize the extent to which we are all part of a larger Universe, the universe that Mahler uniquely and prophetically created in each of his works.

The prophets are always there early, ahead of their time.

Semyon Bychkov
Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov, conductor