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Petr Popelka conducts reopening celebrations at Theater an der Wien

Following two and a half years of extensive refurbishment, the historic Theater an der Wien marks its reopening this weekend with a celebration concert conducted by Petr Popelka. Popelka will lead the Wiener Symphoniker, where he has recently opened his first season as Chief Conductor, and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. The piano soloist will be Mao Fujita.

A precursor to the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven intended the Choral Fantasy to be the heart of a benefit concert he staged to raise money to fund his composing. Beethoven lived at the Theatre an der Wien for a short time, during which period he worked on such pieces as Fidelio, and the Choral Fantasy’s premiere performance was given at the theatre. The programme will be completed with the overture to Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, a delightful example of the operetta format, which has played such an important role in the theatre’s history.

“Schikaneder, Beethoven, Offenbach, Nestroy, Strauss, Lehár and Marie Geistinger are just a few of the intellectual giants who worked at the Theater an der Wien and who still sit within the old walls of this former Viennese suburban theater. The preservation of this cultural monument is therefore an investment in the values ​​on which the liberal arts and the art of freedom are founded. As artistic director of the Theater an der Wien, I am passionate about artistically uniting the past and the future in the present in such a way that there is no doubt about the importance of the renovation of the building ,” says Stefan Herheim, artistic director of the Theater an der Wien.

Petr Popelka opens 2024/25 season as Chief Conductor of Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

On 30 September, Petr Popelka returns to his home country Czechia to conduct the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, to conduct the opening concert of their 2024/25 season. Petr will mark the Year of Czech Music 2024 with Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, for which he will be joined by soloist Isabelle Faust. The programme will also comprise Shostakovich’s towering Symphony No. 5, as well as the world premiere of a new symphonic poem by another Czech composer, Jan Klusák.

Shostakovich wrote his Fifth Symphony in response to Stalin’s famously damning Pravda article denouncing the composer, and subtitled it “a Soviet artist’s reply to just criticism”. Dvořák also suffered criticism of his Violin Concerto, with the intended soloist and dedicatee Joseph Joachim never performing it.

This autumn, Petr’s concerts with the orchestra will include the culmination of their cycle of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde with the climactic third act, a celebration of Bohuslav Martinů with Josef Špaček, and a choral extravaganza for Advent, featuring massed choirs of 1,000 voices.

September marks opening of busy 2024/25 season for Petr Popelka

Following a successful 2023/24 season, Petr Popelka begins his long-awaited inaugural year as Chief Conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker this month. Popelka describes his hopes for the organisation: “For me, the Wiener Symphoniker are the musical embodiment of Vienna, an orchestra that captures and expresses the spirit of the city, an ensemble with a long-standing tradition. When people ask me how I imagine my journey with the Wiener Symphoniker, I think of my young son: Which orchestra would we like to hand over to the next generation? How does a modern orchestra work, in which we play music on an equal footing? How can we nurture and strengthen the virtues of the Wiener Symphoniker together?”

His first concert at the Musikverein comprises Schoenberg’s monumental Gurre-Lieder, a piece close to Popelka’s heart, which has described as “the greatest gift” to conduct. What makes this concert extra special is that it takes place on the 150th anniversary of the composer at the world premiere venue.

The following week, he leads the orchestra in a programme at Vienna’s Konzerthaus. They will perform Bela Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. Popelka: “When I open a score by Bartók, it’s always a source of inspiration for me. The special thing is that he composes in a highly complex way, but appeals to everyone.” The programme is completed with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, performed by exceptional Russian pianist Anna Vinnitskaya. This programme will then embark on a tour to Slovakia and Italy. Popelka and the Wiener Symphonia will tour Europe again later in the season, taking in Prague, Barcelona, Madrid, and Tenerife with a programme of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Strauss, and to Asia next year. In April they will also launch their new three-day Easter Festival “Primavera da Vienna” in Trieste, Italy.

Popelka retains his relationship as guest conductor with other top orchestras across Europe, and you can see him conduct televised concerts throughout the year. He will lead the Czech Philharmonic in their annual “Velvet Revolution” which celebrates Czech composers, joining forces with violinist Josef Špaček and violist Antoine Tamestit for a programme of Smetana, Suk, Martinů and Janáček. He will also join the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic for the Nobel Prize concert, held annually to honour the year’s Nobel Prize laureates. It is attended by members of the Swedish Royal family, Nobel Prize laureates and guests, and has become a highlight of the Nobel Prize calendar. Throughout the season, Popelka will return as a guest conductor to the Gewandhausorchester, Staatskapelle Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bamberg Symphony, and many more. He will make his debut with NHK Symphonie Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris, as well as the Tonhalleorchester Zürich.

Another highlight of the season will be a run of Wagner’s epic music drama Tristan and Isolde with Deutsche Oper Berlin. Finally, Popelka returns to his homeland throughout the year to work with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and to fulfil his role as 2024/25 curator of the Czech Chamber Music Society, where he will appear as composer, double bass player and pianist.

Petr Popelka makes Bregenzer Festspiele debut

On 5 August, Petr Popelka makes his debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, leading the Wiener Symphoniker in a programme of Weber, Schumann and Larcher.

The centrepiece of the programme is Schumann’s Third Symphony, the last he composed. The cheerful piece is a celebration of the Rheinland, and its melodies and rhythms are exuberantly inventive. Popelka’s interpretations have been praised as “captivating” by Salzburger Nachrichten.

The orchestra will be joined by Prague Philharmonic Choir for the Austrian premiere of Thomas Larcher’s Love and the Fever. The piece is based on eight poems by the Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, which explore the death of his sister to tuberculosis (also the cause of his own untimely death) alongside a passion for the rough landscapes of Northern Japan. Larcher notes: “Put down in small notebooks as he wandered the woods, his poems remain almost unknown outside of his home country. I discovered the English translation several years ago and was drawn to his meditations on mortality, mirrored in nature.”

Petr Popelka makes debut conducting Cleveland Orchestra

This week Petr Popelka joins the Cleveland Orchestra for the first time, leading them in a thrilling programme of Franck, Korngold and Dvořák.

Dvořák described his Sixth Symphony in 1880 as “a work capable of great things”, and indeed it was the piece to bring him international fame and success. A lyrical work that invokes the Bohemian countryside, the piece marked a new stylistic sophistication for the composer. Popelka is a staunch advocate of Czech music, and in particular the works of Dvořák.

The orchestra will be joined by James Ehnes for Korngold’s theatrical Violin Concerto, which draws inspiration from the composer’s many film scores, and the programme is completed by Franck’s dramatic tone poem Le Chausseur maudit, a piece which revels in the full palette of the Romantic orchestra and the era’s penchant for supernatural themes.

Watch Petr conduct Frankfurt’s hr-Sinfonieorchester in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9:

Petr Popelka leads Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on tour to Japan

This week, Petr Popelka embarks on a 10-day long tour to Japan with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. Performing six concerts in five cities over the course of the tour, the orchestra will play Smetana’s Ma vlast and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“New World”). Throughout the tour, they will be joined by cellist Haruma Sato and violinist Fiumiaki Miura to play the solo in Dvořák’s famous Cello and Violin Concertos.

Popelka commemorates his Czech countrymen in this programme, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Smetana’s birth in 1824, as well as possibly the most famous Bohemian symphony. The tour will travel to Osaka, Fukuoka, Takasaki, Tokyo and Nagoya, between 6 – 14 July.

Watch Petr conduct Frankfurt’s hr-Sinfonieorchester in Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9:

Smetana’s 200th anniversary: Má vlast at the Rudolfinum

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana, this week Petr Popelka presented a complete cycle of the composer’s epic symphonic tone poem Má vlast (My Fatherland) with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOČR).

The poignancy of Má vlast is rooted in its symbolisation of the Czech National Revival, a time when the Czech people sought to reassert their cultural, political, and linguistic identity after a long period of stagnation. In the 20th century, the work served as a significant symbol of hope and resilience during challenging times and major political turning points.

Petr Popelka tours Wiener Symphoniker across Europe

In April 2024, Chief Conductor Designate Petr Popelka toured the Wiener Symphoniker with cellist Gaultier Capuçon across Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.  Starting with the orchestra’s home at the Wiener Musikverein, the tour continued to Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Saarbrücken, Eindhoven, Antwerp, and Munich. The programme featured Dvořák’s Cello Concerto alongside Richard Strauss’ Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche.

© Amar Mehmedinovic

Critics were resoundingly positive in their response to Petr and the orchestra:

Wiener Symphoniker founds new Spring festival in Trieste

The Wiener Symphoniker and Chief Conductor Designate Petr Popelka have announced a new three-day Spring festival to replace their annual televised concert. Taking place in Trieste between 11-13 April 2025, ‘Primavera da Vienna’ will revitalise the cultural exchange between Italy and Austria. The celebrated orchestra has long had a history with the region, having played nine concerts in Trieste since 1902.

The newly-founded festival will involve three concerts, all conducted by Popelka. With programmes of operatic and orchestral favourites, including music by Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Mahler, Strauss, Puccini and Tchaikovsky, the orchestra will be joined by a starry roster of soloists.

Petr Popelka leads the Luxembourg Philharmonic

On 17 May Petr Popelka heads to Luxembourg for a concert with the Luxembourg Philharmonic and soloist Leonidas Kavakos. They will perform two 20^th-century works: Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony.

Often heard as a musical ‘farewell’ to a Hungary rapidly aligning itself to Nazi Germany, Bartók wrote his Second Violin Concerto shortly before emigrating to the USA in 1940. The piece takes inspiration both from Hungarian folk music, as well as the cerebral world of twelve-tone technique, and encompasses a huge emotional range. Meanwhile, Strauss’ Alpine Symphony continues the Central European flavour, depicting a single day climbing in the Alps, from sunrise to sunset.

Popelka said of the programme: ” When I open a Bartók score, it’s always a source of inspiration for me.”

[Original: „Wenn ich eine Partitur von Bartók aufschlage, ist das für mich immer Quell der Inspiration.“]