A good recording reveals a great deal about a soloist, but only a live performance can tell us everything. Therefore, the winner of the Concertino Praga competition will be decided by a live performance at the Rudolfinum. Only the immediacy of live performances with the accompaniment of a reliable orchestra and the presence of an attentive audience can show all that his hidden within the finalists. Their strengths will be fully revealed, and there is no chance to go back and fix mistakes. The combination of a friendly environment with healthy competition gives Concertino Praga a special atmosphere.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is a leading contemporary Czech orchestra. Since the 2022/2023 season, it has been led by chief conductor and artistic director Petr Popelka. Robert Jindra has served as principal guest conductor since September 2022.

In the 2025/2026 concert season, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra welcomes a number of outstanding musicians, including violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Marc Bouchkov, and conductors Jonathan Nott, Tomáš Hanus, Erina Yashima and Andris Poga. Audiences can also look forward to performances by pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Isata Kanneh-Mason, as well as singers Szilvia Vörös and Günther Groissböck. Particularly notable projects will include performances of Igor Stravinsky’s oratorio Oedipus rex under the direction of chief conductor Petr Popelka, and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony, conducted by Robert Jindra with organist Christian Schmitt as soloist. Czech musicians will also be prominently represented, led by violinist Josef Špaček, soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, cellist Tomáš Jamník, and pianists Martin Kasík and Marek Kozák.

In recent years, the orchestra has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, such as Omer Meir Wellber, Cornelius Meister, Ilan Volkov, Wayne Marshall, Ion Marin, Stephan Asbury, Alexander Liebreich, Michał Nesterowicz, Anu Tali and Jessica Cottis; Czech conductors have included e.g. Jakub Hrůša, Tomáš Netopil, Petr Altrichter and Robert Kružík.

Internationally acclaimed soloists who have appeared with the orchestra include pianists Krystian Zimerman and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; violinists Isabelle Faust, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Renaud Capuçon, Gidon Kremer and María Dueñas; cellists Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Müller-Schott, István Várdai and Steven Isserlis; trombonist Christian Lindberg; and jazz musicians Brad Mehldau and Avishai Cohen. Vocal soloists have included Asmik Grigorian, Elisabeth Teige, Olga Bezsmertna and Michael Weinius, while artists from the Czech music scene include Lukáš Vondráček, Ivo Kahánek, Jan Bartoš, Josef Špaček, Jan Mráček, Adam Plachetka, Simona Šaturová, Petr Nekoranec and Vilém Veverka.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra has a long-standing commitment to performing works by contemporary Czech composers, such as Miroslav Srnka, Ondřej Adámek, Martin Smolka, Pavel Zemek Novák, Jan Ryant Dřízal, Šimon Voseček, Jana Vöröšová, Jan Klusák, Jiří Kadeřábek, Lukáš Hurník, Zbyněk Matějů and Ondřej Štochl.

Recording is also an important part of the orchestra’s work. One of its most acclaimed projects is the album Má vlast, featuring Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic cycle. Released at the end of 2024 after three years in the making, the recording received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice award, the Diapason d’Or ARTE from the prestigious French magazine Diapason, and a nomination for the 2024 Czech Anděl Award  from the Czech Music Academy. In 2024, the orchestra further expanded its discography with a number of recordings in a wide range of musical genres. These include the album Forgotten Czech Piano Concertos, featuring works by Karel Kovařovic, Pavel Bořkovec and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Several jazz and contemporary music projects were created in collaboration with composers and performers such as Luboš Soukup (Scandinavian Impressions), Jaromír Honzák (The Blues of a String Hanging in the Wind), Michal Rataj and Oskar Török (Letters from Sounds), and Vít Křišťan (Mandala). Clarinetist Anna Paulová recorded the album Clarinet Metamorphoses with the orchestra under the direction of Tomáš Brauner, while the recording ’O sole mio with Daniel Matoušek was conducted by Jan Kučera.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra regularly performs concerts from its subscription series at the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, Smetana Hall of the Municipal House and Bethlehem Chapel, as well as at other venues including Forum Karlín and Czech Radio’s Studio 1. It is a regular guest at major festivals such as the Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Leoš Janáček International Music Festival and the Český Krumlov International Music Festival. In addition, the orchestra frequently performs abroad on stages across Europe and in Japan.

source: The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

photo © Petr Neubert

One of the most prominent Czech conductors of his generation, Marek Prášil is a Conductor of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre and made his debut at the Prague Spring Festival in 2022. In recent years, he has enjoyed growing success on international stages.

He studied conducting and clarinet at the Janáček Conservatoire and earned two master’s degrees, first in clarinet at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Ostrava University (2012), then at Brno’s Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in orchestral conducting (2017) under the internationally renowned conductor Tomáš Hanus. In 2015 he was awarded a Bayreuther Festspiele Scholarship.

From 2020 to ’23, Marek Prášil was the principal guest conductor of the South Bohemia Philharmonic. He has worked in collaboration with most Czech and Slovak orchestras, including the Prague Philharmonia, the Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava, the Pilsen Philharmonic, the Brno Philharmonic, the Moravian Philharmonic in Olomouc, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic in Zlín, the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra in Pardubice, the North Bohemia Philharmonic in Teplice, the State Philharmonic in Košice, and the Slovak Sinfonietta. He made his international debut in Switzerland with the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra. Since 2020, he has collaborated regularly with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, including a performance of Dvořák’s Te Deum and the Lithuanian premiere of Janáček’s Sinfonietta. In 2022 he made his debut with the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice and in 2023 with the Wrocław Philharmonic at the newly built National Forum of Music in Wrocław. An important milestone was his debut at the 2022 Prague Spring International Music Festival, which was received favourably by the critics. He has also guest conducted at such international music festivals as Smetana’s Litomyšl, the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival, the Peter Dvorský International Music Festival, the Saint Wenceslas Music Festival, the South Bohemian Intermezzi, Talentinum Zlín, and Złota Lira in Poland.

Marek Prášil is engaged at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, conducting performances including Smetana’s operas The Brandenburgers in Bohemia and The Devil’s Wall, Donizetti’s Maria Stuart, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Martinů’s ballet The Strangler, Strauss’s operetta Night in Venice, Lloyd Webber’s musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Sunset Boulevard, Bernstein’s West Side Story, Lévay’s Rebecca, and much more. Among the most successful productions that he has rehearsed and conducted have been the ballet Carmina Burana and the musicals Sweeney Todd, Cats, Oliver, and Edith and Marlene, the latter having been recorded in 2022 by Czech Television.

Marek Prášil has guest conducted at the State Theatre in Košice (Bellini’s La sonnambula) and at the Silesian Theatre in Opava (Verdi’s La traviata and Kálmán’s Countess Maritza). He has often taken part as an assistant conductor in opera productions abroad: the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich (Janáček’s Makropulos Affair, 2014 and Smetana’s Bartered Bride, 2018), the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff (Strauss’s Rosenkavalier, 2017), the Opéra National de Paris (Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, 2019), and the National Theatre in Prague (Don Buoso, Gianni Schicchi, 2023). In July 2015 he appeared with the musical troupe of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre at the Daegu International Music Festival in South Korea. There, the production of The Phantom of London won the festival’s main prize.

From 2007 to 2013, Marek Prášil was the conductor of the Májovák Symphonic Band, winning many awards at competitions and festivals at home and abroad (including two for the best conducting performance at international competitions in Ostrava and in Rybnik, Poland) and toured France, Italy, Austria, Norway, and Sicily. At his June 2013 farewell performance with the ensemble, he gave the Czech premiere of a complete band transcription of the cantata Carmina Burana in collaboration with the National Moravian-Silesian opera chorus and the Permoník Choral Studio.

Marek Prášil has made recordings on the German recording label Halter with the Moravian Wind Band (formerly the Central Band of the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic) and with the Thalia Award winner Hana Fialová, and with the orchestra of the operetta/musical ensemble of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, he made the first professional recording in that ensemble’s history: the CD Hana/Edith with Edith Piaf’s most famous chansons. In 2018 he made a CD recording of Martin Chodúr’s Hallelujah with the Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava, and in 2019 he recorded part of the musical Rebecca for Czech Radio. His most recent projects have been the release of a multiple CD “Covid Edition” with live recordings of concerts of the South Bohemian Philharmonic and a recording of the musical The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown for the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre.

Despite her young age, Nora Lubbadová has built a reputation as one of the most promising young piano talents in the Czech Republic. She has consistently demonstrated her extraordinary gift from early childhood to the present, as evidenced by numerous awards from prestigious competitions in her age category.

In her studies, she stands out due to a rare combination of spontaneous emotionality and stage presence, coupled with the ability to work systematically and diligently with great respect for her teachers. Throughout her artistic journey, she has performed solo not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad, including in Helsinki, Belgrade, and Kragujevac. She also gave a concert in Brussels under the patronage of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation. Since September 2024, she has been studying at the Prague Conservatory in the class of Professor Ivo Kahánek, under whose guidance she achieved outstanding results in her first semester.

Nora became a laureate of the prestigious Concertino Praga competition, where she delivered a brilliant interpretation of Grieg’s Piano Concerto at Dvořák Hall in Rudolfinum. She also made a significant impression in the Showcase competition finals, where she successfully performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in the Church of St. Simon and Jude.

Beyond competitions, she continually improves her skills under the guidance of world-class piano masters. She has attended masterclasses with Daniel Blumenthal in Brussels and Stephen Kovacevich in Lucerne. Her exceptional talent has also been recognized at a global level — among 252 young pianists from around the world, she was selected as one of 42 competitors who qualified for the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark, taking place in March 2025.

Her inclusion in the Pianos for Schools program, which supports young talents, helps her further develop professionally and provides her with the essential opportunity to regularly compete with international rivals — a crucial necessity for her future career at this level.

source: Nora Lubbadová

Anke Chen was born on New Year's Day 2011 and she commenced her music career at the age of four. Her performances of works by Scarlatti and Bach garnered the attention of listeners in just a few short months and quickly went viral on YouTube: videos of this wunderkind have garnered over five million views. She appeared on The Ellen Show twice and in Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shot in the same year, as well as on several Chinese television programs, including the Spring Festival Gala. She has already won the 3rd prize from the 15th International Volodymyr Krainev Competition for Young Pianists and the main prize from the 1st year of the Pacific Starts International Piano Competition. Anke is a resident artist with the Nanjing Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2020, she has been studying at the Institute of Musical Personalities in Nanjing, China under Dr Mutian Cui. In recent years, she has also participated in masterclasses given by Ewa Kupiec, Piotr Paleczny, Antonio Pompa-Baldi and Colin Stone

Celina Höferlin was born in 2010 and has played the piano since she was five. In 2020, she became a student at the Pre-College Mozarteum, where she studied under Andreas Weber. Her successes include 1st place finishes in various international competitions, such as the International Feurich Competition for Piano (2019), the International Grotrian Piano Competition (2020), the International Mozart Piano Competition (2021) and the International Frederic Chopin Competition in Bacău, Romania (2021). She has had 2nd place finishes in the Steinway Piano Competition Hamburg (2017), the Piano Festival Clavis Bavaria (2020), the Young Euregio Piano Award online Edition (2021), the Bechstein Piano Competition Berlin (2022) and the International Hans-von-Bülow Competition Meiningen (2023). She has performed in prestigious concert halls throughout the world, including the Gläsner Saal, Bösendorfer Saal and the Ehrbar-Saal (all in Vienna), the Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), Steinway House (Munich), Carnegie Hall, (New York) and the Berliner Philharmoniker Chamber Hall.

Zoja Syguda was born in Poland in 2009 and she had her first violin lesson at the age of eight and a half. She has received a number of awards from renowned national and international competitions, the latest of which was the first prize at the International Georg Philipp Telemann Violin Competition and also the first prize from the Dr Josef Micka International Violin Competition. Despite her young age and the pause in concerts brought about by the Covid pandemic, Zoja has already completed a substantial number of international concert activities. Her repertoire currently includes virtuosic works by Beethoven, Wieniawski, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn, Paganini, Ravel, Waxman and many other composers. This young musician regularly attends masterclasses at leading international violin schools, where she is perfecting her performance art.

The Rudolfinum is one of the most important Neo-Renaissance edifices in the Czech Republic. In its conception as a multi-purpose cultural centre it was quite unique in Europe at the time of its construction. Based on a joint design by two outstanding Czech architects, Josef Zítek and Josef Schultz, a magnificent building was erected serving for concerts, as a gallery, and as a museum. The grand opening on 7 February 1885 was attended by Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, in whose honour the structure was named. In 1896 the very first concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra took place in the Rudolfinum's main concert hall, under the baton of the composer Antonín Dvořák whose name was later bestowed on the hall.