The final concert of this year’s Concertino Praga in the Keyboard and String instruments category offers a richly varied programme, both in the choice of solo instruments and in musical style. The piano is represented by one of the most popular works by the quintessential French Romantic Camille Saint-Saëns—his Piano Concerto in G Minor, famously championed by one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, Arthur Rubinstein. The violin takes centre stage in one of the most demanding concertos ever written for the instrument, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, whose solo part requires not only exceptional technical mastery but also a deep understanding of the composer’s emotional intensity. Édouard Lalo’s Cello Concerto is heard less frequently in concert, but this highly individual work, infused with Spanish colour, remains a favourite among many renowned soloists. The concert concludes with the unique sound of the accordion in the only piece on the programme from the 20th century—Vladislav Zolotaryov’s Concert Symphony No. 1. This striking finale promises to bring a memorable close to a musically diverse evening.

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

Beginning in 2020, he became the Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra. From 2013–2018 he was Chief Conductor of the Plzeň Philharmonic, from 2014–2018 he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra in Prague and from 2018–2021 he has been Chief Conductor of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic.

In 2018 Tomáš Brauner toured with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in Munich (Rachmaninoff: Piano Concert No. 2 & No. 3) and in Poznań (Smetana: My Country). In 2022 he performer with Prague Symphony Orchestra in Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, in 2023 in Wiesbaden and Dresden. In the 2023/2024 season, he and FOK will tour to Austria, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Tomáš Brauner works regularly with leading symphony orchestras and opera houses including the Czech Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Münchner Symphoniker, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Slovak Philharmonic, Philharmonie Sudwestfalen, National Radio Orchestra Romania, Moscow Radio State Orchestra, Athens Orchestra of Colours, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, and many more.

Tomáš Brauner began his opera conducting career at the J.K. Tyl Theatre in Plzeň. He made his debut at the Prague State Opera in 2008 with a performance of Verdi’s Othello. In the National Theater in Prague, he conducts Verdi’s La Traviata. He has conducted Janáček’s Jenůfa at the prestigious Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. In 2019 he had new productions at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava with Hoffman’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann.

Tomáš Brauner also receives regular invitations to perform at major international festivals such as Prague Spring, Bad Kissingen, and the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch Partenkirchen. His recording of the complete cello works by Bohuslav Martinů for the Dabringhaus und Grimm label won Classic Prague Awards 2017. He recorded with Prague Symphony Orchestra Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances and Rachmaninoff’s complete piano concertos with Lukáš Vondráček. Tomáš Brauner was born in Prague in 1978. After graduating in conducting from the Prague Academy of Performing Arts in 2005 he undertook a study attachment at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. Five years later he was a prizewinner at the Dimitris Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in Athens.

source: Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu

Matvejs Fokins is a young pianist with a deep and personal relationship with classical music. He began playing the piano when he was four. He studies at the Emils Darzins Music School in Riga under the tutelage of Ilza Treije. He has also enhanced his education with participation at masterclasses and private lessons with renowned professors such as Mira Marčenko, Vsevolod Dvorkin, Taťjana Pikayzen and Evgenia Pelyavina. He has participated in a number of international competitions, including the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Vilnius (2020), an international classical music competition in Jūrmala (2020) and an international competition in Tallinn (2022). All of them have brought first prizes and special mentions for performance. He is also a laureate and finalist in music competitions such as Merci, Maestro! in Brussels and the Orbetello Piano Competition in Tuscany. His favourite composers include Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninov. He frequently spends his free time meditating, reading books, on walks, watching films and listening to music.

Darin Lambrev was born into an artistic family in Sofia in 2010. He began playing the piano and the violoncello at the age of five. He has been studying at the Lubomir Pipkov National Music School in Sofia since 2015, where the violoncello has since become his main instrument; he still plays the piano as his second instrument. He started to perform as a soloist with various orchestras at the age of eleven. He has been studying under Professor Romain Garioud at the Darmstadt Music Academy since October 2023. He is a laureate from many competitions, including the first prize from the International Music Competition in Grunewald and the first prize at the France Music competition in 2024. He also received the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation Prize in the same year at Concertino Praga. In 2023, he received the first prize at the Princess Margaret of Hesse Competition. Darin Lambrev has participated in masterclasses in Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland and cooperated with renowned professors such as Troels Svane, Andrei Ionita, Peter Somodari, Lazslo Fenyo, Denis Severin, Razvan Suma and Romain Garioud.

Yeonah Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 2014. She started playing the violin when she was four and has studied at the Seoul Central Conservatory under Sunny Lee since she was five. Yeonah first performed as a soloist with a chamber orchestra at the age of six and since then she has received the highest awards at multiple national competitions. In 2022, she was selected at the age of eight as the youngest ever participant in the Kumho Prodigy try-outs. One year later, she received the second prize at the Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition in Belgium and second place and the audience prize at the Piccolo Violino Magico Competition in Italy. In September 2023, she became the youngest ever participant to receive the first prize, the audience prize and the young jury prize at the International Mozart Competition in Zhuhai, China. In April 2024, she debuted at the Kumho Prodigy con cert. She has performed with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra since March 2025 and she will soon perform with the Seoul Philharmonic.

Viktor Stocker has been playing the accordion since he was six and he has been studying at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava since September 2024. He is a laureate from more than fifty national and international music competitions. His successes include first place finishes at international accordion competitions in Vienna, Vilnius, Przemysl, Poprad or Pula, the title of the absolute winner at the international Bach competition for accordion held in Opole, Poland or first place at the Vivo International Music Competition in New York. In 2022, he received the first prize and a special award for the performance of his own composition at the German Jugend musiziert competition. He has performed as a soloist at the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the European Parliament, the Dvořák Prague and Hudba Znojmo festivals or in concerts broadcast on Czech Television. In addition to playing the accordion, Viktor is also involved in composing. He is a four-time laureate of the German Jugend komponiert competition and holds awards from composition competitions in Luxemburg, France and the USA.

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.