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| Who | Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava (CZ) Francesco Lecce-Chong (USA) conductor Boris Giltburg (IL) piano |
| Where | Valtice Castle Riding Hall |
| Program | Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990): Candide, overture George Gershwin (1898–1937): Rhapsody in Blue — intermission — Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story I. Prologue II. Somewhere III. Scherzo IV. Mambo V. Cha cha VI. Meeting scene VII. Cool VIII. Rumble IX. Finale Leonard Bernstein: Candide Suite, arr. John Harmon Dress code: Creative Black Tie |
The orchestra is a sought-after and successful ensemble, with which world-class conductors regularly collaborate and with which prominent soloists have performed – whether in Ostrava or on tour. From 2020 to 2024, Vassily Sinaisky was chief conductor and artistic director, being replaced by, Daniel Raiskin from 2026 onwards. Currently, Raiskin is principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 2024.
The orchestra’s reputation is ensured mainly by its hundred first-class musicians, not only from the Czech Republic but also from abroad. The orchestra performs over fifty concerts a year for its home audience and is regularly invited to perform at festivals and tours at home and abroad.
It goes without surprise that repertoire includes works by Leoš Janáček, whose name the orchestra proudly bears, as well as Antonín Dvořák and other Czech composers. Recordings of the orchestra have been released on many prestigious record labels, with the recent recording of “Phidylé” for Supraphon even winning a BBC Music Magazine Award. The orchestra has recorded music for several films and cooperates with popular Czech musicians, but it also devotes itself to educational cycles and young musicians and conductors, which is also facilitated by participation in the International Orchestral Academy project.
In 2022, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava temporarily left its homeplace, the House of Culture in Ostrava, which is now closed due to extensive reconstruction. After the reconstruction, it will include a long-awaited world-class concert hall designed by Steven Holl Architects from New York in collaboration with Architecture Acts studio from Prague.
American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong has earned respect on the orchestral world for his award-winning performances, innovative projects and passionate advocacy for the arts. Before the age of 30, he was appointed music director of two American orchestras – Eugene Symphony and Santa Rosa Symphony.
Francesco Lecce-Chong also regularly performs with other leading American orchestras, collaborating with star soloists and making his European debut in 2023.
Under his leadership, orchestras are making a strong commitment to the future of the symphonic arts through new compositions, community initiatives and music education. One of his first major projects was the First Symphony Project, which commissioned works from a new generation of major composers, bringing over a dozen new works to the orchestral repertoire by composers such as Pulitzer Prize-winning Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Grammy-winning Michael Daugherty, Conrad Tao, Clarice Assad and Gabriella Smith. During the recent pandemic, Santa Rosa Symphony aired on a local PBS station, and the programme included more than 20 works by living composers.
Lecce-Chong is also passionate about the operatic repertoire. Already at the age of 24, he conducted Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos in New York. Recently, he has conducted Eugene Symphony in a semi-scenic performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Iseult. Furthermore, he did not only conduct Mozart’s Zauberflöte with Santa Rosa Symphony, but he also directed the performance while collaborating with the local art school on the interdisciplinary concept of this opera.
Worldwide, Boris Giltburg is recognized as a deeply sensitive, perceptive and compelling performer. Critics have praised his “singing line, variety of bowing and a wide dynamic range capable of huge bursts of energy” (The Washington Post) as well as his passionate, narrative-driven approach to performance.
Giltburg regularly performs in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and collaborates with many major orchestras. He is widely recognised as one of the leading interpreters of Rachmaninoff: “His originality comes from a combination of heart and mind, backed by impeccable technique and a deep love for one of the greatest composers and pianists of the 20th century.” (Gramophone). To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff in 2023, he has released the final album of his award-winning Rachmaninoff concerto cycle. In recent years, Giltburg has explored other major composers in depth, including Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven, whose complete cycle of 32 piano sonatas he performed in one season at Wigmore Hall and has also recorded to celebrate the composer’s anniversary (2020).
Since 2015, Giltburg has been working exclusively with the Naxos label and has won numerous awards for his recordings. He has long collaborated with the Pavel Haas Quartet and their joint recordings of the Dvořák and Brahms piano quintets were critically acclaimed by the professional community.
Giltburg feels a strong need to reach out to audiences beyond the concert hall. He runs the Classical Music for All blog, aimed at the general public, and contributes articles to periodicals such as Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, The Times and Fono Forum.
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