Czech Philharmonic opens season on Friday without chief conductor

The Czech Philharmonic kicks off its 2008-2009 season on Friday night with a recital of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 2. It will be conducted at Prague’s Rudolfinum by one of a host of guest conductors filling in while the orchestra waits for the renowned Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal, who takes over in a year’s time. But the philharmonic’s director, Václav Riedlbauch, doesn’t seem too worried about the current lack of a permanent lead. I met him before the grand performance and asked firstly why he’d chosen Mahler for the opening concert:

“Manfred Honeck is the principle guest conductor, he is Austrian, but he has collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic regularly, not only in Prague but also abroad. He was thinking about becoming the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic after Zdeněk Mácal, but then he got a fantastic offer from the Pittsburgh Philharmonic in the USA. He already conducted Mahler’s first symphony with the Czech Philharmonic in January this year, and when we discussed what his new position here should be, he begged me to open the season with Mahler’s second symphony here. I consented because it is fantastic- the music. It’s a big piece, with choirs, with solos etc. And I’m sure it will be extraordinary this evening with him.”

What else is planned for this season? Tonight is the big opening concert, but what else can we expect into 2009?

“It is a very atypical season, because without a chief conductor, there has been a big space to invite other guest conductors. Right now there are 24 guest conductors planned for this season. It never happened in the past, and it will never take place again, I’m sure. And I’m glad that this is happening, because there are several guest conductors coming who are very close to the orchestra. Jiří Bělohlavek is coming for instance, Zdeněk Mácal is continuing his work with the orchestra, Jiří Kout, the chief conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra will be conducting. There will also be big stars such as Herbert Blomstedt, who is a big conductor and very famous around the world, and of course Eliahu Inbal is coming for two weeks in April 2009, and that was organized before he was announced as the orchestra’s new chief conductor for the 2009-2010 season.”

There is no one chief conductor, and there has been talk that this could damage the orchestra, do you agree that this could be to the philharmonic’s detriment?

“I’m not so nervous about that because you can’t damage all of the quality we have in one season alone. Maybe over a longer period, a lack of chief conductor – the orchestra’s main artistic figure - could be dangerous. But as I said, Eliahu Inbal will be coming to work with the orchestra very soon, first as a guest conductor and then as the chief conductor. Manfred Honeck will also be playing a major role. And Zdeněk Mácal who has been working with the orchestra for the past five years will continue to do so this season, so I am not so worried about it.”