“I’m a passionate music lover,” says Jakub Hrůša in RPI's exclusive interview
Jakub Hrůša was announced as the new chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. When he steps up to lead the top Czech orchestra, he’ll be just 47 years old—significantly younger than his recent predecessors. Hrůša brings not only youth, but deep roots in Czech music and global acclaim.
Jakub Hrůša is a man in motion—between cities, cultures, and symphonies. But at the heart of this movement lies a constant: music not only as a profession, but as a vocation, identity, and purpose.
“I’m a passionate music lover,” he says simply, speaking exclusively for Radio Prague International. “And my vocation is to share that passion with the public and spark in them the same enthusiasm I feel for music.” That spark has carried Hrůša from his native Brno to podiums across Europe. Now in his early forties, he holds top posts in Bamberg and London, and, in 2028, will take up the role of Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic—an ensemble he has admired since his teenage years.
Despite the jet-setting résumé, Hrůša remains unmistakably Czech. “My wife and I are both Czech; we speak Czech to each other always,” he says. “Both my children were born in Prague.” For the past eight years, though, the family has lived in London. “That’s where the kids go to school. It’s also where I have one of my main jobs—in terms of responsibility and importance, probably the most significant one.”
Yet they return to Czechia often. Brno, where both he and his wife grew up, remains a spiritual anchor for them. “We try to stay connected with everyone, and the children have a very beautiful relationship with the Czech Republic.” For Hrůša himself, conducting in Brno has a deeply emotional quality. “When you come back as an adult and a public figure to the people who knew you as a child—and who helped you become who you are—it comes with a sense of responsibility and a lot of joy.”
His musical journey didn’t begin in a conservatory or orchestra hall, but in a home where art mattered. “My family is not professionally musical,” he explains. “But art was always present and respected in our home. From a very early age, I showed a natural inclination toward music. That was clear, and my parents supported and cultivated that in me.”
Still, for much of his youth, Hrůša imagined a different path. “I didn’t think back then that it would be my profession,” he says. “Probably something in the humanities, because I was always more drawn to languages, history, and literature.” But by his late teens, the idea of leaving music behind was unbearable. “I couldn’t imagine having some regular job and keeping music just as a hobby. For me, it wasn’t enough. I knew I needed music to be central.”
That realization led him to the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. It also led him to an enduring belief that while technical skill matters, the essence of conducting lies in something deeper: “You’re working with highly skilled musicians and guiding them. You need to understand the music deeply, of course… but you don’t have to play every instrument yourself.”
What Hrůša does have, and what he nurtures with rare discipline, is an ability to inspire. That quality, he says, was modeled for him by his most influential teacher and mentor, the late Jiří Bělohlávek. “He was a fantastic conductor, of course—but he also had this rare and beautiful combination of mind and heart. He was an excellent technician… but what stood out even more was his generosity and his sheer enthusiasm.”
Bělohlávek wasn’t interested in ego or prestige. “He didn’t do that with everyone,” Hrůša notes. “But if you showed genuine interest, hard work, and talent, he went beyond the formal curriculum and offered something deeper, more human.”
That balance of discipline and encouragement has shaped Hrůša’s own approach to leadership. “There are two ways of pointing out flaws: one is to act like a master problem-finder… the other is to acknowledge flaws and address them positively. That’s what Jiří did. He could be very clear and direct, and I found that liberating.”
Today, Hrůša divides his life among several cities. “Sometimes it drives me crazy—where do I keep my things? My clothes, my books, my scores, my favorite pieces of furniture?” he laughs. “But I try not to burn bridges. I want to maintain a beautiful relationship with all these places. There’s a toll, of course—sometimes I feel like I’m nowhere and everywhere at once.”
In that tension between roots and rhythm, past and present, home and the wider world, Jakub Hrůša has found not confusion, but clarity. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to succeed in something I wish for everyone,” he says. “To do as your life’s job exactly what you love most.”
And then, with the poise of a man who knows exactly where he’s headed—even if it’s to three places at once—he adds: “Everything has kept getting better. I’m truly happy about it all.”
