Dvořák Prague festival opens with Filarmonica della Scala

The 19th Dvořák Prague international music festival opens at Prague’s Rudolfinum on Saturday with Filarmonica della Scala conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The programme features two of Antonín Dvořák’s best-known works, his Cello Concerto in B minor and the New World Symphony. Running until September 23, the festival will bring leading international musicians to Prague, including violinist Hilary Hahn and the Vienna Philharmonic. Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená is this year’s artist-in-residence. Other highlights include a concert performance of Dvořák’s opera The Jacobin and the Czech premiere of a new double concerto commissioned especially for the festival.