When it clicks, it’s like flying, says new Chief Conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra

Elias Grandy, currently with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra in Japan, has been named the new Chief Conductor of the prestigious Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He will take up the post next year, leading the Orchestra into its 100th anniversary season.

The German-Japanese conductor brings extensive international experience, having worked with orchestras around the world. Since 2025, Elias Grandy has served as Chief Conductor of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra in Japan, following eight seasons as Music Director of the Theater and Orchester Heidelberg in Germany. Born in Munich, he initially studied cello, music theory, and chamber music before turning his focus to conducting.

Petr Popelka and Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra|Photo: Vojtěch Brtnický, Czech Radio

Grandy will succeed Petr Popelka, who has led the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2022, and promised to build on his predecessor’s legacy. He has signed a four-year contract to lead the Orchestra that will celebrate its 100th anniversary season in 2026.

Radio Prague International spoke to him about Czech music and the experience of conducting.

Is there anything that sets the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra apart? Any surprises you encountered when you first worked with them?

“If any surprises, only good surprises. Any very good orchestra in the world has a very specific personality and a way of playing, something that they bring to the table. And here, what I loved from the first moment is their musicianship and this ability to really make music and to aim for making music, too. It's really a wonderful honour and privilege to step into this tradition, and to learn and explore this incredible heritage of music making here in the Czech Republic with such an established and wonderful orchestra.”

Elias Grandy|Photo: Matěj Komár, Czech Radio/SOČR

You mentioned Czech music heritage. Is there any conductor, composer or composition that speaks to you in particular?

“Yes. I mean, the orchestra regularly plays the main Czech composers, such as Dvořák and Smetana, but also Janáček and Martinů. Additionally, I also want to explore the Terezín Composers. Tragically, they are better known today as the Terezin Composers. But it often gets forgotten that they are actually Prague composers - Erwin Schulhoff, Viktor Ullmann, Pavel Haas, or Gideon Klein. They were all linked around Alexander Zemlinsky, when he was the music director at the German National Theatre here in Prague. They exchanged ideas and were a very close composer circle. So, this is something that I would like to explore with the orchestra.

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We don't even have to talk about the great tradition of Czech conductors - there's such an incredible heritage here and it is really just a privilege and an honour to be A part of it.”

Most of us will never get to conduct an orchestra. What does it feel like?

“If it works well, it's fantastic. If it doesn't work well, it's the worst. I think that in the end, it's not so different to any other job where you stand in front of people and you lead them to do something. Teachers do it every day in front of their classes. People in corporate jobs do it every day in team meetings. It all comes down to leadership and to developing, over time, the skills needed for leadership.

Ondrej Lenárd|Photo: Petr Horník, SOČR

I believe very much that it depends on mutual respect. Listening is an important part of it, which in music comes naturally. You listen to them and they listen to you. And in this exchange, things happen. It is also important to be decisive in the right moment and to own up to your decisions and take on responsibility. I see it as a big responsibility towards the composer and the orchestra.

And the actual feeling of conducting during a concert?

“When it clicks, it's a bit like flying, like letting go. You can allow yourself to dive into something. And then suddenly you're just up in the air and you can feel that everyone in the room - the people on the stage, but most importantly also the audience - are flying together and you go together on this journey that the composer has gifted us.