A powerful and highly individual temperament, Janáček united in his work the national-romantic traditions with the achievements of a modern musical language whose richness and freshness make him the dominant figure of Czech music at the beginning of the 20th century. Written in 1926, two years before the composer’s death, the Sinfonietta breathes a remarkable freshness and youthful spirit for a man of seventy-two; it has also remained his most popular symphonic work. This inspired, bubbling composition, with its indomitable freedom of tone and rhythm, places great demands on the brass section. Karel Ančerl’s version stands at the top of the discography. One immediately recognizes his incomparable sense of dramatic staging, natural rhythm, and his way of serving Janáček’s prodigious vitality while maintaining a perfect balance.

PENTATONE’S release of the Czech Philharmonic’s complete Mahler Cycle under Bychkov brings together one of Europe’s most historically resonant orchestras with a conductor internationally recognised for his structural command and interpretive integrity.

The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphonies 7, 8 and 9, coupled with the composer’s concert overtures In Nature’s Realm, Carnival and Othello. The album is part of the 2024 Year of Czech Music. Dvořák’s final three symphonies show him at the peak of his compositional power and international fame, and exhibit an astonishing range of style and expression. The three concert overtures were initially conceived as the Nature, Life and Love trilogy, but eventually published separately. They share Dvořák’s audible love for nature and fascination for human life and passion. Presenting this core Czech repertoire allows the orchestra and maestro to once more demonstrate their congenial collaboration and full command of Dvořák’s abundant sound world.

The Czech Philharmonic and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the composer’s First Symphony, one of the most evocative and colourful symphonic debuts in the history of the genre. Mahler once famously said that “a symphony should be like the world, it should encompass everything.” In his First Symphony, he creates just such a world, filled with animal sounds, hunting horns, rural dances, klezmer bands and allusions to his own songs and folk song melodies such as Frère Jacques.

A celebration of Bohemian spirit and rhythmic brilliance, Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances come to life in a vibrant new recording by the Czech Philharmonic, led by the masterful Sir Simon Rattle. These vivid orchestral gems, full of rhythmic vitality, folkloric color, and lyrical charm, are central to Dvořák’s legacy and pivotal in defining a Czech national sound. Composed at a turning point in the composer’s career, the Slavonic Dances radiate with joy, invention, and national character—qualities that captivated audiences across Europe and beyond. As Principal Guest Conductor: Rafael Kubelík Chair, Sir Simon Rattle has already graced the label alongside the orchestra and Magdalena Kožená with Czech Songs (2024) and Folk Songs (2023).

Magdalena Kožená presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers stretched far wider. For example, Bohuslav Martinů’s Nipponari were inspired by Japanese culture, whereas his folksy Songs on One Page obtain a deeper meaning knowing that he wrote them in the US, having fled the Nazi threat.

Václav Neumann was one of the most distinguished conductors of the so-called Eastern Bloc. The long-serving chief conductor of the legendary Czech Philharmonic was principally regarded as an accomplished advocate of the music of his homeland, which he interpreted with a strong sense of form, love of detail, and a vocal espressivo, eschewing any sentimentality. This is also evident in these live recordings made in Lucerne, now released for the first time.

The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Bedřich Smetana’s masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland). The album celebrates both the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth and, the start of 2024’s Year of Czech Music which has been celebrated every ten years since Smetana’s 100th anniversary in 1924. Má vlast (1874-1878) is a potent symbol of the Czech Republic’s turbulent political history and has played an important role in the Czech national movement.