Mahler's Seventh on the 100th anniversary of its world premiere (Jihlava, live broadcast by Czech Radio 3 - Vltava)
On the day of the 100th anniversary of its world premiere, Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony is performed by the Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jiří Stárek. This happens at the opening concert of the 7th International Mahler Music Festival 2008 in Jihlava, broadcast live by Czech Radio 3 - Vltava.
Mahler's Seventh was first performed in Prague at the 1908 Jubilee Exhibition. Under the composer's baton, it was played on that occasion by the so-named Exhibition Orchestra, which was in fact the enlarged Czech Philharmonic.
Jiří Stárek completed his conducting studies at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts as a student of Václav Talich and Karel Ančerl. From 1947 he was active in the Prague Singspiel, then in the Czech Railwayworkers' Symphony Orchestra (from 1949), from 1953-68 he conducted the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (from 1964 as Chief Conductor) and worked with the Collegium Musicum Pragense chamber ensemble.
After 1968 he began to develop. his international career and was guest conductor in many countries in Western Europ.e (most of all in Germany, where he now lives) and also in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and in the Far East. He has worked on many occasions with the radio orchestras of Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich and Frankfurt and with the Stuttgart and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, the Oslo Phílharmonic, the Symphony Orchestras in Melbourne and Sydney, with the Phiĺippines Philharmonic and with many others. He has conducted the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Tonkünstlerorchester Wien, the BBC Concert Orchestra in London and has conducted broadcast recordings at, among others, the BBC in London, BBC Scotland, RIAS Berlin, Radio Cop.enhagen in Denmark, Swedish Radio Stockholm, ABC Australia and has been guest conductor at major international music festivals in Salzburg, Berlin, Schleswig-Holstein, Santander, Krems and at the Prague Spring.
From 1976 to 1980 he was the Chief Conductor of the Berlin RIAS Sinfonietta and later, from 1981 to 1984, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. He worked as chief guest conductor in the Perth Western Australian Symphony Orchestra in 1988 and over two seasons 1996-97 and 1998-99 as Chief Conductor at the State Op.era in Prague. Since his return to the domestic conducting podium in 1990 Jiří Stárek has been guest conductor at all the leading Czech symphony orchestras.
