Petr Popelka and Gautier Capuçon
Municipal House, Monday 15 February 2027 at 7.30 p.m., public dress rehearsal at 10 a.m.
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Petr Popelka – conductor
Gautier Capuçon – cello
Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (40′)
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (35′)
Music is energy that connects body and soul.
Igor Stravinskij
This evening with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra opens with Dvořák’s celebrated Cello Concerto in B minor, composed in 1894 for the Viennese cellist Hanuš Wihan. In this work, Dvořák combines lyrical melodies with dramatic contrasts, intertwines the solo part with the orchestral texture, and creates a piece that stands among the pinnacles of the Romantic cello repertoire. The solo part will be performed by the French cellist Gautier Capuçon.
The second half of the programme brings Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Completed in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev’s ballet, the work transforms an ancient pagan ritual into music filled with unusual harmonic language and rhythmic innovation. Stravinsky created a richly imagined musical world that has drawn attention ever since its premiere for its energy and striking inventiveness.
Petr Popelka,
one of the most prominent Czech conductors, is also active as a composer. He studied double bass at the Prague Conservatoire and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, where he also began to devote himself intensively to conducting. From 2010 to 2019, he was a double bassist with the Staatskapelle Dresden, while simultaneously developing his conducting career and collaborating with a number of European orchestras. Since 2022, he has been Chief Conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and, from the 2024/25 season, he has held the same position with the Wiener Symphoniker. He is a laureate of the Georg Solti Conducting Competition in Frankfurt and a recipient of the Opus Klassik award.
Gautier Capuçon
The French cellist Gautier Capuçon is one of the leading musicians of his generation. He studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with Philippe Muller and later continued his studies with Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. A laureate of several international competitions, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors on the most prestigious concert stages. He is also deeply engaged in recording, and his albums – primarily released by the Erato label – have received numerous awards, including Echo Klassik, Diapason d’Or, and Victoire de la Musique Classique.
The programme will be performed under the baton of Chief Conductor Petr Popelka, whose experience with both Romantic and modern repertoire promises a compelling interpretation. Together with the French soloist Gautier Capuçon, audiences will hear how Dvořák’s lyrical cello and Stravinsky’s rhythms create musical worlds that are contrasting yet deeply resonant.
The concert will be broadcast live on Czech Radio Vltava:
Ticket prices range from 180 to 1,100 CZK
