Special Concert

Jakub Hrůša Conductor

Richard Strauss

  • »Don Juan«, Opus 20

Hector Berlioz

  • »Symphonie fantastique«, Opus 14

Masters of the Kapelle

Richard Strauss was clearly delighted with the Staatskapelle: »The Dresden orchestra is indisputably now the most beautiful ensem­ble; the wind players are all perfect and have a pp that is simply fabulous.« On 10 January 1890, only a few weeks after the premiere in Weimar, his »Don Juan« appeared for the first time on a concert programme of the Staatskapelle. Although Adolf Hagen conducted this performance, Strauss himself later as­cended the rostrum of his »dear Dresdners« several times, for example with his »Alpine Symphony«, a work dedicated to the Kapelle. Hector Berlioz also conducted his own com­positions at concerts in the Saxon capital, debuting in 1843 with a programme featur­ing the »Symphonie fantastique«.

As part of the »Richard Strauss Days at the Semperoper«

Das Konzert wird von MDR Klassik mitgeschnitten und zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt gesendet.

Jakub Hrůša

Born in the Czech Republic, Jakub Hrůša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He was also formerly Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra.

He is a frequent guest with many of the world's greatest orchestras and, in addition to his titled positions, maintains close relationships with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.  In the 2018/19 season he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the NHK Symphony.

As an opera conductor, he is a regular guest at the Glyndebourne Festival, where he conducted »Vanessa«, » Das schlaue Füchslein«, »A Midsummer Night's Dream«, »Carmen«, »The Turn of the Screw«, »Don Giovanni« and »La bohème«, and was Music Director of Glyndebourne On Tour for three years. He has also conducted productions for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra National de Paris and the Frankfurt Opera, among others.

Among his relationships with leading vocal and instrumental soloists in recent seasons are Behzod Abduraimov, Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lisa Batiashvili, Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, Rudolf Buchbinder, Isabelle Faust, Bernarda Fink, Julia Fischer, Vilde Frang and Sol Gabetta, Christian Gerhaher, Kirill Gerstein, Karen Gomyo, Augustin

Hadelich, Hilary Hahn, Leonidas Kavakos, Sergey Khachatryan, Lang Lang, Igor Levit, Jan Lisiecki, Albrecht Mayer, Johannes Moser, Viktoria Mullova, Anne Sofie Mutter, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Daniil Trifonov, Klaus Florian Vogt, Yuja Wang, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Nikolaj Znaider

As a recording artist, Jakub Hrusa has received numerous awards and nominations for his discography. His recording of Martinů and Bartók violin concertos with Bamberg Symphony and Frank Peter Zimmermann (BIS) was nominated for a 2021 Gramophone Award, and his recording of the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Augustin Hadelich was nominated for a Grammy ® Award in the same year. In 2020, two of his recordings – Dvořák and Martinů Piano Concertos with Ivo Kahánek and the Bamberg Symphony (Supraphon), and »Vanessa« from Glyndebourne (Opus Arte) – won BBC Music Magazine Awards. Other recent releases include Dvořák and Brahms Symphonies with Bamberg Symphony (Tudor), Suk’s »Asrael« Symphony with the Bavarian Radio Symphony (BR Klassik), and Dvořák’s »Requiem« and »Te Deum« with the Czech Philharmonic (Decca).

Jakub Hrůša studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where his teachers included Jiří Bělohlávek. He is currently President of the International Martinů Circle and The Dvořák Society. He was the inaugural recipient of the Sir Charles Mackerras Prize, and in 2020 was awarded both the Antonín Dvořák Prize by the Czech Republic’s Academy of Classical Music, and – together with Bamberg Symphony – the Bavarian State Prize for Music.