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Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov - Mahler Symphonies 1-9
The Czech Philharmonic, under Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov, presents their complete Mahler Cycle on PENTATONE. Featuring all nine symphonies by Gustav Mahler who was born and brought up in Bohemia in the Czech Republic, this is the first new recording of the cycle by the Czech Philharmonic since Václav Neumann’s (Chief Conductor 1968-1990) interpretations more than 40 years ago. Mahler, who completed his First Symphony shortly after spending a year in Prague, went onto conduct the Czech Philharmonic in the world premiere of his Seventh Symphony in 1908.
Mahler’s symphonies have been central to Semyon Bychkov’s programming with the Czech Philharmonic since 2018, when he launched his tenure with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in Prague, New York and Vienna. The cycle began with the release of Symphony No. 4 in April 2022, followed by Symphonies 5, 2, 1 and 3. These recordings have received widespread critical acclaim including, nominations at the International Classical Music Awards, Editor’s Choice and Recordings of the Month by Gramophone, Limelight and BBC Music Magazine as well as Recordings of the Year from Presto and The Sunday Times which declared ‘This is turning out to be one of the truly great Mahler sets.’
For this cycle, Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic were joined by a distinguished roster of soloists: Christiane Karg, Kateřina Kněžíková, Miriam Kutrowatz, Chen Reiss, Sarah Wegener, Stefanie Irányi, Jennifer Johnston, Elisabeth Kulman, Catriona Morison, David Butt Philip, Adam Plachetka and David Steffens. The cycle also features the Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, Prague Philharmonic Children’s Choir and Pueri gaudentes.