Bedřich Smetana | My Country

The North Czech Philharmonic is a renowned ensemble, dating back to 1838, which has collaborated with artists such as Libor Pešek, Vladimír Válek, Jaroslav Soukup, Tomáš Koutník, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, violinist Maxime Vengerov, pianist Caroline Murat and many other great musicians. The Teplice Philharmonic has performed in European cultural centres such as Munich, Berlin, Basel, Paris, Valencia, Lisbon, Belgrade, Budapest, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Grenoble, Madrid, Valletta and others.

In 2006, the orchestra began cooperating with the prestigious Columbia Artists Management New York Inc. agency. The latest project was a tour of Germany with Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings Symphony and motifs from the same film. The orchestra performs regularly on the main stages in Prague and other Czech cities. Nevertheless, its artistic activities remain focused on concerts given in Teplice, with the main objective being to contribute to the cultural life of this North Bohemian city.

The elegant Neo-Renaissance building of Rudolfinum was built between 1876-1884. It was conceived as a multipurpose cultural center with concert and exhibition halls. The building was taken under the patronage of the heir of the Habsburg throne, the archduke Rudolph after whom the building was named.

Between 1919 and 1941 Rudolfinum served temporarily as an assembly hall of Czech Parliament. Since then it has functioned as a concert hall, exhibition space, and a seat of the Czech Philharmonic. Two concert halls stage the most prominent classical music concerts such as the Dvořák Prague or Prague Spring festivals. 

In 1896 the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák conducted Czech Philharmonic performing his Symphony No. 9 "From the New World". That´s how the history of Czech Philharmonic, Rudolfinum and Dvořák Hall began...