Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov – Smetana: Má Vlast (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov – Smetana: Má Vlast (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:21:47 minutes | 1,40 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PENTATONE

The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Bedřich Smetana’s masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland). The album celebrates both the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth and, the start of 2024’s Year of Czech Music which has been celebrated every ten years since Smetana’s 100th anniversary in 1924. Má vlast (1874-1878) is a potent symbol of the Czech Republic’s turbulent political history and has played an important role in the Czech national movement. Contemplating the landscape, history, and legends of Bohemia, Má vlast is best known for its world-famous Moldau melody. For Bychkov, who was born in Russia before emigrating to the United States, and now lives in France, the question of ‘the homeland’ is particularly poignant – how to take pride in the best of its heritage, while also coming to terms with its darker pages. For the Orchestra to revisit this seminal piece with Bychkov, with whom it has developed such a close working relationship over the past few years, makes the recording all the more personal and topical.

(more…)

Read more

Czech Philharmonic & Semyon Bychkov – Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic & Semyon Bychkov – Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:14 minutes | 924 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone

The Czech Philharmonic and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the composer’s First Symphony, one of the most evocative and colourful symphonic debuts in the history of the genre. Mahler once famously said that “a symphony should be like the world, it should encompass everything.” In his First Symphony, he creates just such a world, filled with animal sounds, hunting horns, rural dances, klezmer bands and allusions to his own songs and folk song melodies such as Frère Jacques. These elements all function within a highly subjective, immersive symphonic drama, providing a blueprint for most of his symphonies to come. Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic approach the composer’s firstling with their esteemed eye for detail and pacing, matched by their unmistakably Bohemian sound.

(more…)

Read more

Semyon Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic – Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Semyon Bychkov, Czech Philharmonic – Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 59:17 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca Music Group Ltd.

Semyon Bychkov conducts the Czech Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky’s epic Manfred Symphony for Volume 2 of his Tchaikovsky Project.

Following 2016’s critically acclaimed Tchaikovsky Project Vol.1 (Pathétique and Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture), Volume 2 is released to coincide with the performance of Manfred Symphony at the BBC Proms on Thursday 31 August 2017.

The Tchaikovsky Project is a multi-year project shedding new light on the great master’s major orchestral works. Each recording benefits from extensive preparation time, the best possible recording conditions and Bychkov’s in-depth research on these works.

(more…)

Read more

Semyon Bychkov & Wiener Philharmoniker – Schmidt: Symphony No. 2 – Strauss: Dreaming by the Fireside (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Semyon Bychkov & Wiener Philharmoniker – Schmidt: Symphony No. 2 – Strauss: Dreaming by the Fireside (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 55:14 minutes | 568 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

Franz Schmidt was a cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra himself and he allowed the orchestra to premiere his symphony in 1913, which since then belongs in the orchestra’s main repertoire.

With Semyon Bychkov, they are a proven team to champion Schmidt’s Symphony…

The second symphony is the most brilliant and extroverted one with the largest instrumentation. The Strauss „Dreaming by the Fireside“ is a famous intermezzo from the same-named opera by Strauss.

On this album, the work is performed by The Strauss Orchestra.

(more…)

Read more

Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov, Christiane Karg, Elisabeth Kulman, Prague Philharmonic Choir – Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov, Christiane Karg, Elisabeth Kulman, Prague Philharmonic Choir – Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:26:50 minutes | 1,43 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone

After critically-acclaimed recordings of Mahler’s Fourth and Fifth Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov continue their Pentatone Mahler cycle with a rendition of the composer’s Second, nicknamed “The Resurrection”. They are joined by soprano Christiane Karg, alto Elisabeth Kulman and the Prague Philharmonic Choir. Starting with a funeral march, passing through the introspective alto song “Urlicht” and ending in choral bliss and euphoria, Mahler’s Second is a deeply spiritual and personal contemplation on the secret of life and the possibility of overcoming death. For Bychkov, the symphony “shows the life cycle in all its struggles: suffering, joy, irony, humour, love and doubt.”

(more…)

Read more

Czech Philharmonic, Kirill Gerstein & Semyon Bychkov – Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic, Kirill Gerstein & Semyon Bychkov – Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 08:17:10 minutes | 8,55 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca Music Group Ltd.

Studio recordings are rare things today. Orchestras are of such great quality that publishers prefer live recordings, which are much cheaper than long studio sessions, with their complex production workloads. And so this is a rather “old-fashioned” (it’s fashionable) publication here from Decca, directed by Smyon Bychkov, a conductor who has rarely appeared on records for some years.

(more…)

Read more

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra & Semyon Bychkov – Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra & Semyon Bychkov – Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:11:42 minutes | 1,16 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © PentaTone

After their critically-acclaimed recording of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov continue their Pentatone Mahler cycle with a rendition of the composer’s Fifth. The Fifth Symphony marks an important turning point in Mahler’s symphonic output, away from the prominence of vocal movements in his previous symphonies. And whereas the Fifth seems to follow a teleology from darkness to light like its predecessors, the trajectory is much less straightforward, and full of enigmatic turns. Bychkov’s exceptional eye for detail and pacing make him an ideal guide through this work, while the Czech Philharmonic is capable of letting all the colours of Mahler’s score shine.

(more…)

Read more

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov, Chen Reiss – Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov, Chen Reiss - Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Semyon Bychkov, Chen Reiss – Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 56:47 minutes | 950 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © PentaTone

The Czech Philharmonic and its Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, laying the foundation of a complete Mahler symphonies cycle to appear on PENTATONE. It will be the label’s first ever full Mahler cycle, and the Czech Philharmonic’s first survey of this extraordinary symphonic opus since their recording under Václav Neumann between 1976 and 1982. Although chiefly active in Vienna during the heyday of his career, Mahler was born in what is now the Czech Republic, and through this recording project, he returns to his native soil. For conductor Semyon Bychkov, Mahler’s symphonies are all about expressing the polyphony of life, and recording these works is the fulfilment of a life-long fascination. This cycle deliberately starts with the most popular and frequently-played Fourth, famous for its macabre scherzo, soothing slow movement and heavenly finale, sung by soprano Chen Reiss.

The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras, with a rich tradition of performing Czech masters and music from Central Europe. Semyon Bychkov has led the greatest orchestras of the world, and is Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic as of the 2018/2019 season. Soprano Chen Reiss frequently appears on the biggest opera and concert stages throughout the world. Chen Reiss, Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic all make their PENTATONE debut.
(more…)

Read more