Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra
Uniquely among the Czech Republic's top orchestras, the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra is located not in Prague but in the northeastern Czech city of Ostrava. Its Czech name, in fact, is the Janackova Filharmonie Ostrava. Despite its regional origins, the orchestra has been somewhat oriented toward the West, especially since the fall of Communism; it has programmed much Western contemporary music and toured the U.S. multiple times. The Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1954, with Otakar Parik as its first conductor. The orchestra was led from 2005 to 2014 by the Ukrainian-American Theodore Kuchar, who opened additional doors for the group in the U.S. Since 2014, its chief conductor has been Heiko Mathias Förster, and its artistic director Jan Zemla. The orchestra quickly gained a reputation even west of the Iron Curtain, and it made its first foreign tour in 1958, going as far afield as Australia the following year; it was only the second Czech ensemble to tour abroad. In addition, the orchestra has toured Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as most European countries. Unusually for an orchestra in the former East Bloc, it has benefited from corporate support, from the Arcelormittal steelmaking firm. The Philharmonic appears frequently in other Czech cities besides Ostrava, and leading conductors from the Czech Republic and beyond -- Jiří Bělohlávek, Václav Neumann, Charles Mackerras, and Helmuth Rilling -- have mounted the podium as guests.
The Janácek Philharmonic has been especially notable for the size and variety of its recorded catalog. Even before the breakup of Czechoslovakia it recorded several albums for the U.S.-based Centaur Records, including an album of Dvorák's Slavonic Rhapsodies; Suite for a Large Orchestra in 1992. Since then the group has recorded for various labels: the budget-line Brilliant in the Netherlands, Denon Classics in Japan, the contemporary-leaning Navona, Albany, and New World labels in the U.S., and Oehms, CPO, and Berlin Classics in Germany, among others. In 2018 the orchestra, under conductor Anthony Armore, issued a recording of symphonic poems by Australian composer Mark John McEncroe.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Concertos pour violon n°1 et n°4
Misha Keylin, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, Dennis Burkh, Takuo Yuasa
Classical - Released by Naxos on 2 Dec 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Badings: Symphonies Nos. 3, 10 & 14
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, David Porcelijn
Symphonic Music - Released by CPO on 27 Jul 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concerto
Klara Würtz, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 15 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lebrun: Oboe Concertos
Nancy Ambrose King, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeremy Swerling
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 18 Mar 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Martinů: Violin Concertos
Thomas Albertus Irnberger, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Heiko-Mathias Forster
Classical - Released by Gramola Records on 12 Oct 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Satoh: From the Depth of Silence
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Buckner, Pettr Kotík
Classical - Released by Mode Records on 25 May 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
John Robertson: Vallarta Suite, Op. 47
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Armore
Classical - Released by Navona on 11 Aug 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphony No. 4
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 25 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Suite Tchèque
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra & Theodore Kuchar
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 1 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prisma, Vol. 3
Karel Dohnal, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Jiri Petrdlik, Robert Kružik
Classical - Released by Navona on 14 Feb 2020
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Sentinels
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Jiri Petrdlik
Classical - Released by Navona on 12 Jun 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
John Robertson: Symphony No. 1
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Armore
Classical - Released by Navona on 13 Jul 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Niblock: Disseminate
Ensemble OCNM, Kontra Trio, Q-O2 Ensemble, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Pettr Kotík
Chamber Music - Released by Mode Records on 9 Mar 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tučapský: Violin & Viola Concertos
Vítezslav Kuzník, Pavel Perina, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Petr Vronský, Elli Jaffe
Classical - Released by SOMM Recordings on 1 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mark John McEncroe: Live in Ostrava
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Heiko-Mathias Forster, Anthony Armore
Classical - Released by Navona on 15 Mar 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Musical Images: Reflections & Recollections, Vol. 2
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Armore
Classical - Released by Navona on 14 Feb 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Michael J. Evans: The Adventures of Florian
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislav Vavrinek
Classical - Released by Navona on 9 Oct 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Connotation of Infinity
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Ravello Records on 22 May 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mark John McEncroe: Symphonic Suites 1 & 2 – A Medieval Saga
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Armore
Classical - Released by Navona on 11 Aug 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
This Is My Verdi
Amarilli Nizza, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Gianluca Martinenghi
Opera - Released by Dynamic on 28 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestral Works
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, David Porcelijn
Classical - Released by CPO on 1 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo