The Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša will become the Czech Philharmonic’s Chief Conductor and Music Director from September 2028, it was announced today.
Hrůša, who made his debut with the orchestra in 2004 and has been a Principal Guest Conductor since 2018, will initially be on a five-year contract, but the orchestra has already signalled its intention of this being the beginning of a long-term relationship.
“I am overjoyed and deeply honoured that the Czech Philharmonic has chosen to align its path with mine from 2028,” said Hrůša. “Becoming Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic has been one of my greatest professional dreams, and I couldn’t be more delighted that this dream will now come true.”
He will succeed the current Chief Conductor and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, who announced last spring that he would step down after completing his tenth season with the orchestra.
Hrůša currently serves as Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, continuing in this position until 2029, and from September 2025, he becomes Music Director of The Royal Opera at Covent Garden in London. He has previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
Hrůša is highly regarded internationally not only for his interpretations of repertoire from the 18th to the 20th centuries, but also for his exceptional performances of Czech music from Smetana to the present day. In recent seasons, he and the Czech Philharmonic have presented several projects, including concert performances of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and Smetana’s Libuše at the Prague Spring and Smetana Litomyšl Festivals as part of the Year of Czech Music 2024, as well as performances of Josef Suk’s Epilogue and Vladimír Sommer’s Vocal Symphony in 2025.
