Salle: Municipal House: Smetana Hall, Prague

Placé sous le signe des célébrations du centenaire de l'indépendance du pays, le festival « Les touches tchèques de la musique » s'est achevé ce dimanche sur un concert mettant à l'honneur la violoncelliste Camille Thomas.

Under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, the Czech Philharmonic and a sprawling supporting cast lead listeners up a stairway to heaven. 

With Jaap van Zweden on the podium, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra makes a memorable festival debut, offering a fresh take on a high-powered classic.

The festival returns to its roots, and freshens them, with Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic offering a muscular take on Má vlast.

Lackluster Gershwin undercuts an otherwise impressive outing by Jakub Hrůša and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. 

Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker take Smetana's Má vlast to new heights.

Leonard Slatkin brings a New World burnish and expertise to a high-energy outing with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Conductor Christoph Eschenbach brings style and sophistication to a freewheeling finale to this year's festival, ending with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.