The Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, choirmaster Petr Fiala
Fiala PetrFoto: Archiv umělce
The choir was formed in 1990 and is nowadays one of the best and most sought-after professional choirs in Europe. Its high musical standard is also reflected in its frequent concert appearances, both at home and abroad (around ninety performances annually).
The choir works with all the Czech and many foreign orchestras and conductors (e.g. P. Altrichter, J. Bělohlávek, V. Válek, L. Svárovský, Sir C. Mackerras, L. Hager, C. Dutoit, Sir R. Norrington, E. zu Guttenberg, M. Venzago, H. Wolff, M. Soustrot, J.-C. Casadesus, A. Ceccato, G. Schmöhe, R. Frühbeck de Burgos, G. Albrecht, L. Foster, Z. Mehta, N. Harnoncourt, K. Masur, I. Karabschevsky, R. Kofman, D. Russel Davies, M. Janowski, J. Simonov, Z. Mácal, L. Pešek, T. Netopil, among others).
The choir is a regular guest at international festivals and concerts in Vienna, Linz, Munich, Lucerne, Basel, Frankfurt, London (BBC Proms), Eberbach near Wiesbaden, Lübeck, Passau, Milan, Rome, the Vatican, Paris, Rennes, Nantes, Angers, Nuremberg, Dresden, Oviedo, as well as Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc, Litomyšl, České Budějovice, Český Krumlov etc.
The choir has recorded a number of CDs for leading Czech and European publishers (PANTON, Supraphon, Farao, KOCH International, Sony Classical, Ultraphon, Arco Diva, Chesky-Records New York, Pronto, Antiphona, PAN Classics, Musikproduktion Dabringhaus, Discantica, and others). In a renowned international competition the choir gained two prestigious German prizes ECHO KLASSIK 2007: one as „Ensemble of the year 2007“ for the recording of Bruckner´s Motets, the second as „Recording of the year 2007“ for oratorio Christus by F. Liszt. Other recordings have also found enthusiastic reception: P. von Klenau’s Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Kornetts Christoph Rilke was nominated for the prestigious Danish P2 Music Prize 2008, while B. A. Zimmermann’s Requiem für einen jungen Dichter was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik in January 2009. In September 2011, the eminent Japanese Geijutsu Disc Review awarded the choir its prestigious Tokusen Mark or Honor for its live recording of Dvořák’s Requiem.
The choir´s founder, artistic director and choirmaster is PETR FIALA (b. 1943); the assistant choirmaster is JAN OCETEK (b. 1972). The activities of the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno are generously supported by the Region of Southern Moravia, the City of Brno, and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
