Guest Conductors
Marcello Rota - Principal Guest Conductor
After studies in Alessandria with Giacomo Zoppi who was his French horn teacher and with Felice Quaranta who was the teacher of composition, Marcello later continued conducting studies with Igor Markevitch and Franco Ferrara at the Chigiana Academy of Siena.
Conducting all of the greatest Italian orchestras he has been a frequent guest on the world’s most prestigious stages including Concertgebouw, La Scala, Musikhalle Hamburg, Filharmoniehalle (Munich, Berlin, Mannheim), Royal Albert Hall, Festival Opera Hall (Wexford), or Palais des Beaux Arts (Brussels). He has conducted many foreign orchestras in various main concert halls throughout Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, or China. He has collaborated with such remarkable artists as Rostropovic, Geringas, Bocelli, or Rampal.
Marcello Rota´s opera repertoire includes more than thirty titles with particular attention to Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Marcello Rota has been a principal guest conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra since 2004.
He has recently appeared with this orchestra on the recordings for the JVC Victor Entertainment, on Prague Proms Festival, and accompanying Andrea Bocelli on the concerts in over forty cultural centers throughout the world.
Petr Altrichter
Petr Altrichter is one of the Czech Republic’s most distinguished conductors, who made an impressive name through his dynamic and insightful interpretations of Czech, Russian and German symphonic repertoire. Altrichter became internationally recognized in 1976 when he took second place and won the special award at the International Conducting Competition in Besançon, France. He graduated from the Conservatory of Music in Ostrava in French horn and conducting and continued his studies at the Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts.
At the beginning of his career he became an assistant of Vaclav Neumann in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Altrichter quickly promoted from Principal Guest Conductor to Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra between 1990 and 1992. He also regulary works with the Czech Philharmonic, the Czech National Symphony and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestras. Moreover, he was appointed the Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra after his first work with the orchestra in 1994, which received fantastic reviews.This post he held from 1997 until 2001. With this orchestra he appeared at the 2000 BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and made several highly appreciated recordings for the orchestra’s own label, RLPO live.
In the U.K. Petr Altrichter has also worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Throughout the World he has conducted a number of world’s leading orchestras. Petr Altrichter was the Music Director of the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Konstanz, Germany from 1993 until 2004.
In February 2010 Petr Altrichter conducted some of the CNSO concerts at the Czech Festival in London, and on a subsequent tour.
Jan Chalupecký
Jan Chalupecký is Prague´s State Conservatory graduate (violoncello). He started his career as an orchestra member, and soon he became conductor of Prague Chamber Opera in 1990 - 1993. In 1993/1994 season he began to appear in the National Theatre in Prague, as the assistant to the fenomenous Czech conductor Zdeněk Košler, with whom he got up Dvořák´s Jakobín opera. Since 1994 he has conducted 15 titles in the National Theatre, and he carried out Verdi´s Requiem scenic music. For the National Theatre he also introduced the world premiere of M. Smolka´s Nagano opera in April 2004. Together with the National Theatre ensemble he presented himself in Japan, Hong Kong, Slovakia, and Hungary. He conducted three concerts at the prestigous Prague Spring festival.
Jan Chalupecký is currently cooperating also with other ensembles, including Mozart Opera, Theatre Ústí nad Labem, and State Opera Prague. In the years 2000 - 2003 he got up three operas for the "Loketské kulturní léto" festival. These operas were Rusalka, Nabucco, and Carmen. Next, he´s going to add Verdi´s Rigoletto this year. He was appointed Chief Conductor of Pilsen Philharmony in 1997, where he remained untill 1999. He co-operated with Deutches Kammer Orchester, Czech Chamber Soloists, Prague FOK Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmony Olomouc, State Philharmony Brno, and Prague Chamber Philharmony. Together with CNSO Jan Chalupecký has recorded a huge amount of film music, and he also conducted the orchestra at the tours abroad ( Switzerland, Germany). In December 2004, he conducted CNSO at the "Signated by Heart" benefit concert in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle.
Tomáš Brauner
Born June 22th, 1978, was 8 years old when started to play the piano and 12 y.o. when started to play the oboe. In 1999 he graduated at the Prague Conservatoire in the oboe specialization (Prof. František Kimel) and in 2001 in the conducting specialization (Prof. Miriam Němcová and Prof. Miroslav Košler). In 2008 Tomáš Brauner graduated Academy of Musical Arts at the Prague of conducting classes by Prof. Radomil Eliška, Prof. Oliver Dohnanyi, Prof. Josef Kuchinka and doc. Petr Vronsky. In 2006 - 2007 Tomáš Brauner currently studied on the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and attending conducting classes by Univ. Prof. Uroš Lajovic. In the course of his study at the Prague Conservatoire he has used the opportunity to work regularly with the Prague Conservatoire symfonic orchestra and in 2000 they have won the 1st price in the radio competition “Concertino Bohemia“ for their “live” recording. In 2001 he has started to cooperate as the conductor with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic. In 2003 he has attended with this orchestra the international musical festival in Bad Kissingen with the performance of W. A. Mozart´s Magical Flute. He also performed with this orchestra in Germany, the Netherlands, the Switzerland, Spain, Austria and among others. On the musical festival in Magdeburg he performed with the Prague Chamber Opera W. A. Mozart´s Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Rossini´s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. As the conductor he has participated on the recording of S. S. Prokofiev with the Czech Nonet for Harmonia Mundi. In 2004 he has attended the conducting courses led by Prof. Kurt Masur in Wroclav. In April 2008 he cooperated with La Ópera Bellas Artes in Mexico City on Janáček´s opera - Jenůfa. Tomáš Brauner also cooperate with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at the international musical festival Prague Proms, with State Moscow Radio Orchestra, The Prague Chamber Orchestra, The Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, The North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra,The Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Symphonic Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera Ustí nad Labem, The Children´s Opera Prague, Prague Festival Orchestra, The Berg Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra Virtuosi Pragensis. Since 2006 is permanent conductor of Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Since 2008 cooperate with Oper in Theater J. K. Tyl in Pilsen.
