Concerts in the dark, funk and Beethoven: Symphony season kicks off in Prague

A concert in complete darkness, a collaboration with Czech funk band Monkey Business, and two evenings devoted to Beethoven’s piano concertos. The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) is celebrating its centenary with a season that gives regular concertgoers and curious newcomers plenty to choose from.

Running through May 2027, the anniversary program brings Czech and international music to venues including Municipal House, Forum Karlín, and Prague Castle. Alongside familiar works by Dvořák, Mozart, and Mahler, there are contemporary Czech compositions, intimate chamber concerts, and collaborations that prove symphony performances are always evolving.

With more than 30 concerts across its anniversary program, here’s why PRSO’s 100th season is worth a place in your calendar.

“I am exceptionally proud that the radio symphony musicians, as an integral part of Czech Radio, have been contributing to the development and spread of culture and art for a hundred years,” says Czech Radio Director General René Zavoral.

Founded in 1926, the orchestra helped bring live classical music into listeners’ homes through radio. A century later, its program continues to combine Czech repertoire with international works, contemporary compositions, and collaborations beyond the traditional symphonic concert.

The anniversary season also introduces Elias Grandy as PRSO’s chief conductor and artistic director, succeeding Petr Popelka. The German-Japanese conductor previously spent eight seasons as music director of the Heidelberg Theatre and Orchestra.

“It is a great honor for me to take on the position of chief conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra,” says Grandy. “I am very much looking forward to working closely with the musicians and continuing to develop the orchestra’s strong artistic foundations.”

Whether you are choosing an evening for yourself or considering concert tickets as a holiday gift, these performances offer several starting points.

Classical meets funk as PRSO joins Czech band Monkey Business for orchestral arrangements of the group’s music. Conducted by Jan Kučera, the collaboration offers an introduction to the orchestra for listeners whose usual night out involves a band rather than a symphonic program.

Elias Grandy and PRSO perform with singers and choirs from across Czechia in a large-scale project connected with the future Vltava Philharmonic concert hall. Municipal House hosts two performances, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Václav Luks, a Czech conductor known for his interpretations of Baroque and Classical music, leads a program featuring two works by Mozart and one each by François Francœur and Joseph Haydn. The evening combines orchestral music with vocal works in the Rudolfinum.

PRSO performs works by Smetana, Debussy, Mahler, and Dvořák in complete darkness, giving listeners an opportunity to focus on the music without visual distractions. The concert supports Světluška, the Czech Radio Endowment Fund project helping people with visual impairment.

French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet joins conductor Elias Grandy for all five of Beethoven’s piano concertos across two evenings. The concerts mark the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death and give audiences the opportunity to hear the complete set performed by the same musical team.

Prague Castle’s largest ceremonial hall hosts Dvořák’s The Spectre’s Bride, a cantata based on a ballad by Czech writer Karel Jaromír Erben. Conducted by Petr Popelka, the performance brings PRSO together with the Prague Philharmonic Choir to close the anniversary season.

Individual tickets are available across the program, allowing audiences to choose by repertoire, venue, or date.

For an affordable introduction, Studio 1 chamber concerts cost CZK 250. Selected public dress rehearsals are also open to audiences for CZK 250, offering a chance to see the orchestra, conductor, and guest musicians working together.