Filharmonie Brno (of the Czech Republic)

The roots of Filharmonie Brno go back to the 1870s when young composer Leos Janáček endeavored to establish a Czech symphony orchestra in Brno (the traditional capital of Moravia), now the second largest city in the Czech Republic after Prague. The present orchestra was created in 1956 and has been among the leading Czech orchestras in both size and importance. For more than a half-century, Dennis Russell Davies has conducted the world’s finest orchestras and opera companies and is widely considered one of the most innovative and adventurous conductors. In 2018, he became the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Filharmonie Brno where the programming of works by Janáček has always been at the core of the orchestra’s repertory. Appropriately, Maestro Davies’s upcoming CAMA concert will feature an outstanding all-Czech program of works by three of the greatest Czech composers: Martinů, Janáček, and Dvořák.  Maki Namekawa is a leading figure among today’s pianists, bringing to audiences’ attention contemporary music by international composers. In 2019 Philip Glass composed his first Piano Sonata, especially for Maki Namekawa, which she premiered that year at Piano-Festival Ruhr. Christian Schmitt has become one of the world’s most sought-after organists, praised for his virtuosic and charismatic playing. Since 2014, he has served as the Principal Organist of the Bamberger Symphoniker, where he also curates the organ series for the Bamberg Concert Hall.