The Slovak Philharmonic in December
Concerts of the Slovak Philharmonic take place in the magnificent Reduta building, which was built in an eclectic style in 1911-1915 on the site of a baroque granary from the 18th century. Here are our picks from the December concerts, including the Christmas and New Year’s Eve concerts.
The Reduta building was designed by the Budapest architects D. Jakab and P. Komora. The concert hall has been the seat of the Slovak Philharmonic for many years, and the prestigious Bratislava Music Festival is held here every year.
Our tips from the concerts in Reduta in December:
5 and 6 December: Mendelssohn, Britten, Elgar
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy – Silence of the Sea and Happy Voyage, Concert Overture, Op. 27 / Benjamin Britten – Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 15 / Edward Elgar – Enigma, Variations on a Theme of His Own, Op. 36
Performers: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, James Judd conductor (former Chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic), Ziyu He violin
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12 and 13 December: Sibelius, Vasks, Brahms
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105 / Pēteris Vasks – The Lonely Angel, Meditation for violin and string orchestra / Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
Performers: Slovak Philharmonic, Daniel Raiskin conductor (Chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic), Jarolím Emmanuel Ružička violin
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15 December: Advent Concert
Josef Leopold Zvonař – Six Overtures for Christmas Time / Vladimír Godár – Magnificat / Ján Levoslav Bella – Te Deum in E flat / Jakub Jan Ryba – Czech Christmas Mass “Hej, mistře”
Performers: Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Ewald Danel artistic director, conductor, Lúčnica Choir, Elena Matušová choirmaster
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17, 18, 19 and 20 December: Christmas Concert
Leroy Anderson – Christmas Festival / John Carter (arr. Marián Kittner) – Praise to the Lord / Leroy Anderson – Sleigh Ride / Adolphe Adam – Cantique de Noël / César Franck – Panis Angelicus / Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Flower Waltz from the ballet The Nutcracker / Ľubica Čekovská (publ. ) – Today Let Us Rejoice, The Good Shepherd Was Born / Felix Bernard – The Wonderful Winter Landscape / Irving Berlin – White Christmas / James Lord Pierpont – Jingle Bells / Latin Hymn (dir. Z. Macháček) / Adeste fideles / Zdeněk Macháček (dir.) / A medley of Christmas carols / Franz Xaver Gruber – Silent Night
Performers: Slovak Philharmonic, Ondrej Olos conductor, Bratislava Boys Choir, Magdaléna Rovňáková choirmaster, Gabriel Rovňák choirmaster, Adriana Kučerová soprano
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30 and 31 December: New Year’s Eve concert
Bel canto gala: Wolgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi and others
Performers: Slovak Philharmonic, Rastislav Štúr conductor, Simona Houda Šaturová soprano, Jana Kurucová soprano
Tickets and more information on the Slovak Philharmonic website
The Slovak Philharmonic was founded in 1949. Two important personalities of international musical life, Václav Talich (1949-1952) and Ľudovít Rajter (1949-1976, until 1961 as artistic director), were at its artistic birth. Other chief conductors – T. Frešo, L. Slovák, L. Pešek, V. Verbickij, B. Režucha, A. Ceccato, O. Lenárd, J. Bělohlávek, V. Válek, P. Feranec, E. Villaume and J. Judd.
Daniel Raiskin is the current Chief Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic, a post he will hold from the 2020/2021 season. Since August 2018, he has also been the Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and since the 2017/2018 season, he has been the Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. From the 2026/2027 season he will be the chief conductor and music director of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava. Daniel Raiskin previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife (2017/2018 season), Principal Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz (2005-2016) and Principal Conductor of the Artur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra in Łódź (2008-2015).
The Slovak Philharmonic has made numerous recordings for radio, television and music labels such as OPUS, Supraphon, Panton, Hungaroton, JVC Victor, RCA, Pacific Music, Naxos and Marco Polo. He is a regular guest on major European music stages and festivals. Her numerous international tours have taken her to almost every European country, Cyprus, Turkey and the USA and she is a regular guest on concert tours in Japan, South Korea, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The Slovak Philharmonic Choir is a prominent representative of Slovak professional choral art. It entered the musical scene in 1946 as the Czechoslovak Radio Mixed Choir. Its first years were led by its founder, conductor Ladislav Slovák. In 1957 the choir was incorporated into the Slovak Philharmonic. The post of choirmasters was held by several prominent personalities (J. M. Dobrodinský, Š. Klimo, P. Procházka, M. Vach, J. Rozehnal, B. Juhaňáková, J. Chabroň). From the 2023/2024 season the choir is led by choirmaster Jan Rozehnal.
The Slovak Chamber Orchestra was founded in the autumn of 1960 at the Slovak Philharmonic. Bohdan Warchal (1930 – 2000), an outstanding violinist of Silesian origin, was at its birth. Since its foundation it has been one of the most popular ensembles in the field of classical music in Slovakia. Since 2001 the orchestra has been led by violinist Ewald Danel.
In addition to regular concerts at the Slovak Philharmonic and performances at national and international festivals, the orchestra also carries out extraordinary concert projects. For the Slovak audience, it has discovered many works by world composers that have not been performed in Slovakia. The orchestra has played a significant role in the performance of Slovak music, premiering more than seventy compositions since 2001.
