Born on February 24, 1946 in Prague, Jiří Bělohlávek would, as a conductor and teacher, distinguish himself as a leading figure in the city's musical life—and beyond—for 45 years, until his death on May 31, 2017. From 1977 to 1990, he served as chief conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra. In 1994, he founded the Prague Chamber Philharmonic (now Prague Philharmonia) and served as its chief conductor until 2005. Beginning in 1995, he would teach for a number of years at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, where his students include conductors Jakub Hrůša and Marko Ivanović . From 2006 to 2012, he served as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and from September 2012, he took over the conducting of the Czech Philharmonic. He collaborated often with the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, performed regularly at music festivals in Montreux, Perth, Edinburgh and Tanglewood—and was especially highly regarded for his work in opera. One of the leading interpreters of the Czech repertoire of our time, Bělohlávek, left behind a wealth of marvelous recordings, several of which we will sample on Tuesday afternoon's Classical Music with Foley Schuler, on the 80th anniversary of the conductor's birth.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
