Prague Spring 2026 Programme

This masterclass focuses on the period interpretation of music of the 17th and 18th centuries and is aimed at players of the modern flute and the Baroque transverse flute (traverso).

The three best flautists compete for the top spot in the Prague Spring Competition performing works by J. S. Bach and Jindřich Feld. Come and support them and win tickets for one of the festival concerts.

This masterclass is aimed at students of the piano and is not limited to any specific repertoire.

The finals of the piano competition will unfold in a Romantic spirit. Celebrated concertos by Chopin, Rachmaninov, Brahms and Dvořák, featuring a large symphony orchestra.

Magdalena Kožená as you’ve never heard her before, and three exceptional works performed by one of the world’s finest orchestras which, in addition to “Viennese classics”, will present Ondřej Adámek’s gripping yet also playful drama about the search for God.

A romantic symphony by Robert Schumann, set in contrast with the vibrant firework display in Igor Stravinsky’s music for the ballet The Firebird

Concert given by the best from the hundreds of graduates of the MenART Academy, who worked for a year under eminent Czech musicians. Two world premieres and the unusual combination of cello and accordion.

The festival’s twelfth conducting debut will be caught up in a whirl of dance. Copland, Barber, Dvořák and Ginastera performed by Ondřej Soukup, soprano Simona Šaturová and Prague Philharmonia.

An evening during which the Grammy Award holder and Prague Spring Artist-in-Residence 2026 is reincarnated into pagan goddesses from the Finnish epic Kalevala in a work by John Zorn.

Francis Poulenc’s rousing opera based on real events from the time of the French Revolution

One of the world’s best early music ensembles Helsinki Baroque Orchestra making its festival debut with an exploratory programme from the Czech archives

The Prague Spring will present a recital given by the winner of the 2025 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Eric Lu

Dvořák’s Cello Concerto performed by Truls Mørk and Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen suite, conducted by “Finnish miracle”, Klaus Mäkelä

This masterclass, held by member of the Belcea Quartet, violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, is aimed at string quartet players.

Mozart, Hindemith, Schoenberg, and Webern. A harmonic blend of human voice and string quartet in works by four musical visionaries. Breathe in “air from another planet”.

Tomáš Netopil, stars of the New York Met, and Prague Symphony Orchestra in the dramatic and entertaining legend based on Goethe’s Faust. All roads lead to hell!

Barbara Hannigan as singer and conductor of the Czech Philharmonic in the Czech premiere of her own fabled adaptation of Francis Poulenc’s opera La Voix humaine, featuring a live video screening.

An oratorio by Jules Massenet on the last days of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Mary Magdalene. Featuring stars of Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Met, accompanied by the National Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Robert Jindra.

Haydn’s late masterpiece performed by Václav Luks conducting the Orchestra & Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, one of the world’s most celebrated period instrument ensembles

Public interview with Unsuk Chin, Prague Offspring Composer-in-Residence, holder of the Grawemeyer Award and the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung Preis, hosted by the festival’s Artistic Director, Josef Třeštík.

Two key works by Unsuk Chin, Iannis Xenakis’s famous Rebonds, and a world premiere from Michal Nejtek. Ensemble Modern is conducted by Ilan Volkov

How many different interpretations could a single score contain? The Ensemble Modern players, who master their instruments in thousands of ways, guide young composers and the audience through a realm of new possibilities in sound.

A family afternoon full of creative workshops and concerts for young audiences. Loads of the events are free of charge and the remainder is on offer for a song!

How can one get the most from the instrument when performing contemporary music? Explore new performance techniques with members of Ensemble Modern.

Composer Miroslav Srnka in conversation with his guests about contemporary music. Free entry for holders of a Prague Offspring pass or ticket for the concert at 8 pm

Music by Unsuk Chin and Ondřej Adámek inspired by cultures of the Far East, along with four world premieres of works by Czech and Slovak composers

A traditional concert to honour the memory of composer Josef Suk in his native Křečovice. Experience a different take on the Prague Spring!

The lyrical world of compositions for violin and piano by Antonín Dvořák, whose exquisite music will come to life in the hands of Jiří Vodička, concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic, and David Mareček.

Bruckner’s “boldest” symphony and Shostakovich’s cello concerto with Yuya Mizuno, winner of the Prague Spring IMC 2025, are brought to you by Berlin’s Grammy Award-winning “orchestral think tank”.

A spatial performance by one of the world’s most sought-after performers of contemporary music, violinist Hana Kotková, together with Veniero Rizzardi (electronics)

What links George Gershwin, one of the greatest hitmakers of the 20th century, with Arnold Schoenberg? Barbara Hannigan and the Czech Philharmonic’s Crazy Ride in a programme full of contrasts and surprises.

The madness of the big city or a musical ride in a sports car handled by the finest piano duo on the scene today in an ecstatic duel with an arsenal of percussion instruments