History

Dalibor Doubek

* 1898, † 1955

Graduate of the Prague Conservatory and conductor of the amateur Žerotín Philharmonic Orchestra (1944). His first concert took place on 26 May 1945 at the Municipal Theatre. The ensemble consisted of 23 musicians, but this was not enough for the performance of Smetana’s Má vlast, so the ensemble was supplemented by members of the Olomouc theatre orchestra. In its early days, the ensemble also performed on tours in the region area. In the initial season the orchestra was supplemented by players from the theatre orchestra from České Budějovice. Since then, concerts have been held in the Reduta.

František Stupka

* 1879, † 1965

The activities of František Stupka, a long-time conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, is one of the important ones in the history of the MFO. He recruited better players, built a music archive and sought to increase the number of listeners.Financial stability was brought in 1952 by the upgrade of the Philharmonic to a state symphony orchestra.His dramaturgy was based on the works of Czech composers, supplemented by works of Baroque and Classical masters, and he also respected the political requirement to perform works by Russian authors. Under his leadership, the MFO performed twice at the Prague Spring Festival. He undoubtedly succeeded in building a high-quality and self-confident ensemble.

Milivoj Uzelac

* 1919, † 1988

Before joining the MFO, Milivoj Uzelac was conductor of the FSO. During his engagement in Olomouc he focused on the works of contemporary composers and lesser-known works. In 1957 the Prague Dvořák String Quartet and the Žerotín Choir joined the Philharmonic In the same year, the Olomouc Music Spring Festival was founded (following the example of the Prague Spring). In order to increase the number of visitors, in 1959 the Philharmonic established cooperation with Moravian Steel Company, for which it prepared several commented concerts.

Jaromír Nohejl

* 1925, † 2004

From 1956 he worked in the MFO as a second conductor and then led the orchestra for 27 years. During his activities, three subscription series were presented. There were also concerts for school children and, since the 1980s, for kindergartens. Nohejl became famous for his performances of symphonies in Olomouc churches during the Olomouc Music Spring Festival. In 1965 the name of the Moravian Philharmonic appeared in the foreign press in connection with the second conductor Zdeněk Mácal.

Stanislav Macura

* 1946, † 2022

His dramaturgy was oriented towards late Romantics compositions and the first half of the 20th century. Innovative were the „opera evenings“, in which the MFO presented concert performances of music-dramatic works by Mozart and Puccini. In the 1987/88 season he made two successful West Germany orchestra tours. As a result of the post-revolutionary changes after November 1989, the Moravian Philharmonic changed its status of a state symphony orchestra and became a cultural institution of the city of Olomouc.

Jiří Mikula

* 1961

Financial resources at the time led to a reduction in the number of players from ninety to eighty. Jiří Mikula concentrated on the Classical and Romantic repertoire. Since the 1990s, the orchestra has given many more concerts abroad, e.g. in 1992 accompanied tenor José Carreras in Munich.

Jin Wang

* 1961

He was the first foreign MFO chief conductor. In 1990 he was the winner of the Prague Spring International Conducting Competition. Dramaturgically, he built on a well-established repertoire, but he also tried to present lesser-known works for the local audience. In 1999 the Philharmonic again performed at the Prague Spring Festival. In his last season, the acoustic qualities of the concert hall was improved.

František Preisler

* 1973, † 2007

After a short period without a chief conductor, František Preisler, formerly conductor of the National Theatre Opera and chief conductor of the Music Theatre in Karlín, took over the leadership of the MFO.In addition to classical works, he also performed musical, film and jazz music in Olomouc. From the 2003/04 season a new concert series was introduced – Sunday Matinees for parents with children. In the 2005/06 season, the MFO toured Czech cities with Eva Urbanova and a year later with Karel Gott.

Petr Vronský

* 1946

Prior to his appointment, he served as chief conductor of the FB and JFO. Dramaturgically, he preferred the compositions of Romanticism and the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, but also the compositions of the second half of the 20th century. He introduced the novelty of public rehearsals to Olomouc, which met with great interest. He also organized a series of educational concerts for school children and youth. In addition to series A, B, C and D, the 2012/13 season also saw the addition of the so-called premium serie P, focusing on lighter music genres. Under his leadership, many well-known Czech and foreign artists performed with the Philharmonic.

Jakub Klecker

* 1982

Jakub Klecker, a native of Brno, studied under J. Bělohlávek and T. Koutník. He began his collaboration with the Moravian Philharmonic as chief conductor on 1 September 2019 with a concert at the Musikverein in Vienna, one of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. He opened the season in Olomouc with a concert with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra and concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic cellist V. Peter. The season included a concert with progressive dramaturgy and the unconventional ensemble Bohemia Saxophone Quartet; the performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.4 was also well received.

Zsolt Hamar

* 1968