Tomáš Netopil
Chief Conductor and Music Director from September 2025
Tomáš Netopil will become Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Prague Symphony Orchestra from the 2025/2026 season. In 2009–2012 he was the Chief Conductor of the National Theatre Opera. In 2013–2023 he was General Music Director of Aalto Musik Theater and Philharmonie Essen. From 2018 to 2024 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
Opera productions in the 2024/25 season include Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Die Zauberflöte with the New National Theatre Foundation, Tokyo and Don Giovanni with Oper Köln. Netopil conducts Czech Philharmonic Orchestra’s live televised New Year concerts at the Rudolfinum, Prague. He explores a wide range of symphonic repertoire in engagements with Oslo Philharmonic, Antwerp, Kuopio and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. This season sees a welcome return to L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo as well as a debut with Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire. Another return is to Concentus Musicus Wien where he builds on his work with period ensembles. This time, as part of the Prague Spring Festival, Netopil delights the audience with an authentic production of Mozart’s Requiem.
In 2018 Tomáš Netopil created the International Summer Music Academy in Kroměříž offering students both exceptional artistic tuition and the opportunity to meet and work with major international musicians. In Summer 2021, in association with the Dvořák Prague Festival, the Academy established the Dvořákova Praha Youth Philharmonic with musicians from conservatories and music academies, coached by principal players of Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Netopil has held a close relationship with the Dvořák Prague Festival for some time and was Artist in Residence in 2017.
Tomáš Netopil’s recordings for labels such as Supraphon, OehmsClassics, Radioservis, Dynamics and Pentatone are highly rated. His discography for Supraphon includes Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass (the first ever recording of the original 1927 version), Dvořák’s complete cello works, Martinů’s Ariane and Double Concerto, and Smetana’s Má vlast with Prague Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure in Essen, his releases have included recordings of Suk ’s Asrael and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, 3, 6 and 9.
Tomáš Netopil studied violin and conducting in his native Czech Republic, as well as at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm under the guidance of Professor Jorma Panula. In 2002 he won the 1st Sir Georg Solti Conductors Competition at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.