Prague Symphony Orchestra

Artist bio

The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 by Rudolf Pekárek. In the 1930s the orchestra performed the scores for many Czech films, and also appeared regularly on Czech radio. An early promoter of the orchestra was Václav Smetáček, who, in 1942 became the orchestra's chief conductor, a post he held for the next 30 years.

The orchestra has traditionally been known by the acronym FOK, standing for Film-Opera-Koncert, reflecting the orchestra's fields of activity as envisioned by its founder. When the city of Prague made the orchestra its official concert ensemble in 1952, it retained the acronym, giving it the official title Symphony Orchestra of the Capital City of Prague - FOK.

The orchestra has travelled extensively in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and has recorded for many different labels. Since 2006, the orchestra's chief conductor is Jiří Kout.


Principal conductors
Václav Smetáček (1942-1972)
Ladislav Slovák (1972-1976)
Jindřich Rohan (1976-1977)
Jiří Bělohlávek (1977-1990)
Petr Altrichter (1990-1992)
Martin Turnovský (1992-1995)
Gaetano Delogu (1995-1998)
Serge Baudo (2001-2006)
Jiří Kout (2006-present)
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