Jiří Bělohlávek Essentials

Renowned since the ‘70s for his expertise in Czech music, conductor Jiří Bĕlohlávek spent his life sharing his interpretations via ensembles such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. His energetic readings of Smetana (Má Vlast) and Dvořák (Symphony No. 9 in E Minor) find the music's essence, evoking power and compassion everywhere from their whispered solos to their colossal brass chords. Bĕlohlávek is a well-rounded thinker, and his mastery of the rest of the canon is just as fine: His Brahms (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2) conjures the German composer's cantankerous-yet-tender nature.