The Secret of the Rudolfinum

The Rudolfinum, home of the Czech Philharmonic

The two main departments in charge of the principal activities of the orchestra are the Concert and Touring Departments, where I spent most of my internship. I familiarised myself with all the concert series and the organisation involved in their preparation. Concerts are planned a few years in advance and the Concert Department spend a substantial amount of time preparing contracts and negotiating about their terms with arts management agencies who act on behalf of artists. However, due to unforeseen circumstances – most frequently due to an illness – only a handful of concerts are performed as planned and negotiations with a replacement artist usually lasting many months have to be conducted within a couple of days before a concert. In the Touring Department, I got acquainted with tour itineraries which gave me an idea of the steps and tasks preceding every orchestra tour. I helped with completing visa applications for the upcoming inaugural U.S. tour of the new chief conductor and music director Semyon Bychkov. Among others, during this tour which took place this autumn the Philharmonic performed in the famous Carnegie Hall in New York.

What I find very interesting apart from concert management is the work of the Educational Department which organise educational programmes for children, as well as adults and music teachers. The CP have been investing a lot of effort into these programmes whose aim is to make classical music more accessible to people of all age groups. There has been a huge interest in the educational concerts and workshops: last season, more than 50 thousand attended them. In connection with the educational activities, I attended a number of meetings discussing the preparations for the new project of the Digital Concert Hall which is currently being piloted. The content of the project will involve recorded broadcasts of the most interesting concerts, but most importantly educational programmes which will be made accessible to the wider public by this means.

My internship in the Czech Philharmonic has been extremely enjoyable and I have gained some invaluable experience. Having been able to gain an insight into the work of most departments has given me a wider understanding of the running of a top-quality orchestra. I found out that the job of a music manager can be rewarding, especially if a project, be it a concert, a tour or an educational programme, is successful and months of planning and hard work pay off. At the same time, the job is rather stressful and managers have to work under a lot of pressure. Everyone I met in the CP loves their job and lives for the orchestra which is reflected by their outstanding results. It is a great shame that the work of people in the culture sector is often unappreciated and also undervalued. Nevertheless, this internship has proved very useful and I am hoping to get back to the Rudolfinum at some point, not only for a concert.

With the heads of the Concert and Touring Departments, Anna Moravcová and Alžběta Lupíšková, and Tatiana Čudová from the Touring Department

The customer service team on the top of the roof of the Rudolfinum, where we enjoyed our afternoon coffee with a view of the Prague Castle