Founded in 1926, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) is one of Europe's oldest radio ensembles. It has long been at the forefront of Czech musical life as well as a favourite guest in international concert halls.

To mark its 90^th anniversary, the PRSO will give a special concert at the Rudolfinum in Prague on Friday, 4 November, which will be made available by Czech Radio to EBU radio organizations as part of the Members' Selections. The programme features the young Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček, winner of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition, making his debut in Serge Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto.

Asked about coming to grips with such a difficult work, the artist said: "It’s a relatively new piece in my repertoire. My relationship to it develops every day. Naturally we can speak about thematic material, phrasing, dynamism and other qualities, but for me that is not the essential thing. I’d say that today we overly analyse and dissect everything down to the smallest details. Music should be above all personal and emotionally powerful."

Under its Chief Conductor Ondrej Lenárd, the PRSO continues to go from strength to strength. The list of artists who have collaborated with the ensemble in the past nine decades reads like a Who's Who of 20^th-century music history. Arthur Honegger, Krzysztof Penderecki and Serge Prokofiev led the Orchestra in their own works, and it has accompanied artists like Gautier Capuçon, Plácido Domingo and Jonas Kaufmann. Contemporary music has always occupied an important place in its programmes.

The Orchestra is a regular guest at the leading Czech festivals, including the Prague Spring, Český Krumlov and the Dvořák Prague Festival. Further afield, it frequently appears throughout Europe, the Far East and the United States. 

Long renowned for its recordings, including the complete symphonies of Dvořák, Tchaikovsky and Martinů under Vladimír Válek, the PRSO has recently released a critically acclaimed series of Janáček albums for Supraphon with conductor Tomáš Netopil, as well as the première recording of Dvořák’s first opera, Alfred.