‘They have this almost telepathic way of moving’ - Chloe Bowers-Soriano on playing with the Czech Philharmonic

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After getting all our instruments on the plane from London to Prague (mostly) without issue, anything was possible. Our first day in Prague was powered by adrenaline and Czech vitamin water. We took our first walk to the Rudolfinum on a misty morning after an amazing hotel breakfast and arrived around 8am for rehearsals which were at 9:30am and held in the totally captivating Dvořák Hall at the Rudolfinum, home to the Czech Philharmonic since 1946. We were given a tour of the backstage areas and shown our dressing room which would become our base for the next week. We would be playing Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.25.

The first downbeat was the first of many memorable moments for me, it was the sudden crackle in the air that turned a regular morning into the whole universe in a single moment. I was so mesmerised by the sound of the orchestra and the significance of the experience that I almost forgot to come in! For us as students, something we caught on to very quickly was that everything just moves with total immediacy and confidence. They have this almost telepathic way of moving, there is no delay and every player just moves with a conviction and bravery that perhaps we hesitated with as students, but once we started moving like this everything fell into place and just being part of carrying this river of sound was amazing.

I had the most wonderful desk partner, Libor Vilímec, whom I learnt so much from not only by talking but by listening; it’s a very intuitive way of learning for us I think. There were so many little moments and details that they didn’t need to speak about, they just felt exactly what was needed and everyone understood and adjusted. We’ve learned from all our quartet coaching just how deeply each player influences the other – I think their style of playing just caught us and involved us naturally rather than us trying specifically to match theirs.

I was so mesmerised by the sound of the orchestra and the significance of the experience that I almost forgot to come in!

Working with Semyon Bychkov was incredible! From my seat in the violins, I saw and heard him very clearly. His kindness and compassion for the orchestra in front of him is evident from the front desks to the outer corners of the orchestra. There is a palpable feeling of mutual respect and understanding between him and the musicians, who we are all collectively referred to as ‘my dears’, in every instance. During one rehearsal something happened in the cellos and instead of responding with frustration he just had this look of total amusement on his face and laughed while conducting, and slowly everyone started smiling, it was such warm energy. He is very loved and in return, the players of the Czech Philharmonic play with all their courage, heart, and spirit which for me has set them apart in a class of their own.

We had never felt that level of exhaustion, the kind you get from being completely engaged, with everything that Maestro Bychkov was saying and that we were learning from the musicians, we were holding on to every gesture and word. Normally we could all stay up and talk about things forever, but the minute we returned to the hotel we slept rather urgently.

The two rehearsal days flew by, and the shift from rehearsal days to concert days felt very new to us, two days of intense rehearsals and a short dress rehearsal followed by turning up an hour before the concert to play – we were so lucky to have some free time to explore Prague and driven by the anticipation of the evening’s concert, we made our way through the Old Town quite quickly! We had amazing Czech food and loved seeing all of the historic parts of the city, and how the new parts of the city had their home in harmony with them. It’s one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever been to.

The last concert was without a doubt the best musical experience of my life – there was no holding back, and the emotion and energy were electric. By the fifth movement, there was this extraordinary sense of unity and passion, and I think that this is what flying must feel like. By far the most special thing about our performances was the audience. I have never felt or seen such a warm reception as the Czech audiences had for both Semyon Bychkov and all the passion given by the players of the Czech Philharmonic. Each night we were given a standing ovation, classical music is very appreciated in Prague and very much has a permanent place in the heart of Czech culture.

Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is intense and colossal, by the time it’s over you’ve experienced the full spectrum of human emotion and I felt the relief from the audience just as much as my own. You can almost just feel them draw a deep breath after that final chord. The feeling lingers in the atmosphere, like a storm happened on stage and the air still feels charged. I was almost laughing when we finished, I was just so thrilled by the experience. After several more rounds of applause and acknowledgement of the different sections, Semyon Bychkov was given two bouquets, and as he made his way across the stage to the viola section he handed Andrea a bouquet, and following that he came towards the violins and gave me the other bouquet, a sincere ‘Thank you, from London’.

Andrea is my roommate and violist in our quartet. We’ve been living and working together since our first year at the Academy. To have seen each other grow together over the years and then be able to share this moment was very special and meaningful to us, I thought of Jonasz and Julius, and how proud I am of how far we’ve all come together since moving to London and beginning our first year at the Academy, and as I finish writing from London, I haven’t stopped smiling since and I am beyond grateful.

The students will also perform in Toronto and Carnegie Hall in New York later this year as part of the Royal Academy of Music’s SIDE-BY-SIDE scheme.

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