About
Biography
Jiří Rožeň is quickly becoming known for his thoughtful programming and knowledge of a broad range of repertoire. A passionate and knowledgeable advocate of Czech music, he is expanding audiences with his unique interpretations of well-known works and those of lesser-known contemporary composers, including Bohuslav Martinů, Josef Suk, Viktor Kalabis and Miloslav Kabeláč.
During the 2024/25 season, Rožeň makes symphonic debuts with Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Philharmonie Zuidnederland and Musikkollegium Winterthur. He also returns to Hamburg Symphoniker, Interlaken Classics, Orchestre National de Metz, and Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the opera pit this season Rožeň begins work on a new opera by Ana Sokolovic for Montreal Opera and will also revive the highly acclaimed production by Nigel Lowery, Le Grand Macabre for Prague State Opera. The original staging of the new production in Spring 2024 marked the premiere of the work in Prague and opened in the frame of the Opera Nova Festival, of which Rožeň was artistic curator. For Opera Nova, Rožeň also conducted the world premiere of Kafka’s Letter to his Father, a newly commissioned opera for the festival.
Previous highlights in 2023/24 included debuts with Bergen National Opera for a new production of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova and a return to Gothenburg Opera for a gala concert on the occasion of the bicentenary of Smetana’s birth following the success of Bartered Bride during the 2022/23 season. In the Nordic territory, he also returned to Finland, making his debut with Jyväskylä Sinfonia.
Rožeň has made a name for himself as a serious interpreter of such avant-garde opera titles including the acclaimed Flammen, Seven Deadly Sins, Erwartung for Prague State Opera and in summer 2022, premiering Nono’s Prometeo in the Czech Republic, continuing his close working relationship with the Ostrava Centre for New Music. In Prague he has also conducted Dvorak’s Rusalka.
Debuts in previous seasons included US weeks with Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony and Naples Philharmonic and across Europe for Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony, Hallé, Orchestre National de Metz, MDR Leipzig, Bochumer Symphoniker and Orquesta Sinfónica de las Islas Baleares. In Belgium, he has conducted many of the major orchestras, including Orchestre National de Belgique, Brussels Philharmonic, Flanders and Antwerp Symphony orchestras as well as Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
Soloist collaborations in previous seasons have included renowned soloists such as Nobuyuki Tsuji, Randall Goosby, Alban Gerhardt, Lukáš Vondráček, Esther Yoo, Kian Soltani, Josef Špaček,
Francesca Dego, Arabella Steinbacher, Jan Mráček, Pavel Šporcl, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman and Lawrence Brownlee.
Born in Prague in 1991, Rožeň studied conducting at conservatoires and universities in Prague, Salzburg, Hamburg, Zürich and Glasgow where he was Leverhulme Conducting Fellow. He was successful in Salzburg and London as the Finalist of both the Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award and the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition. Formerly Assistant Conductor at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Rožeň worked alongside Donald Runnicles and Thomas Dausgaard and assisted them at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. His mentors have included Garry Walker, Dennis Russell Davies, Ulrich Windfuhr and Johannes Schlaefli. Other important influences include Bernard Haitink, David Zinman and Peter Eötvös in masterclasses with orchestras such as the Concertgebouworkest, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.