Biography
Libor Pešek KBE (22 June 1933 – 23 October 2022) enjoyed an international conducting career for over 50 years. He was Principal Guest Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra until his death.
In his final seasons Maestro Pešek conducted the Orquestre Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Tonkunstler, Orquesta Filharmonica de Gran Canaria, the Royal Flemish Phiharmonic for the Dvorak Festival, Royal Philharmonic Orechestra, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid and a UK tour with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Reviews
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“Pešek inspired the orchestra with the necessary unanimity of purpose to make the music pay off. The score’s grand sweep sounded thrilling in its excess … the final climax left the audience short of breath”
San Francisco Chronicle by Joshua Kosman
“Pešek has a natural way with early 20th century Czech repertoire”
BBC Music Magazine
“Pešek shapes Dvorak’s melodies with great subtlety: his ability to achieve fine-grained orchestral phrasing is unrivalled among contemporary conductors”
International Record Review
“Libor Pešek, a guest conductor that makes a difference, had an immediate influence on style, tone and balance, and produced three glorious performances … Conducting with focused, purposeful gesture and exemplary economy of movement, Pešek produced a performance of excellent balance, refinement and great expressiveness. Both the Mozart and the Dvorak were as finely played as one is likely to hear those works. Here is a conductor!”
San Francisco Chronicle by Robert Commanday