Czech Philharmonic must economize, Hvorostovsky cancelled

According to the Ministry of Culture, the Czech Philharmonic must "completely change its economy management". The audit doesn't report any fraudulent activities, rather incompetency of Mr.Riedlbauch and Mr.Darjanin. Mr.Riedlbauch was the Director General from 2001 to 2009, when he became the Minister of Culture of the caretaker government after the international embarrassment fall of the regular government during the EU presidency, and Mr.Darjanin took over.

Vladimír Darjanin

Václav Riedlbauch

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However, ten months later, Riedlbauch dismissed Darjanin and appointed Václav Kasík - without a tender. After protests by the philharmonics, Kasík resigned at the end of August, and since then the director of the Czech Philharmonic is Radek Zdráhal, a deputy of the Minister of Culture.

Musicians protesting against Kasík in front of the Rudolfinum,
suggesting that he got the post out of acquaintanceship.

Mr.Darjanin had arranged a concert and workshop with the starry pianist Lang Lang, and the season was supposed to end with style, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky's concert in the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle (it's the beautiful golden-white hall where Obama and Medvedev signed the New Start treaty). The philharmonic are arranging alternate dates for these two concerts, but it seems that it won't be before 2012.

Source of information and images: Czech TV