A. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: London – St George’s Hanover Square, Mayfair, Friday 16 October 2026
Part of the 30th Made in Prague Festival, organised by the Czech Centre London.
Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague comes to London on Friday 16 October 2026. At St George’s Hanover Square, Handel’s own parish church in the heart of Mayfair, the orchestra presents some of the finest music Europe has produced. Works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach, Dvořák and other giants of the repertoire are performed by members of the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague in a chamber ensemble. The young Czech virtuoso Matteo Hager appears as soloist.
In autumn 2026, St George’s Hanover Square plays host to a rare musical occasion. The celebrated Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague, long admired on the world’s great stages, brings a programme of genuine classical treasures to England in chamber formation. Few settings could suit it better: George Frideric Handel worshipped at St George’s for the greater part of his life, and the church remains home to the London Handel Festival to this day.
At the heart of the evening is Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. This timeless Baroque masterpiece still captivates audiences the world over, and its extraordinary powers of description are the reason why: listeners feel the turning of the seasons unfolding in front of them.
The programme also features Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Bach’s Air on the G String, and Pachelbel’s Canon in D, long a byword for occasions both ceremonial and romantic. Handel’s Water Music completes the Baroque portion of the evening, performed a few steps from the pew where the composer himself once sat. The orchestra brings a piece of home with it too: Dvořák’s Waltz No. 1 from the Two Waltzes, Op. 54, a warm and unmistakably Czech miniature for strings.
The soloist is the gifted young violinist Matteo Hager, a student of the prestigious Royal Academy of Music. “Matteo is one of the most striking violin talents of his generation. What sets him apart is not only that he is a virtuoso violinist, but that he is a remarkably gifted composer as well,” says the renowned Czech violinist Václav Hudeček, who helped launch Hager’s career. “Even as a child he could play the virtuoso concertos of Tchaikovsky and Paganini. That is why he could be described as a virtuoso from a very early age. He has an extraordinary musical future ahead of him,” Hudeček adds.
Venue:
St George’s Hanover Square
St George Street
Mayfair
London
W1S 1FX
United Kingdom
Friday 16 October 2026, 7.30pm
Performers:
Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague (BSOP), chamber ensemble
Violin soloist: Matteo Hager
Presented as part of:
