Rudolf Firkušný’s Piano Festival Returns to Prague’s Rudolfinum
From November 8 to 13, 2025, the 13th Rudolf Firkušný Festival will take place as part of the prestigious Prague Spring International Music Festival, showcasing some renowned pianists. The festival will see Jan Lisiecki, Karel Kosárek, and jazz musician Jiří Levíček making their debut at this event. The festival will also feature a performance by Julianna Avdeyeva, who will honor the significant anniversary of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, while the original and famous pianist Arkady Volodos will return to Prague to play pieces by Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt.
Concerts will be held in the beautiful Dvořák Hall at the Rudolfinum.
Rudolf Firkušný is a legendary figure in the world of music performance. He was one of the outstanding artists who helped establish the Prague Spring festival, alongside greats like Rafael Kubelík and Leonard Bernstein. Firkušný is also known for his moral courage, as he took a strong stand against the totalitarian regimes that devastated our nation, forcing him to emigrate twice.
“What was I most looking forward to? Everything! I’ve been waiting. It’s wonderful to be Czech again.” These heartfelt words were spoken by Rudolf Firkušný upon returning home after 44 long years away in exile.
Who and when will fill the concert halls with piano music this year
The festival will kick off on Saturday, November 8, 2025, featuring the acclaimed Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki. He will present a thoughtfully organized performance focusing entirely on the beautiful Preludes. This will include Bach’s Prelude in C major from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C sharp minor, and early preludes by Olivier Messiaen, influenced by Claude Debussy. There will also be preludes by Polish composers Karol Szymanowski and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki. The concert’s highlight will be the renowned 24 Preludes Op. 28 by Fryderyk Chopin.
On Monday, November 10, 2025, concert pianist Julianna Avdeyeva will present the monumental cycle of 24 preludes and fugues by Dmitri Shostakovich. This year, she will perform Shostakovich’s preludes and fugues at the festival. This set, 24 Preludes and Fugues, echoes Bach’s Well-Tempered Piano, where Shostakovich composed a prelude and fugue in major and minor keys for each note in the chromatic scale. This work stands as one of the most significant piano cycles of the 20th century and is a major piece that is seldom played by pianists.
On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Karel Košárek and Jiří Levíček will perform a program titled God Bless American Jazz. Karel Košárek, an award-winning pianist, will collaborate with Jiří Levíček, a leading jazz musician with experience from the USA. The evening will start with Copland’s famous El Salón México, followed by Charles Griffes’ impressionistic pieces titled Three Pictures in Tone and a piano sonata by Samuel Barber. Košárek will then feature virtuoso etudes by Earl Wild based on popular songs by George Gershwin in the concert’s second half. The two pianists will join forces in a half-hour suite for two pianos called Point on Jazz, which beautifully blends classical and jazz styles.
The festival will conclude on Thursday, November 13, 2025, with performance by Arkady Volodos, one of the most esteemed pianists worldwide. Volodos is known for his captivating solo recitals, enchanting audiences in the globe’s most notable concert halls with his expressive playing and deep connection to the classical piano repertoire. He is returning to the Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival after four years and will perform a program featuring Robert Schumann’s Dances of the Davids, his own striking arrangement of Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 13, and the dynamic Sonata in A major by Franz Schubert.
