Page 688 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

Libor Pesek brought to the orchestra a rare combination of discipline, panache and adventure
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After the second concert in 1987 he was offered the post of chief conductor in Liverpool. Pesek

took some persuading. He had previously been head of a provincial Dutch orchestra and knew

how hard it was to be a foreigner in charge. Nor did he like the politics and administration that

inevitably go with such a job. “My manager kept talking about the significance of the oldest

English orchestra and I eventually consented,” he said.

For the next 11 years audiences in the northwest were treated to exceptional orchestral music

directed by a conductor renowned for his charming manners. He was determined to mix well-
known fare, whether Beethoven or Brahms, with music from his homeland. Yet was delighted

by the interest shown by audiences in Czech music including requests for works that even he

considered to be rarities, such as the Slovak Suite by Vitezslav Novak, a pupil of Dvorak. He

and the orchestra made acclaimed recordings for Virgin Classics of Czech and other works.

Pesek brought to the orchestra a rare combination of discipline, panache and adventure,

stretching audiences and players without breaking them. “I admired from the very beginning

their dedication to the score, their technical skills and sheer professionalism,” he told

Gramophone magazine. “They in turn responded to me.”

He acquired a Land Rover and began to commute monthly in epic drives across Europe from

Prague to Liverpool, where he made a second home in room 217 of the Adelphi hotel. After a

concert he was often found in the bar with musicians and public alike, dissecting the
performance they had just heard and anticipating the next. Despite sometimes struggling to

understand Scouse accents he came to admire hugely the spirit of the city and its sense of

humour.