The Leoš Janáček Foundation in Brno has awarded the Sir Charles Mackerras Prize to Robert Kružík, the new chief conductor of the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno. 

Sir Charles Mackerras contributed to the dissemination of Czech music worldwide and generously bequeathed part of his royalties to the Leoš Janáček Foundation, which the Foundation’s Management Board resolved to devote to supporting and recognizing gifted Czech conductors under the age of forty.

The prize is awarded in jubilee years marking Sir Charles Mackerras’s birth.  and so far it has occurred only once before – in 2015, when the award was conferred upon Jakub Hrůša, now Music Director of the Royal Opera House, London.

A specialist panel recommended that the 2025 award be given to Robert Kružík, who has demonstrated a deep and sincere engagement with the music of Leoš Janáček, and his recent appointment as Chief Conductor of the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno promises a comprehensive and thoughtful interpretation of all of the Master’s operas.

Kružík is a Czech conductor and cellist who has been the chief conductor of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín and a winner of the Jiří Bělohlávek Prize.

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