The second of the ten concerts held by the Treasures of the Broumov region festival (12th year, Jul 1 – Sep 2) was dedicated to pieces deposited in the musical archive of the Broumov monastery. They were performed by Musica Braunensis ensemble which was established with the objective to play specifically this, often unknown or long-forgotten … Read more…
The 59th year of the Smetana’s Litomyšl music festival (Jun 16 – Jul 6) thought about its youngest spectators, too. It was for them that the festival staged a children opera performance Rusalenka by a well-known singer, pedagogue, and directress of the Prague children’s opera Jiřina Marková-Krystlíková (*1957). Commissioned by the festival, the work is based on Dvořák’s most famous opera. The … Read more…
Less than two weeks after the Brundibár premiere in Staatstheater Kassel, a new production of this children opera by Hans Krása was put on on another German opera scene, namely the one of Theater Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate. The piece, performed more than 55 times with the deported children in the Theresienstadt ghetto where the author eventually died, was … Read more…
Staatstheater Kassel presented a new production of Hans Krása’s famous Brundibár. The 1938 opera, once sung by children of the Theresienstadt ghetto, was rehearsed by a children choir Cantamus where the soloists were recruited from, too. They were accompanied by the TJO, Theater-Jugendorchester, which is an ensemble formed by talented instrumentalists aged 12-20. The show is a solo debut by … Read more…
Held on June 15 in the traditional venue of St Lawrence Church in Prague, the last pre-summer concert of the Konvergence composers’ association was one of a very intimate atmosphere. The chief performers were Simon and Felix Nagl brothers (cello, piano), whom the evening’s dramaturges and founding Konvergence members Tomáš Pálka and Michaela Pálka Plachká, met in … Read more…
The last but one week of the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK’s 82nd season carried itself in the spirit of jazz. On June 7 and 8 in the sold-out Smetana Hall of the Municipal House in Prague, the orchestra played a programme consisting of two pieces by George Gershwin (overture to musical Oh, Kay! and the highly popular American … Read more…
František Gregor Emmert: Symphony No. 25 for viola, organ, mezzosoprano and strings (world premiere)
Symphony No. 25 “The Angel Was Sent to You” by the recently deceased composer František Gregor Emmert (1940-2015) received its premiere on June 1 at the St. Augustine Church in Brno. It was performed by Ensemble Opera Diversa conducted by Ondrej Olos together with Jarmila Balážová (mezzosoprano), Milan Paľa (viola) and Marek Paľa (organ). Emmert … Read more…
Petr Wajsar (*1978) is a highly popular author at the Prague Spring festival. This year only, the festival gave world premiere to two of his compositions – besides Harpsycho, the compulsory piece for the 2nd round of the cembalo competition, it was The Rest Is Song, performed on June 1 at The Trade Fair Palace by … Read more…
This year’s topic of The Beauty of Today, the contemporary music concert cycle organized by PKF – Prague Philharmonia, was Dualism in the Czech 21st Century, or, the relationship between a living, active composer and his (former) teacher or mentor. On the last of this season’s concerts, which was held on May 30 at the Experimental Space NoD, … Read more…
As already a couple of times in the past, this year of the Prague Spring festival, too, decided to hold one of its concerts at the National Technical Museum. In collaboration with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, it presented a programme consisting of four pieces by contemporary composers, all of … Read more…
Less than a year and a half since its premiere at the Bavarian State Opera, South Pole, opera by Miroslav Srnka, made its appearance again, this time in a new version on the stage of Staatstheater Darmstadt. The story of two polar expeditions competing in their quest to be the first ones ever to reach the South Pole … Read more…
For the second time in its history, the Ekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre staged Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka. The production, premiered on May 19, was created by a Czech-Slovak team led by director Tomáš Pilař, current head of the opera ensemble of the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, and Ekaterinburg’s music director Oliver Dohnányi. The other … Read more…
As a teaser for the upcoming Ostrava Days festival, Ostrava witnessed a recital by the German cellist and Ostravská banda member Matthias Lorenz. It was hosted by the PLATO Ostrava art organization which, at the moment, has its residence in the former Bauhaus hobby market; and it was here, on May 15, that Lorenz performed Nomos Alpha … Read more…
On 2nd May, the BERG Orchestra put on a concert at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church in Karlín, Prague. It included a world premiere of Lorelei by composer Robert Hejnar (*1969), a piece which – by its balladic subject – formed an interesting contrast of thought to the spiritual Sequentia by Arvo Pärt and Seven Words by Sofia Gubaidulina. … Read more…
As a herald of this year’s Ostrava Days festival, a special concert took place on 25th April in the completely sold out Bohemian National Hall of the Czech Center New York. Together with The Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble, the festival’s director Petr Kotík presented a unique program consisting of works by composers of AACM (Association for the Advancement of … Read more…
On 20 April, the South Czech Philharmonic gave world premiere to the Angels Overture by composer Lukáš Hurník. The piece is in fact a newly-composed prelude based on the themes of The Angels, the author’s “musical-opera” which was staged, rather unsuccessfully, eleven years ago at The National Theatre. The postmodern performance was telling a story of a group of angels, … Read more…
Only a few days after the premiere of No Man at The National Theatre in Prague, the internationally acclaimed composer Jiří Kadeřábek enjoyed another great success on the Czech scene. On 16 November in Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, led by Jakub Hrůša, presented his Duel II which was composed on the orchestra’s commission. As the title … Read more…
A new orchestral composition by Miroslav Srnka received its premiere on 2nd April during the 34th year of Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo music festival which is taking place between 17th March and 8th April 2017. Srnka is no newcomer to the festival; his music was played here already in 2011 and 2014. Written on … Read more…
On March 31, the New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague introduced the long-awaited premiere of No Man, opera by composer Jiří Kadeřábek (*1978). It was watched by a sold-out stage where the spectators were seated; the auditorium, this time, was the place of action. The tragic life story of sculptor Otakar Švec who, against … Read more…
Movimento vivo, piano trio by Zdenek Merta (*1951) received its world premiere on March 28 in the Church of Sts. Simon and Jude in Prague. it was performed by Trio Martinů at a chamber concert organized by the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. Merta started working on the piece already in early 80s, but, due to his … Read more…