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
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
The third of the six evenings of the Beauty of Today, which is aoncert cycle organized by PKF – Prague Philharmonia, was dedicated to the composer, conductor, flautist and music organiser Petr Kotík who recently celebrated his 75th birthday. It took place on 8th February at NoD experimental space in Prague and the audience had a chance to … Read more
Held on 6th December at the Saint Lawrence Church, Prague, this year’s last concert of the composers’ association Konvergence was focused exclusively on Czech contemporary music. Six pieces on the program involved Michal Rataj’s Running For Breath. This piano solo composition was written already in 2013 but it was not until now that it received its world … Read more
Three concerts took place during the fourth week of the Days of Contemporary Music festival. All of them were held at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with fifteen of the twenty pieces presented enjoying their world premiere. The program on November 21 consisted exclusively of chamber music. Pallets and Shading by Jiří Bezděk … Read more
Three concerts of Czech 20th and 21st century music took place during the second and third week of the Days of Contemporary Music festival. All of them were held in the halls of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. The festival has since long been focusing on premiering new pieces and the concert on … Read more
MoEns ensemble who specializes exclusively in contemporary music played a concert on November 8 at the Gallery of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. This time, they gave world premieres to four compositions by their members or related artists – Marek Kopelent, Hanuš Bartoň, Michal Nejtek and Kamil Doležal. Comprising of Doležal (clarinet), David Danel (violin), … Read more
The 27th year of the Days of Contemporary Music festival started on 2nd November in Prague. Organized by the Society of Czech Composers, it will stage nine concerts and present 55 pieces by Czech contemporary composers. The opening concert was held at the Church of Virgin Mary under the Chain in Lesser Town of Prague. … Read more
It has become a custom for the Orthodox music festival Archaion Kallos to annually present new pieces by young Czech composers. Last year it was music by Jan Dušek and Petr Koronthály, this time by Slavomír Hořínka and Jan Ryant Dřízal. The chamber music concert was held on 18 October at the Gallery of the Academy … Read more
A song cycle Confessions of a Poet by Juraj Filas received its world premiere at a concert of the composers’ association Harmonia held by the Prague Spring festival on 2 June at the St Agnes’ Convent. It was performed by a renowned Czech baritone Ivan Kusnjer and a pianist Daniel Wiesner. The cycle’s four songs March – To She Who … Read more
