One of the goals the Contempuls festival has been working towards is to support Czech composers and to give them the opportunity to present themselves in an international context. At this year’s last two concerts, premiere was given to three pieces by Czech authors of the young generation – Jakub Rataj, Jan Ryant Dřízal and Jiří Kadeřábek.
The first two, Rataj’s Culmination and Dřízal’s Broken Flowers, were performed on 21st Novemeber by Ensemble Terrible which is an ensemble consisting of the Prague Academy of the Performing Arts’ students (Dřízal himself being one of them) and graduates (Rataj would fit into this group). Marek Šedivý was conducting. Nostalgia II by Jiří Kadeřábek, which was commissioned by the festival, was presented at the festival’s closing night on November 25 by Prague Modern ensemble led by the legendary French bassoonist and conductor Pascal Gallois.
21 November, La fabrika /Studio 1/, Prague
Jakub Rataj: Culmination (world premiere)
Jan Ryant Dřízal: Broken Flowers (world premieres)
Ensemble Terrible, cond. Marek Šedivý
25 November, La fabrika /Studio 1/, Prague
Jiří Kadeřábek: Nostalgia II (world premiere)
Prague Modern, cond. Pascal Gallois