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
