The BERG Orchestra ended this year’s season on 5 December with a concert in the St Salvator Church, Prague. They presented the Czech premiere of Circle for 4 trios, conductor and audience by the Chinese composer star, Oscar and Grammy winner Tan Dun. The second part belonged to the world premiere of a space composition shadows by day, Light by night by Czech … Read more
It has become a tradition for the Prague Orthodox music festival Archaion Kallos to provide space also for young contemporary composers. This (8th) year, it was Martin Klusák (*1987) and Jan Trojan (*1982). Their pieces, Pnoi for solo clarinet and video projection (Klusák) and Refractions – sound interventions (Trojan), were performed on October 22 at the Gallery of … Read more
A part of the 15th year of music and environment Baltic Sea Festival, which was held during the last week of August in Stockholm, was a world premiere of a new piece for choir by composer Martin Smolka. The Name Emmanuel was written on the festival’s commission and was performed on August 27 at the Berwaldhallen concert hall by the … Read more
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
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
At their concert on 6th February in Rudolfinum, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra gave world premiere to the sixth symphony by a Brno-based composer Pavel Zemek Novák (*1957). In this composition written to the text of Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation, the orchestra was joined by the women section of the Prague Philharmonic Choir led by … 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
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
Michal Rataj’s Missa Abstracta accompanied the opening of Patrik Hábl’s art installation at the historical complex of the Speinshart monastery in Bavaria on 26 March. Inspired by the so-called Screen Tearing – a visual artifact created by the disturbance of the display device -, the installation was based on the covering of the nave’s altar area by the monumental … Read more
