Miroslav Srnka, the most successful Czech composer today, was the main star of DIALOGE 2017, contemporary music festival held by the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation. Forming the dramaturgical basis of the festival, his music was being performed several times over the 4 days – as the festival’s name suggests – in dialogues with other contemporary, classical, electronic or film … Read more
The penultimate concert of this year’s MusicOlomouc contemporary music festival belonged to the Phace Ensemble (Austria). On October 9 in the Corpus Christi Chapel of the Art Centre of Palacký University, they performed five pieces including a premiere by Petr Bakla. Last Piece (Mostly stepwise) for clarinet/bass clarinet, violoncello and piano was written on the festival’s commission. The programme … Read more
The fourth concert of this year’s MusicOlomouc festival took place on October 8 in the Corpus Christi Chapel of the Art Centre of Palacký University. It introduced Lichtzwang, Olomouc-based chamber ensemble founded last year, joined by Hungarian pianist Nóra Füzi. The concert presented the premiere of a new piece by Ostrava-based “classical” cimbalom player and composer Daniel … 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
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 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
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
Held on 6th February in Reduta, this year’s first orchestral concert by the Brno-based Ensemble Opera Diversa not only celebrated Miloš Štědroň’s 75th birthday but also served as a unique display of music by contemporary Czech and Moravian composers. Led by Gabriela Tardonová, the ensemble performed 6 pieces for strings, none of which was written more than twenty … 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
Held regularly from as early as 1969, the Carinthischer Sommer festival in Villach, the metropolis of the federal state of Carinthia, is one of the best known and most popular festivals in Austria. This year among those representing the contemporary music scene was the composer Ondřej Adámek (*1979), one of the festival’s Artists in Residence for 2016. … Read more
