Ondřej Adámek’s new composition for airmachine, a musical instrument designed and created by the composer himself, and 15 players received its world premiere on 10 March during the Biennale Musiques en Scène contemporary arts festival in Lyon. Adámek has been experimenting with the various modes of the instrument’s construction since 2009. Made up of a wind tunnel and multiple … Read more
On 10 March at the Zlín Congress Centre, Bohuslav Martinů Phlharmonic Orchestra premiered a new orchestral piece by Jiří Pavlica, a violinist and composer whose musical language, though oscillating between various genres, is influenced especially by folk music. The Moravian Dances orchestral suite, too, derives from folk dances from different Moravian regions (Haná, Moravian Slovakia, “odzemek” from … Read more
On their concerts on March 9, 10 and 11 the Czech Philharmonic performed – as this season’s second world premiere of a piece by a Czech composer already – Miloš Bok’s Apocalypse in Kamenická Stráň. This monumental 50-minute long vocal-instrumental composition for mixed and children’s choir, four soloists and a large orchestra is in fact only the first half of the … Read more
Ondřej Štochl’s composition YIN – Nostalgia and Hope received its world premiere on 9 March at the Museum of Applied Arts of the Moravian Gallery by Brno Contemporary Orchestra. This piece for vibraphone and 12 instruments was on the programme of an evening called “Assimilation – Concert for people” together with music by Alvin Lucier, Michel … Read more
Ondřej Kyas’s (*1979) Chamber Symphony no. 2 for oboe, piano, percussion and strings received its world premiere on this year’s first concert of the Brno-based Ensemble Opera Diversa, which took place on 10th February at the Reduta theatre in Brno. A part of the ceremony was the presentation of the ensemble’s very first CD which consists of Jan Novák’s oboe … Read more
During a concert called “Jazz Inspirations”, which took place on 4th February at Reduta concert hall in Olomouc, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra gave world premiere of Zdenek Merta’s Century Dance. The trumpet concerto, which the author describes as a classic crossover piece, is in fact a symphonic transcription of five distinctive dances of the 20th century. The movements are … Read more
The Prague Chamber Orchestra gave the world premiere of Pražské divertimento (Prague Divertimento) by the composer and visual artist Vladimír Franz. Apart from this four-movement piece, the program of the concert, which took place on 2nd February at the Rudolfinum’s DvořákHall, included music by J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart and P. I. Tchaikovsky. “Prague. A city both magical … Read more
Three new pieces by three Czech composers received their world premiere on this year’s first concert of Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra’s “New Horizons” subscription series. During the performance of the works by Martin Kumžák, Petr Wajsar and Jan Kučera, which are all written for a string quartet and orchestra, was the Radio orchestra accompanied by the Prague-based crossover … Read more
On Sunday 31st January the long-awaited world premiere of the opera South Pole by the Czech composer Miroslav Srnka took place at the Bavarian State Opera. The event, referred to as being one of the peaks of this year’s Munich opera season, also represents a crucial moment in the context of Czech contemporary music’s history, the last Czech … Read more
PKF – Prague Philharmonia performed a world premiere of the composition I Hear the Sky by Michal Nejtek (*1977). The 13-minute long piece, which had been commissioned by the orchestra, was given its premiere on 17 January at the Dvořák’s Hall of Rudolfinum followed by music of Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók. The orchestra was … Read more
