The Prague Spring Festival starts in three days. The music competition is already in full swing

In submission Berlin Philharmonic under the leadership Kirill Petrenko so the fanfare from Libuš will also be heard. The concert, which was sold out during the first days of sales, can be watched live on a large screen in the park in Prague’s Kampa. An interactive installation will open in front of the Rudolfinum on Sunday Cech is a musician and before the evening concert there will be an opening in the Municipal House Prague Spring Art Salona new accompanying project of the festival, for which prominent Czech visual artists developed a theme My Country.

Two of the best Italian orchestras will visit the festival – Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Philharmonic Orchestra La Scala opera house in Milan. A unique will arrive from Paris Orchester Philharmonique de Radio Francefrom the Netherlands Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choirlegendary from Belgium Collegium Vocale Ghent. New to this year’s festival is a program for young audiences called SpringTEEN, whose all-day program will take place in the impressive premises of St. Agnes Monastery and its gardens, a spectacular concert will take place in the Karlín Forum 11,000 strings with fifty pianos sounding simultaneously.

Although many concerts are traditionally sold out, approximately 15% of tickets are still available for the festival. Even now, you can buy tickets for a number of attractive concerts: from adrenaline-charged ones final rounds of the horn and violin competition (May 13 and 14) and birthday concert for the 75th anniversary of the Prague Spring Competition (May 15), a song recital interwoven with inner emotions Miah Persson (May 16), a famous concert Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France (May 27) with the music of Ravel and the world premiere, to the hottest news in contemporary music at Prague Offspring in DOX (May 31 and June 1).

• Prague Spring (©archive of the Prague Spring Festival)

Interactive installation What Czech, a musician?

This year, Prague Spring also enters the public space with a playful interactive installation in front of the Rudolfinum. He invites all his listeners, as well as random passers-by, to play on the theme of the well-known Czech saying “Co Cech to muzikant”. The space of the installation, which the festival prepared in cooperation with the Signal festival, consists of 16 light trunks of a symbolic musical forest. By approaching the individual columns, the works of this year’s key authors can be heard. Let it be a famous tune Vltava from the Smetana cycle My Countrythe diverse musical worlds of Miroslav Srnka and his works Superorganisms or rousing rhythms Enticing Kryštof Mařatka. By moving between the tribes, visitors complete their compositions and become music creators themselves. The festival wants to bring the actors of the installation to reflect on how classical music turned a small country into a world power, how we can continue to be that power, and whether the saying from the title of our installation still applies.

Panel discussion Small country, big musicians

Jakub Hrůša, who is the ambassador of the Year of Czech Music in the Prague Spring, in addition to his concerts, he will also perform at a panel discussion on May 29 in the Municipal House, which aims to explore in greater depth the issues connected with the Year of Czech Music. Will contemporary Czech composers and instrumentalists stand up in the international context in the same way as the most famous names that we associate with this year’s anniversaries? How does the Czech company treat one of its best exports? What does Czech music actually mean to us? The discussion about the phenomenon of the Czech Republic as a classical music superpower will take place not only with the participation of artists, but also state representatives, economists, philosophers, statisticians and patrons. For example, an expert on creative industries and the economy of culture confirmed their participation Tereza Raabová, journalist Petr Fischer, Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office Marek Rojičekphilanthropist and publisher Jiří Wald and Jiří Hubač, creative producer of Czech Television. He will be the moderator of the conference, which is broadcast live by iVyslínie Czech Television Sasha Michailidis.

The support of the art of music will be one of the central themes of the conference – simply because, as in the history of music, even today, the organization of concerts cannot do without it. Prague Spring therefore thanks all its partners both from the institutional side in the form of Ministry of Culture, Capital City of Prague and Czech Tourismas well as corporate partners led by the General Partner of the festival, CEZ Group. 30 years of continuous support of the Prague Spring will be celebrated this year by the Festival Partner, the company innogy Czech Republic. General media partner Czech television this year, in cooperation with the festival, he is once again preparing a live broadcast of the opening concert as well as the regular festival coverage Echo of Prague Spring. It also traditionally provides great media support Czech radio, who prepared broadcasts and recordings of six concerts this year. Throughout the year and of course also during the festival, they devote their attention to the news Economic newspaper. Traditionally, the live broadcast of the opening concert in Kampa is mediated by a technology partner CETIN a.s Other companies that supported the festival are: Subterra as, Allianz pojišťovna, asthe robots on SpringTEEN were supplied by the company ABB Czech Republicthe official car is Mercedes-Benz Czech Republic. Individual donors of the association also participate to an increasingly significant extent patron club Friends of the Prague Springwho this year supported the audience prize of the Prague Spring Competition.

• Prague Spring (©Ivan Malý)

Prague Spring supports young musicians and authors

In 2014, Jiří Bělohlávek established the tradition of conducting debuts at the Prague Spring. This year, the laureate of the prestigious British Donatella Flick Competition, a conductor, will be presented as part of it Jiří Habart. “I greatly appreciate the offer to perform at this year’s Prague Spring,” says the conductor who, in his program with the Prague Philharmonia, will also present the laureate of the previous year’s competition, the French violist Sao Soulez Larivièreto perform Concerto for viola and orchestra a classic of Polish music by Krzysztof Penderecki.

It has already become a stable platform for premieres by young composers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia Prague Offspring. Their compositions sound here in a top performance of one of the best ensembles of new music. This year you can come to DOX to listen premieres Tímey Hvozdíková, Michal Indrák, Martin Klusák, Matej Sloboda and Michal Wróblewski.

The competition as a milestone in the musical careers of young artists

“We locked ourselves in a cottage, we practiced all year, that period was great, it was so punk. The Prague Spring launched our international career,” representatives remember their win at the Prague Spring Competition in 2005 Pavel Haas Quartet Peter and Veronika Jarůšk, who, together with other now famous laureates, will perform at the 75th anniversary of the competition at a concert on May 15 in the Rudolfinum.

This year’s competition in disciplines violin and French horn is now in full swing: the opening ceremony took place on May 6 in the horn field, which this year saw a record number of applications. A total of 139 arrived from 30 countries. From the total of 48 participants in the first round, 10 horn players will represent the Czech Republic at the competition. Lesní roh has a strong interpretation tradition in the Czech Republic, which is confirmed by famous names such as Radek Baborák, the judge of this year’s competition Zuzana Rzounková, or the laureate of the competition and one of the soloists of the concert on May 15, Kateřina Javůrková. Competition finals corner of the forest so it promises exciting moments of the competition of the best horn players from all over the world, among whom the Czech Republic will probably have its irons in the fire. You can already experience the adrenaline of the final evening May 13 from 6 p.m in Rudolfinum. You can also add your vote in the audience price.

Today, May 9, ends the first round of the violin competition, in which the judges headed by Idou Cavafian and Josef Špaček they will choose ten lucky ones from 42 contestants. They arrived in Prague from 10 countries, seven of them from the Czech Republic. A total of 92 performers from 18 countries applied for the violin competition. The final of the violin competition will take place on May 14 in the Rudolfinum.

The Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival 2024 publishes its program

“What was I most looking forward to? For everything! After all, I was waiting. It’s nice to be Czech again.” These are the words of Rudolf Firkušný, which he spoke after his return home after 44 long years in emigration, and they are the motto of this year’s festival. He introduces between November 2 and 9 five piano recitals, which this year combine very unconventional concert formats. Ticket sales are starting today and can be used until June 3 early-bird discounts 20%.

He starts it Sir András Schiff with a program that will be announced as a surprise only at the concert itself. “It is much more spontaneous for me to announce the program on the spot and present the works in person,” explains. However, he revealed beforehand that the program will also include works by Czech authors. Schiff will introduce a South Korean pianist as part of his mentoring program Chloe Jiyeong Moon, at a concert on November 3 with works by Chopin, Debussy, Haydn and Schubert. Concert Alexander Melnikova November 5 promises a completely unique experience. Five instruments on one stage – from the harpsichord to the hammerklavier to the modern piano will take us on a musical journey through time: from Bach to Schnittke. He will pay tribute to this year’s jubilant Smetana Ivo Kahanek and his students with a concert on November 7, will play his notorious works in unexpected arrangements for two, four and eight hands. The festival will conclude on November 9 with a concert with French charm both in the notes and behind the keyboard: the works of Debussy will be performed by one of the most famous interpreters of French music Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Themes and ideas dedicated to the Year of Czech Music

As you can see, Prague Spring does not conceive the celebration of the Year of Czech Music as just a parade of famous names of the past. What does Czech music mean to us today? What does it consist of? Czechness in music? What is our relationship to her? During the festival, it will offer the viewer many opportunities to think about similar questions: whether it is the opening itself with the performance of an iconic piece from the history of Czech music by a German orchestra, the rendering My homeland by six contemporary artists as part of the Prague Spring Art Salon, an interactive installation What a Czech is a musician, artistic duels or a panel discussion directly dedicated to the Year of Czech Music.

“The life of Czechs in music” Bedřich Smetana was convinced. “Music is our lifelong guide,” adds Daniel Beneš, CEO of CEZ Group. And the context is expanded by Miroslav Srnka in an interview for the Prague Spring catalog: “I would like to believe that identity is not some learned myth, but a collection of common feelings and experiences that were worth it. Janáček, fidorky, Nagano, resort villages, Havel’s shorts, tiles in the subway, beer on the embankment…”. Come experience those experiences from May 12 to June 3 at the Prague Spring.

Source: TZ
Opening photo: Opening concert of Prague Spring 2019 (©Ivan Malý)