PROGRAMME OF JANÁČEK AND LUHAČOVICE FESTIVAL

Monday, 11 July 2022

The Marriage of Figaro is an opera buffa in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 May 1786.  Performed by opera ensemble of the Silesian Theatre from Opava.

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Since its establishment in 1975, Moyzes Quartet has been one of the most famous chamber ensembles in Slovakia. During its existence, the quartet performed at the most renowned world and domestic festivals. They successfully represented Slovak music culture in almost all European countries, Japan, India, Morocco, USA, Canada, Faroe Islands and Cuba. In 2016 the quartet was awarded the Prize of the Slovak Minister of Culture. The Quartet repertoire includes all style periods including works of the contemporary Slovak composers.

Mucha Quartet was established in 2003 at the Conservatory in Bratislava and it belongs among the prominent chamber ensembles in Slovakia. The ensemble was awarded 2nd prize at the International Bohuslav Martinů Competition in Prague (2010), and is the winner of the Josef Windisch Prize 2013 (Vienna). At the international competition Premio Paolo Borciani 2014 they were awarded the 2nd prize and the Prize of the Audience. The quartet won the 1st prize at the Antonín Dvořák International Chamber Music Competition 2014 (Prague), as well as the 1st prize at Leoš Janáček International Competition 2015 (Brno).

Maroš Klátik is a searched after solo and chamber performer in Slovakia and abroad. His fist contest successes include the Honourable Mention at the competition of Slovak music academies in the years 2000 and 2002. Foreign achievements include 1st place and the title of a laureate of Kaukko Sorjonen Foundation 2008 (Finland), and 1st place in Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe YMFE 2008.

Maroš Klátik completed master lessons focused on interpretation of German and French songs in Lübeck led by Rudolf Jansen and Christy Pfeifer. He also took part in master lessons in Meissen, where he won Rotary Club Prize. In 2007, he was a scholarship holder at Hochschule für Musik in Desden. In the years 2007-2018, Maroš Klátik performed as a soloist of the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra in Olomouc, Janáček Academic Orchestra in Brno, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, West Bohemia Symphonic Orchestra in Marienbad, Slovak Chamber Orchestra Bohdan Warchal, State Philharmonic Košice and State Chamber Orchestra Žilina.

As a soloist and chamber performer, Maroš Klátik performed at the renowned music festivals. He held concerts in many countries of Europe, USA and Asia. He worked as a pedagogue at Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno and Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Presently Maroš Klátik works as an assistant professor at the Department of Keyboard Instruments at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica and Academy of Music in Bratislava.

Wednesday, 13 July 2022

Czech Ensemble Baroque is a professional ensemble staging stylish performances of older style eras in an authentic interpretation using period instruments, established by the conductor Roman Válek in 1998. The ensemble consists of three sections: orchestra, vocal ensemble and soloists. Members are professional instrumentalists and singers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Germany.

Roman Válek has been the principal conductor of the ensemble from the beginning. Concert masters are Peter Zajíček and Elen Machová, the head of vocal ensemble is Tereza Válková. Cooperating artists include for example: A. Plachetka, Jean-Francois Lombard, M. Cukrová, R. Janál, Joel Frederiksen, M. Koudelková, L. Peterková, Barbara Maria Willi, M. Knoblochová, László Borsódy, M. Štryncl and others.

Thursday, 14 July 2022

“Church Songs from Znorovy” concert consisting of songs collected by Leoš Janáček and his friend Hynek Bím, will reveal to the audience a hitherto undiscovered pearl of folk music culture, so far outside the main interest of the folklore public. With the songs selected after more than a century from their origin, we will look into the repertoire firmly rooted in the song-loving and pious community of the said Slovak village of Znorovy – now Vnorovy.

It was in this village where Leoš Janáček, after the premature death of his father in 1866, found refuge with his uncle Jan Janáček, who had been working there as a pastor in 1870-1878.

PhilHarmonia Octet Prague, currently the most remarkable representative of the so-called Czech school of wind instruments – in the European context – is PhilHarmonia Octet ensemble established in 2007 based on initiative of Vilém Veverka and Václav Vonášek. Their aim was to create an ensemble of the best Czech musicians, who influenced each other already during their studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and to compare Czech musical mastery tradition to modern European musical styles and trends.

The aim of the ensemble is to enrich the Czech musical scene, expanding the repertoire and particularly improving the Czech interpretative standard. The characteristic element of the ensemble is the fact that the performers are winners of prestigious international contests or graduates of international schools, who later become excellent solo players. This is indeed typical for the best world-renowned ensembles of this kind. Engagement of the individual members in the prominent European orchestras e.g. Berlin Philharmonic, WDR Köln or Czech Philharmonic is also interesting. The repertoire of the ensemble includes very unique performances of transformation of the music language during the changing music epochs and styles from the second part of the 18th century till the beginning of the new millennium. The important repertoire pillar is introducing compositions in increased number of musicians and seeking more inspiration in well-chosen adaptations.

The name of the ensemble could be explained in two ways: by the original meaning of the word “philharmonic” – a fondness for harmony, and by the term “harmony”, used for this kind of ensembles since the time of classicism. PhilHarmonia Octet is a sought after ensemble not only at the Czech concert stages, but has also achieved success abroad. The profile recording of the ensemble “Music for Wind Instruments” with compositions of L. van Beethoven, G. Klein and W. A. Mozart is being considered by professional critics as the best Czech recording of the kind.

Friday, 15 July 2022

Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra - Calls for the establishment of a professional symphony orchestra began to gather pace in Zlín as early as in the 1920s, with the main impetus coming from none other than the Bat'a company. Getting the ideas off the ground, however, was no easy matter, due perhaps in part to the fact that inter-wartime Zlín had very little to speak of in terms of musical tradition. So it was not until shortly after the Second War that the Bat'a Corporation management's endeavours landed on fertile ground when what was originally the company's brass band gradually took on the shape of a new symphony orchestra which subsequently acquired the name The Bat'a National Enterprise Symphony Orchestra.

A fundamental watershed in the orchestra's history took place in early April 1946, when the Brno-based conductor Rudolf Kvasnica was put in charge of the almost 50-strong company of musicians, and intensive daily practice made it possible to stage the first ever public concert in the Velké Kino cinema hall on the 30th April that same year, stamping that date in gold letters in the Orchestra's archives as its performance debut.

Initially based in the huge cinema hall boasting over 2,000 seats, the Orchestra was rarely able to attract a capacity audience. Nonetheless the facilities afforded by the building guaranteed the musicians a level of amenity that was exceptional for the time. Then, in November 1955, the former Tomáš Bat'a Memorial Building was repurposed for the Orchestra's needs and subsequently renamed the Dům Úmění or Arts Centre, giving the Orchestra a highly prestigious venue to call home for the second time in a short space of time - a venue that was further enhanced by the installation of a large concert organ. Since January 2011 the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra has been based in the new-build Zlín Congress Centre, designed by the renowned Czech architect and designer Eva Jiřičná, herself a native of Zlín. The passage of time has seen the Zlín orchestra parade under a variety of imposed name changes often according to the political expediency of the time. Audiences in Zlín (subsequently renamed Gottwaldov) knew it first as the Bat'a National Enterprise Symphony Orchestra which then, in autumn 1948, was renamed the Zlín Philharmonic. In December of that same year, the name was changed to The Workers' Philharmonic, and then in the 1950s, to the

Gottwaldov Region State Symphony Orchestra. Since January 1989 the Orchestra has been proud to have Bohuslav Martinů, one of the most illustrious Czech composers, in its name.

The Orchestra’s repertoire comprises not only major symphonic works, but also jazz, rock, chanson and pop music. Its core range of concerts is currently organised in five subscription series, but it stages many other concerts in Zlín and the region, and regularly tours this country’s major musical festivals such as the Prague Spring, the Smetana festival in Litomyšl, the Janáček May, the Brno Špilberk, the Prague Music Festival, the Český Krumlov, the České Doteky music festival and others. Its tours abroad have taken the orchestra to Italy, Denmark, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Austria, Romania, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, the Ukraine and the USA (Carnegie Hall). In 2016 the Orchestra performed in India - some 57 years after the last performance there by a Czech orchestra. Then in November 2017 it made a five-concert tour of South Korea, followed by another successful tour to India in early 2018.

Among the eminent soloists who have performed with the Orchestra are Mstislav Rostropovich, Daniel Schafran, Mischa Maisky, Vadim Repin, Jennifer Larmore, Eugen Indjić, Sergey Krylov, Eduard Haken, Josef Suk, Dagmar Pecková, Eva Urbanová, Gabriela Beňačková and Magdalena Kožená. In recent years the Orchestra has hosted guest stars such as Roland Villazón, Montserrat Caballé, Olga Peretyatko, Joseph Calleja, Angela Gheorghiu, Pretty Yende, Fazil Say, David Lomelí, Adam Plachetka, Piotr Beczała, Olga Scheps and others.

The Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic stages two music festivals: the Harmonia Moraviae autumn festival which first took place in 1999, and since 1972 the Talentinum festival, a non-competitive showcase event for younger musicians, featuring up-and-coming performers and conductors up to the age of 26. The Orchestra also sets great store by its support for the output of young Czech composers and the musical education of young people. Radio and TV performances and recording sessions are also a regular part of the Orchestra's work.

Chorus of LÚČNICA has been a part of Lúčnica Artistic Ensemble since its establishment in 1948. It offers a mature singing technique, voice culture and typical sound. Its performances are highly valued by the expert critics and hugely successful with a wide audience. Some of the opera stars started their artistic career here – Edita Gruberová, Lucia Popp, Magdaléna Blahušiaková, Ľubica Orgonášová, Marta Beňačková, Štefan Babjak, Ondrej Malachovský and many others who later enjoyed a great successes on the world opera stages.

Lúčnica Chorus has acquired the highest awards at the international singing contests. It became the “audience favourite” at international choral festivals as well as on concert tours in China, USA, South Korea, Argentina, Jordan, Israel, Venezuela, Taiwan, Mexico, as well as in most of the European states.

Elena Matušová is the artistic leader and choirmaster.

Czech conductor Tomas Brauner (a laureate of the Dimitris Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition in Athens) was appointed the new chief conductor and artistic director of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Republic finest orchestras with an almost 100 year of musical tradition.

Brauner will continue serving for the next two seasons as the chief conductor of the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra (Zlin, Czech Republic). From 2013-2018 Tomas Brauner held the position Cheaf conductor of Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Tomas Brauner regularly cooperates with leading European symphonic orchestra. His guest appearances have seen him conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Moscow Radio State Orchestra, The Cracow Philharmonic, National Radio Orchestra Romania, Prague Philharmonia, Slovak State  Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Colours Athens, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Kosice State Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, and others.

Active as both an orchestra and opera conductor, Brauner’s performance of Janáček's opera Jenůfa  at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City received much acclaim. At the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Tomas Brauner has also conducted ballet performances of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky. 

At the Prague State Opera, he debuted conducting Verdi’s Othello. He has since conducted numerous operas at the Prague State Opera, including Don Quijote by Massenet, The Barber of Seville by Rossini, La Bohéme and Tosca by Puccini, Nabucco by Verdi, Carmen by Bizet,  The Magic Flute by Mozart, along with a concert performance of Mignon by Ambrois Thomas, and Giselle by Adam. 

Tomas Brauner has conducted the Pilsen Opera Theatre (Czech Republic) production premieres of  La Gioconda by Ponchielli, Don Giovanni by Mozart, Maid of Orleans by Tchaikovsky, Il Turco di Italia by Rossini, Jacobin by Dvořák, Turandot by Puccini, Faust by Gounod,  Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea and many others. He has also conducted a new production of  Hunchback of Notre Dame by Maurice Jarre (Opera Pilsen), Tomáš Brauner conducted a new production Les Comptes de Hoffman at the Slovak National Theatre in 2019. At the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava (Czech Republic), Brauner  has conducted Nabucco and Ernani by Verdi, Maria Stuarda by Donizetti, Romeo and Juliet by Gounod, Hamlet by Thomas or Kátá Kabanova by Janáček. 

Tomas Brauner has appeared as a guest conductor at  significant international festivals such as the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch Parten-Kirchen where he has performed An Alpine Symphony with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared at the Bad Kissingen International Music Festival, Prague Spring International Music Festival, Dvořák Prague International Festival Smetana´s Litomyšl International Opera Festival (Czech Republic), and at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov (Czech Republic).

Tomáš Brauner´s discography including recordings for Dabringhaus und Grimm such as Bohuslav Martinů: Complete works for Violoncello and Orchestra which won Classic Prague Music Awards the best recording 2017. Dvorak´s Slavonic Rhapsodies (Arco Diva) and for label of Czech Radio Radioservis Complete piano Concertos by Bohuslav Martinů and Thaikovsky´s Manfred and Fatum.

Tomáš Brauner studied the oboe and conducting at the Prague State Conservatory. He  graduated from the Conducting the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He continued his conducting studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Prof. Uroš Lajovič. In 2017 Tomáš Brauner received the Art Prize of the City of Pilsen for outstanding artistic contribution.