One Czech saying is, “If someone is Czech, he's a musician.” Several famous composers were either born in the Czech Republic or enjoyed staying here, including Leoš Janáček, Antonín Dvořák, Gustav Mahler and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Follow in their footsteps and listen to the best pieces of fine music in delightful concert halls, castles and chateaus or at open air concerts.
Easter with music from six different centuries
The Brno Philharmonic is preparing an Easter festival of spiritual music, during which the Easter story about the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ will be told. The festival will include six music pieces from six different centuries in six churches in the city centre. The concerts will adapted based on the architecture, acoustics and history of individual churches.
A visit to Plzeň can be combined in February or March with the Smetana Days festival. Visitors can look forward to ten concerts, the finals of the international piano competition and opera presentations for children.
Summer festivals in the Czech capital
Visitors to Prague this summer can look forward to a wide range of classical music festivals and concerts. The traditional international music competition and festival Prague Spring will take place in the capital in May and June. This year's event will be the 67th annual Prague Spring. The Czech Philharmonic will perform at the event's first concert and under the direction of Vasil Petrenka will play Bedřich Smetana's Má Vlast (My Country). Besides attending concerts in delightful Prague concert halls such as Rudolfinum and Obecní dům, visitors will also be able to attend a concert in the non-traditional spaces of the National Technical Museum.
The summer atmosphere of the capital will be reflected in the Prague Proms festival, which is known for high quality drama productions. Besides classical music, the event will also include jazz and tunes from musicals and films. Besides jazz icons Nicholas Patron and Kurt Ellington, who will appear together with Charlie Hunter, one of the main stars of the festival will be Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero. She will play Gershwin's Rapsody in Blue accompanied by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.
Summer festivals in regions
Summer weather puts people in the mood to take trips outside of the capital and also enables visitors to enjoy the atmosphere of open-air concerts. The Smetana's Litomyšl festival has been held in the birthplace of Bedřich Smetana since 1949. The festival will take place between June and July at a local chateau, which has been recorded in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage sites.
The Classical Music under the Stars project offers the opportunity during the summer months to study the opera Carmen in the romantic atmosphere of castle parks under the open sky. This will include the chateaus in Telč and Lednice, which are included among UNESCO heritage sites.
The 11th annual Český Krumlov International Music Festival will take place in July and August in this enchanting small town in Southern Bohemia. Its main stars will include sopranist Angela Gheorghia and trumpet player Arturo Sandoval.
The 21st annual Mitte Europe festival will take place along the Czech-German border in June and July. Thanks to the enthusiasm and energy of its Czech and German organisers, this musical event brings together regions that were once divided by the Iron Curtain. Individual concerts will take place in Czech and German towns and villages, including the spa centre Karlovy Vary and the nearby enchanting town of Loket, where writer J. W. Goethe enjoyed staying.
Colourful autumn in concert halls
Colourful autumn can also be a suitable way to describe musical enjoyment in the Czech capital. The Strings of Autumn festival will take place from September to November. This year's 17th annual festival will offer an overview of various genres, including classical music, jazz and world music. The festival has earned itself a reputation as an important musical crossroads and a bridge between musical genres.
The Dvořák Prague Festival, which will take place in September, will celebrate the works of this renowned Czech composer. The festival's concerts will be performed in the seat of the Czech Philharmonic, Rudolfinum, whose concert hall bears Dvořák's name.
The city of Brno is often closely associated with the life of composer Leoš Janáček, and so the Janáček Brno festival is held every year. This year's festival will take place in November and will also include a chamber concert directly in the composer's workspace in what is today the Moravian National Museum.
Smetanova Litomyšl 2012 - Thomas Hampson: Lingua angelorum
