STYLE

Musical Journeys

Across the Moravian-Silesian Region

The St. Wenceslas Music Festival (SWMF) offers unusual opportunities to set out in the

Moravian-Silesian Region for top-notch classical music and folklore projects. Due to its year-long

Musical Journeys series, it calls on the cultural and technical gems of the region for the chance

to hear them sing.

AUTUMN MUSICAL REFLECTION

The next concert will be a performance of

popular Dvořák’s Bible Songs arranged

for the Ostrava based Stadler Clarinet

Quartet and the National MoravianSilesian Theatre’s bass Martin Gurbaľ.

This year the award-winning quartet

performs with a new line-up – Zbigniew

Kaleta (first clarinet/saxophonist and

soloist of NOSPR in Katowice) on first

chair, and Jiří Porubiak, a member of the

Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra

in Zlín, on bass clarinet. The new energy

of the clarinet masters will spice up

the Dvořák programme with their Early

Hungarian Dances and parts of Bach’s most

popular works — The Art of Fugue and St.

Matthew Passion — in novel arrangements

perfect for E-flat clarinet, clarinet, and

bass clarinet (15, 16 October).

In mid-November, the churches will

sound with the Soul of the Baroque:

Bach/Händel/Zelenka project by three

of Moravian-Silesian’s top interpreters

Dřízgová–Františák–Kozák. The trio

of true masters of Baroque music will

unite with three exceptional MoravianSilesian artists. The great soprano

Eva Dřízgová-Jirušová, the acclaimed

clarinettist Igor Františák, and the young

piano virtuoso and organist Marek Kozák

(born in Brušperk) are making ripples in

the contemporary Czech scene waters

and will perform. Mr. Kozák has achieved

a number of impressive results in a wide

range of competitions, including the most

prestigious such as the International

Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

in Warsaw, the Prague Spring Festival,

the European Piano Competition in

Bremen, and the Busoni Competition

in Bolzano (18, 19, 20 November).

ADVENT WITH BAROQUE ENSEMBLES

AND PUPPETS

Ensemble Inégal will perform Michna’s

The Czech Lute, a popular song cycle

from 1653, in a historically informed

performance on replicas of period

instruments. It is the most famous

collection of the Czech Baroque music

composed by Adam Václav Michna of

Otradovice (author of the Christmas carol

Chtíc, aby spal). Thanks to the unique

discovery of a violin part, the most famous

Baroque collection of Czech origin has

been reconstructed (26 November).

“Christmas belongs to children” –

and therefore one of the three most

prestigious Czech early music ensembles

Collegium Marianum together with

the great puppeteers from the Buchty

a loutky (Puppets and Cake) ensemble

will present the Bohemian Christmas

show. It was originally performed by

the pupils of the Jesuit college and

combined two scenes known from other

Christmas plays – the shepherd scene and

the Three Kings scene. SWMF presents

it in a charming version, indeed in an

attempt to reconnect not only the magical

stories but also families and friends with

traditional values in the Advent time

(8 and 9 December).

FOLKLORE CHRISTMAS STAR: MILITARY ART ENSEMBLE ONDRÁŠ

Military Art Ensemble Ondráš ranks

among the absolute top of folklore

ensembles in our country. Their Path

of the Light is a musical series telling

the story of the birth of Jesus Christ and

folk Christmas. Its musical base is popular

old Czech and Moravian carols, which,

however, will be performed in unique

orchestral and vocal arrangements.

Listeners can look forward to a colourful

journey to the birth of Christ, as well as

to a human understanding of this miracle

event (6 December).

This is indeed something to look forward

to! For more information and online tickets

see www.shf.cz

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