STYLE

Janáček Philharmonic in Opava For years, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava has struggled to deliver high quality programmes of symphonic music outside their home city, so the orchestra regularly plays in other towns and cities of the Moravian-Silesian Region. As the audiences in the region enjoys and yearns for symphonic music, so the management of the Philharmonic of Ostrava has decided to invest in the cultural development of the region, having prepared a special subscription cycle of symphonic music for the audience in Opava. The demand is intense and there are only two months left before the first concert. Get ready for a fantastic experience and come to enjoy the performance in the unique environment of St. Wenceslas Church in Opava. After nearly thirty years, the Janáček Philharmonic is continuing the tradition it once had in Opava. This is partially thanks to a new trend which the Janáček Philharmonic also follows: in many countries of Western Europe, it is quite common that a few towns closely

cooperate with a philharmonic orchestra, funding it together and receiving excellent musical performances. This case is similar: the new project of the Janáček Philharmonic is significantly co-funded by the government of the region as well as the Council of Opava.

The city will hear a large symphonic orchestra which will also bring famous Czech and foreign guest soloists and conductors. They will deliver a professional musical performance of global quality, and will undoubtedly leave the audience in awe of the extraordinary experience. The first subscription concert is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2019, with a brilliant line-up and a very promising programme of classics, consisting of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with world-famous pianist Lukáš Vondráček (born in Opava) and Symphony No. 6, once called “pathetic” (closer in meaning to “sympathetic” or “empathetic” rather than our simple modern meaning) by Tchaikovsky. The second concert on May 28 will be strictly symphonic, the orchestra performing the first set of Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvořák and Symphony No. 4 by German composer Johannes Brahms. The third concert will be held on Sept. 24, and will consist of the monumental Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with the famous Ode to Joy passage. The final concert, on Oct. 30, will present a Violoncello Concerto by the Master of the Operetta, Jacques Offenbach, and Symphony No. 9 by Shostakovich. Originally a Dominican monastery with a three nave church of St. Wenceslas in Opava serves entirely secular usage. The now deconsecrated church is the centre of social events, and former Dominican monastery is the seat of the House of Arts, being used as a gallery. Join us and visit the extraordinary room of St. Wenceslas Church, a national heritage building of the Czech Republic. The extraordinarily unique place with brilliant acoustics and architecture will host all four concerts. “We consider St. Wenceslas Church to be an completely unique location with brilliant acoustics. It really contributed to our decision to organize the subscription cycle of concerts of symphonic music in Opava,” said Mr Jan Žemla, manager of the Janáček Philharmonic.

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