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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