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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