STYLE

Music As a Cure

The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra

Ostrava is a highly demanded and

successful orchestra whose great

reputation results from brilliant work

of a  hundred excellent musicians. We

interviewed the CEO of the Janáček

Philharmonic Orchestra (JFO) Jan Žemla

to find out how the musicians and

orchestra members cope with the

situation related to the pandemics, what

novelties they offer to their audiences and

fans due to (or thanks to) the quarantine,

and what we can expect from them

in the 67th season.

Mr Žemla, the current situation undoubtedly seriously

affects social communication in culture as well. Has it

brought some positive effects for the orchestra?

Sincerely, I see absolutely no positives in this situation for

the JFO or culture in general. The promising time before the

COVID crisis was giving us hope that culture, underfunded

in long-term, would achieve the economic level which it

deserves. Now we have returned a few steps back.

What I have found very positive is the reactions of

musicians and members of JFO who immediately and

voluntarily got involved in many activities to support the

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and other. Each crisis

comes up with a driving force which inspires collaboration,

brings people together, and generates extraordinary values.

These are all very positive, yet culture itself is badly affected.

In this strange period, we heard leading politicians of the

Czech Republic speaking of culture the way we had heard

them speaking years ago: as of something quite useless

and marginal. I do not say that a leading politician must

love culture. Not necessarily. Nevertheless, a leading

politician must understand the functions of culture in the

national context. Our culture and arts define us and make

us human.

How are your orchestra’s members these days, and what

are you preparing in spheres of new media?

We had to adapt to the new situation, there was no other

choice. Some might have understood the very first days

as a welcome time off, but the final length of our break

is destructive for an artist. Art is the means of fulfilment,

and if you do not work, you are losing this precious value

in life. We all miss music very very much and we have been

looking forward to play the concerts after the three-month

delay.

I believe that JFO promptly responded when creating

the platform of a live stream of concerts. We intended

to compensate for the unique experience from a live

concert. These concerts featured members of JFO who

decided to play without receiving any remuneration.

The approach of my colleagues and excellent quality

of the concerts performed from mud-April till the end

of June, have been a heart-warming surprise to me. A truly

brilliant project which has earned us large audiences

and attention of media. JFO was the first orchestra in

the Czech Republic to meet their audience personally

in the concert hall when the health and safety measures

ended. In mid-June we played wonderful concerts with

Kateřina Kněžíková, broadcast by the Czech Radio Vltava

(ČRo Vltava); and we basically spent all June recording.

New media will thus facilitate recording and delivering

a musical experience of the kind which has traditionally not

been associated with them.

Our magazine is a proud partner to your orchestra’s

67th season. Will you introduce us to the main attractions

of the programme?

First and foremost, the music itself, that is crucial even

in these days. If I am to introduce novelties and highlights

of what to expect, here is my hit list:

- We are going to introduce our new chief-conductor,

the legend from Russia and global VIP of classic music

Vassily Sinaisky who is joining us in September.

- the Czech artist Petr Popelka, “discovered” and initially

promoted by JFO, will be introduced as the main guest

conductor.

- Mr Lukáš Vondráček, the world-famous pianist will

become our soloist-in-residence and will play three

concerts in this season.

-

This concert season will introduce personalities

of worldwide reputation: Grigorij Sokolov, Piotr

Anderszewski, Danjulo Ishizaka, Christian Arming,

Domingo Hindoyan.

- We develop the range of crossover projects in Gong; the

tribute band Queenie and Cirk La Putika accepted our

invitations.

- I am sincerely convinced that we all will enjoy the

development of the project of the new concert hall

for Ostrava, as designed by the studio of Steven Holl.

Thank you for the interview.

Otázky připravil:

Vít Ruprich

Foto:

archiv JFO

Dita Pepe

www.jfo.cz

POSITIV 2/2020 ǀ 97