Music As a Cure

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