INTERVIEW

recently: JFO performed at the Prague Spring festival, which

was one of my key targets as JFO CEO. We are preparing a tour

with singer Tomáš Klus and concerts with many leading world

artists. Of course, many of them will take us to very special

places. Our recent destinations included Bilbao in Spain whose

atmosphere and omnipresent arts left me with unforgettable

memories.

I am looking forward to the tour in November 2018. The

destination is “only” Poland but we will play in a few new

concert halls built recently in this promised land of culture;,

and I am really curious what the acoustic confrontation will

be. We will also play with Lukáš Vondráček, one of the most

remarkable pianists of our time, in Bratislava in early October.

Those will undoubtedly be outstanding concerts. We regularly

play in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and in Asia we often go

to China and Korea. I want to bring Japan to our international

portfolio. Other places of my managerial interest include

Scandinavian countries and Russia, targets which orchestras

typically do not aim at very often.

My dream came true quite recently: JFO

performed at

the Prague Spring festival.

The effects of classical music grow stronger with the place

where it is played. Music and architecture often interconnect

in the genius loci. JFO deserves a new concert hall, do you

agree?

Definitely yes. Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech

Republic, an important centre of culture, a very specific hub.

Local live arts flourish. 65 years of JFO tradition proves that

Ostrava has a sound position in the map of European culture.

Good quality concert halls have become a standard feature in

cities of similar size in Poland where over dozen concert halls

have been built recently. A concert hall is a public building of

great significance. A building open to public, providing service

to inhabitants of the city, helping to define the city itself. It is

not a room for a limited number of keen musicians providing

them with a place for work. It is not like that. Of course, a

good concert hall with perfect acoustics will help the orchestra

develop and attract more international artists who otherwise

would not come to Ostrava at all. Moreover, such a hall would

not only serve the JFO. There is the International Music Festival

of Leoš Janáček (former Janáček May), Ostravian Days of

New Music, and more. I recommend everybody go and see

the new NOSPR building in Katowice, Poland to understand

better what we want for Ostrava. A recently announced tender

(the third attempt since 1969), however, brings hope that the

construction of the hall will actually come true.

Then there are some particulars at the very edge of obsession:

recently I have become enthusiastic about what is going on in

Czech fine arts. I also do sports: both for fun and to keep fit,

healthy (and sane). My most recent joy is Austrian via ferratas.

I enjoy following Marvel Studios productions with my son.

I used to have a classic motorbike. That is me in brief.

By the way, does JFO have a fan club?

I would not call it a fan club but we do have our true fans, a group

that keeps growing. I believe people have learnt to understand

that the arts in their lives are of increasing importance. I feel

that concert-going is a trend again. Good quality performances

should become a standard ingredient in our social lives. And

I can tell they are closely related to business: do you want to

impress your business partners, or just hold an informal smart

meeting? Take them to a classical music concert.

You came to Ostrava from Brno. What have you found

attractive in Ostrava and the region?

When I decided to work in Ostrava, it was nearly a foreign

city to me. And a challenge. Even though I work in a position

which makes me feel at home, I am in a new environment.

I was looking forward to working in Ostrava and was curious

which direction my job would go. Six years later I still feel that

energy and drive at work. Basically, Ostrava has been a lovely

surprise. The key factor is the people around me, the close and

wide circles. I feel very lucky in this: I meet people who are

nice and easy to work with, to help create something together,

to grow and to make visions come true. Ostrava enables me

to achieve that and I am very grateful for the opportunity. The

region is closely connected to Leoš Janáček in my mind, that is

my definition.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Editorial of Magazine.

Good quality concert halls have

become a standard

feature in cities

My idea of a manager of a great philharmonic orchestra is a

gentleman wearing tails. Who is Mr Žemla outside his job,

what are his personal interests and desires?

I think I am an ordinary person with normal interests, it is only

my good luck in life that my hobby, music, is my profession. It

fills up most of my life. I live with my family in a village 35 km

north of Brno, in a house which also requires some care and

attention. Looking after the house is another hobby of mine.

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