MOZART'S REQUIEM I I Celebration of 150 years of Besední dom

 One of the memorable concerts organized in the first years of the Besední dom's existence was the performance of Mozart's Requiem on April 14, 1878. Its initiator and conductor was Leoš Janáček, who had to tenaciously promote this performance in the Brno Oratory committee and guarantee a good result. He invited two soloists from Prague. And he contributed fifteen guilders to the window displays of the concert; the same amount was donated by the pianist Amálie Wickenhauserová b. Nerudová, who participated in the organization, was a great support to Janáček.
The stage was said to be insufficient for the performers (a choir of 80 members and an orchestra of more than 80 members) and had to be adjusted. Two days after the concert, a celebratory critique was published in the Moravian Eagle: The impression of the ensemble on the sensitive mind was indescribable. However, the execution was also masterful! The soloists performed their roles well, the choir and orchestra also held their own bravely. We have heard that a work so magnificent in its execution is so perfect, the credit goes to sl. to the Beseda committee and especially to its choirmaster, the tireless Mr. Janáček. Among those present at the concert, we saw the leading ladies of the household in the first rows of seats, and for the first time the hall and the gallery were filled in the truest sense of the word. – according to the study by Vojtěch Kyas, Significant lecture concerts (1873–1903) from the collection Besední dům. Architecture, Society, Culture (State Philharmonic Brno 1995).
At our concerts, unlike the original program, the Requiem will be performed together with the Symphony in D major by Mozart's contemporary Pavel Vranický.

PAVEL VRANICKÝ Symphony in D major op. 16 No. 3
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Requiem KV 626

Romana Kružíková soprano
Monika Jägerová mezzo-soprano
Ondřej Koplík tenor
Jaromír Nosek bass
Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno
choir master Petr Fiala
Petr Kolař organ
Brno Philharmonic
conductor Robert Kružík