Interviews
Julia Ulehla is an American singer, grand-daughter of Vladimír Úlehla, the Moravian musicologist and collector of folk songs and author of the legendary book Živá píseň (Living Song). Together with her husband, the guitarist with Armenian roots Aram Bajakian and former player with Lou Reed and Diana Krall, Julia set up the group Dálava, which works in a non-traditional way with Moravian folk music. They have recorded what is already their second album, The Book of Transfiguration, and we talked about it with Julia and Aram during their recent stay in Brno. more
An interview between Kateřina Bajo, the main coordinator for the membership of Prague as a city of literature in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and David Dittrich, main coordinator for the membership of Brno as a city of music in the same network. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network was set up in 2004 and its main aim is to support cooperation and international cooperation and creativity. Now it brings together 180 member cities from 72 countries from around the world. The cities fall into 7 creative areas – literature, music, design, film, gastronomy, traditional crafts and media. A city applying for membership in the network has to fulfil very strict criteria, and it must be supported not only by the commission of experts but also by all the member cities. more
As part of the tour which has been in progress since the spring, on 28 November the group Zrní (which translates as Grain) will be coming to Fléda in Brno. They are performing their latest album called Jiskřící (Sparkling). The members of the group (four Honzas and one Ondra) reacted to our questions collectively, with only the responses of Honza Unger as the author of the lyrics sometimes coming to the forefront. more
As part of the Moravia Music Fest on 16 November the group Organic Quartet with Ondřej Pivec will be performing in Brno’s Metro Music Bar. This organist of Czech origin, who has lived in New York since 2009, has in recent years worked with the major signer Gregory Porter, and for his work on his album Take Me To The Alley even won a Grammy. In Brno he is presenting his new album Terms And Conditions Apply, which he recorded with his former Czech fellow players – the guitarist Libor Šmoldas, the drummer Tomáš Hobzek and the saxophonist Jakub Doležal. more
The Black Uganda Choir, a non-traditional polyphonic choir, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Although the ensemble is led by Tomáš Drtílek, our questions were answered by the spokesman of the thirteen-strong ensemble, Ivan Holas, and the most productive writer in the group, Richard Lank. more
From 16 September to 19 December the twelfth year of Jazz Brno will be taking place in the Stará Pekárna club in Brno. It will offer not only modern jazz but also fusion, funk and a solid chunk of blues. The festival opens on Saturday 16 September with a concert by the American blues musician Linwood Taylor, who will be performing in Brno as part of a larger Czech tour. We asked him a number of questions on the telephone. more
Last year the jazz double bass player Vincenc Kummer celebrated his 75th birthday. On that occasion he wrote a book in which he described his artistic and personal life. more
At Folk Holidays 2017 in Náměšt nad Oslavou two significant groups from Denmark are appearing, among others. On Monday July 24 it will be the instrumental ensemble Dreamers’ Circus and on Thursday 27 July the quartet Nordens Tone. This is made up of three jazz musicians (piano, double bass and saxophone) and the singer Jullie Hjetland, who sings in eight different Nordic languages. And it was with her that we spoke by telephone. more
The brilliant Moravian cimbalom player Dalibor Štrunc (1966) came from a folk environment in Wallachia and after graduating from the Brno Conservatory had a number of musical engagements – from classical through folk to being a member for many years of Hana and Petr Ulrych’s group Javory. It is an unbelievable twenty-five years since he formed the group Cimbal Classic, in which he began to make use of his song-writing as well as musical skills. In that time Cimbal Classic has become a fixture on our folk scene. This year they are celebrating their anniversary with a new CD and a tour. more
We spoke with the trumpeter, arranger and bandmaster of the Brno big band B-Side Band on the occasion of the 10th birthday of this remarkable orchestra. Among other things the B-Side Band celebrated this anniversary with three concerts in Brno’s Sono Centre. more
Antonín Fajt is the son of the singer and violin player Iva Bittová and the drummer Pavel Fajt. Even if he does appear as a guest on the latest album At Home by Iva Bittová & Čikori, it isn’t a case of nepotism. He came up with and perfected his playing and composing style himself. He has had the chance to compare his childhood spent in Moravia with the last ten years spent overseas. And since he enjoys linking musical activity with for example the culinary arts or the healing effects of art, our interview was by no means just about music. more
When I polled Czech jazz musicians to find the most significant woman on the domestic scene, the largest number of votes went to the trumpet player, composer and conductor Štěpánka Balcarová and the pianist and composer Beata Hlavenková. In the JazzFest Brno festival both will be performing. The Concept Art Orchestra big band under Štěpánka Balcarová will be performing on Wednesday 5 April in the Theatre Husa na provázku and a day later the trumpet player will be playing in HaDivadlo with her Czech-Polish group Inner Spaces. On Thursday 13 April in Besední dům the will be a concert of Beata Hlavenková, focussing on her most recent album Scintilla. We conducted interviews with both young ladies. more
The singer Lenka Nová was born in Brno. Even now she frequently and happily returns. Last autumn she released her third profile disk, Čtyřicítka (Forty), on which there are ten personal songs with texts by Michal Horáček. She was recently nominated for the Anděl music prize in the category Singer of the Year. This year with a newly rehearsed repertoire on March 8 and 9 in the bar U kouřícího králíka in her home town she opened her Čtyřicítka Tour, the spring part of which will be concluded with a Prague concert in the DVA studio on May 21. And we spoke about all of this … more
Soprano Maida Hundeling, who debuted, for example, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York last season, returned to the Janáček Opera after a year. The singer known from leading opera houses around the world will perform in Brno again in the role of Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name. The production of the local artistic director Jiří Heřman already impressed during its premiere. The director based his concept on the connection between the story of the singer Tosca in the environment of the complicated political situation in the Roman Republic in 1800 and the story of one of its extraordinary performers in the second half of the last century – opera superstar Maria Callas. As the critics wrote, it is a theatrically impressive and inspiring interconnection between the fates of the two women, adored opera divas, who were in love in politically complicated times that swallowed them whole. Mainly Maida Hundeling excelled in the main roles of this Brno production. more
The Vilém Spilka Quartet included surprising material in their new album Podvod. The band, headed by the director and dramaturgist of the JazzFest Brno Festival, recorded instrumental jazz arrangements of songs Hejna včel, Tulácký ráno, Na kameni kámen, Stánky and other campfire hit songs by Jan Nedvěd. He had a chance to listen to the recording shortly after its completion and we spoke to Vilém Spilka about Nedvěd’s reaction. And the interview, of course, also covered Porta, sausages and a campfire pot. more
Every year during Holy Week, the Easter Festival of Sacred Music prepares the Tenebrae - chants of lamentations and responsories performed in the dark on the eve of the feast. After ensemble performances of Zelenka's and Gesualdo's chants, Ensemble Versus have decided to present a choral repertoire of Czech origin for this year's edition. Another change is that the Tenebrae have moved from the church setting to Brno's three underground water reservoirs at Žlutý Kopec, which each evening will host three concerts lasting about forty minutes. Viewers can choose the hour that suits them best. This review looks at the first of the Tenebrae held on Holy Wednesday, 16 April, in reservoir no. 2. more
Yesterday's opening concert of the 32nd Easter Festival of Sacred Music, held in the newly renovated Church of St. James, offered more than an hour of contemplation with the St. John Passion by the contemporary Estonian composer and this year's jubilarian, Arvo Pärt (*1935). The work was performed by the vocal ensemble Martinů Voices with artistic director Lukáš Vasilek, soloists Jiří Brückler, Ondřej Holub, Alena Hellerová, Jana Kuželová, Ondřej Benek and Martin Kalivoda, accompanied by a chamber ensemble: Daniela Valtová Kosinová (organ), Pavla Tesařová (violin), Lukáš Pospíšil (cello), Vladislav Borovka (oboe), Martin Petrák (bassoon). more
The Ondráš Military Artistic Ensemble took a dance across the peaks and valleys of the Carpathian Arch in the première of their new show Through the Carpathians. The new show by the professional part of the ensemble took place on the stage of the Radost Theatre in Brno. And it was truly a joy to watch this new venture. It sees the ensemble leave the spectacular choreography behind for a while and return to its original folk roots without giving up on any of its own expressive style. more
The spring concert by the Diversa Quartet offered works by purely Czech composers for the first time in a long time. The event, held on the evening of Monday, 7 April at the Villa Löw-Beer, was subtitled Tempus est iocundum after a love song from the Carmina Burana manuscript. It was the song's exuberance that inspired the dramaturgy of the concert, which was accompanied by an ensemble made up of Barbara Tolarová (1st violin), Jan Bělohlávek (2nd violin), David Křivský (viola) and Iva Wiesnerová (cello). more
Another of the jazz evenings regularly organised by the Brno Philharmonic was dedicated to the duo Will Vinson (alto saxophone) and Aaron Parks (piano). These musicians have been working together in various formations for twenty years. So they decided that it was time to try the most intimate and, according to many, the most difficult - playing as a mere duo. These mid-generation jazz musicians performed a selection of classical jazz material as well as several of their own compositions on Monday 10 March at the Besední dům. more
This year's first concert by the Brno Contemporary Orchestra from the Auscultation series was entitled Gastro (Cuisine), or Dinner for Magdalena Dobromila Rettig (1785-1845). On Sunday, 2 February, the orchestra performed two compositions, or rather performances and happenings by Ondřej Adámek (*1979), who also conducted the pieces, in the dining room of the Masaryk Student House. This was a fairly unusual situation for the audience, when conductor Pavel Šnajdr did not take his place at the head of the orchestra. more
The fourth concert in the Brno Philharmonic's Philharmonic at Home subscription series, subtitled Metamorphoses and conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, was dedicated to works by Joseph Haydn, Antonín Rejcha and Richard Strauss. Pianist Ivan Ilić was originally scheduled to appear as soloist in Rejcha's Piano Concerto, but for health reasons he cancelled the concert. Jan Bartoš promptly took over, enabling the audience to hear the original programme on Thursday 30 January at the Besední dům. more
The Brno Philharmonic's New Year's concert on 1 January at the Janáček Theatre is already a well-established tradition. This year was no exception, and the orchestra, led by conductor Michel Tabachnik, gave a performance consisting mainly of works by Johann Strauss the Younger. This was the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra's show opening the 'Strauss Year'. After all, 2025 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer, dubbed the king of waltzes. Strauss's compositions were accompanied by works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Richard Strauss and Dimitri Shostakovich. more
"Culture is a Bridge" was the theme of the second Czech-Austrian Partnership Concert, held on Friday, 20 December at Schloss Thalheim. It was the final evening of the 5th year of the pan-European project Czech Dreams 2024, and also part of the celebrations of the Year of Czech Music and the Concentus Moraviae international music festival. Culture is a bridge that connects not only different generations and social classes, but also entire nations. And the Czech Dreams project, which in 2024 alone presented music by Czech composers in 25 European cities in 17 different countries, is an eloquent example of this. In December alone, besides the final concert in Austria, six more concerts were performed in southern Europe, from Amarante in Portugal to Varaždin in Croatia. The concert was dedicated to the Lower Austrian Governor Erwin Pröll, who has long been committed to building and deepening relations between the Czech Republic and Austria. more
Christmas in Brno also means the traditional pre-Christmas concert of the Brno Contemporary Orchestra (BCO), this time entitled From America to Tuřany. It took place on 18th December and after a one-year break it returned to the Sokol Hall in Tuřany. The BCO, conducted by Pavel Šnajdr, performed works by Mauricio Kagel, Steve Reich, Trevor Grahl and, as always, Miloslav Kabeláč. Appearing together with the orchestra were four singers, Aneta Podracká Bendová, Kornél Mikecz, Michal Kuča and Martin Kotulan. At the end of the first half, Pavel Šnajdr set aside his baton and clapped the beat, joined by Petr Hladík. more
The now world-famous Swedish band Dirty Loops finished their autumn European tour on Saturday, 30 November at Brno's Metro Music Bar. The band featured on the programme of the seventeenth annual Groove Brno funk, soul and jazz festival. The virtuoso trio, consisting of Jonah Nilsson - vocals and keyboards, Henrik Linder - bass guitar and Aron Mellergård - drums, are famous for their flawless technical proficiency, sophisticated original compositions and cover versions of well-known numbers, especially pop songs. However, these songs are often reharmonised in their arrangements and the style is more a combination of disco, pop and jazz fusion. To avoid having to resort to using pre-recorded backing tracks, the trio was joined on tour by keyboardist and vocalist Kristian Kraftling. more
Ensemble Opera Diversa put a distinctive "spin" on its last orchestral concert of the year. It took place on 26 November at the Alterna music club, which is more a rock, electronica and indie pop hangout than an artistic music venue. The pair of selected pieces consisting of Vojtěch Dlask's premièred work Querell Songs for soprano saxophone and strings and Miloslav Ištvan's Hard Blues for pop-baritone, soprano, reciter and chamber ensemble also reflected this. Naturally, it was Ištvan's Hard Blues that gave the evening its name - the clash of the artistic, composed and purposefully "artistic" world (not meant pejoratively) with authentic African-American musical expressions springing from the depths of the soul of a man tested by life formed as the centre of the evening. This was not merely a stylistic inspiration, but more thematic, which was also evident in the opening piece of the evening. This was the composition Querelle Songs, inspired by Jean Genet's novel, previously dedicated to Ensemble Opera Diversa, but this time in a new instrumentation. more
Leoš Janáček's (1854-1928) Moravian national opera Jenůfa was brought to Brno for the Janáček Brno 2024 festival by the Moravian Theatre Olomouc in a co-production with the Janáček Opera NdB. Rather than using the Czech title Její pastorkyňa, the production team, headed by director Veronika Kos Loulová, decided to stage the work as Jenůfa, the name under which it is performed abroad. On Wednesday, 20 November, five days after its première in Olomouc, the audience at the Mahen Theatre could also see the latest domestic take on Janáček's most widely performed opera. The musical staging of the significantly modified original version from 1904 was the work of conductor Anna Novotná Pešková, and the main roles were played by Barbora Perná (Jenůfa), Eliška Gattringerová (Kostelnička), Josef Moravec (Laca Klemeň) and Roman Hasymau (Števa Buryja). more
The office of Brno - UNESCO City of Music, with the financial support of the South Moravian Region, presents a line-up of active folklore groups (ensembles, chasers, musics) in the Brno region as part of the Year of Folklore Ensembles. more
Trumpeter Jiří Kotača founded the big band Cotatcha Orchestra ten years ago. Nowadays, he performs a variety of programmes ranging from the most traditional jazz to a visionary fusion of jazz and electronica. We chatted with Jiří Kotača about how the orchestra has gradually developed, how the original repertoire is blurring the boundaries between jazz and electronica, and also about what fans can expect from the November concert to celebrate the orchestra's 10th anniversary. We also talk about Kotača's International Quartet, as well as how the trumpet and flugelhorn can be enriched with effects. more
Editorial
The motto of this year's ProART Festival is Transform_Heal_Through_Art. The international workshop festival of dance, music, acting, photography and other performing arts for professionals and the general public combines daytime art workshops with an evening programme. The Brno leg of the festival will take place at the Villa Engelsmann. more
Sunday sees the start of the Easter Festival of Sacred Music
The St. John Passion by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt will open the 32nd Easter Festival of Sacred Music this Sunday. The renowned French ensemble Les Traversées Baroques, which specialises in the enlightened interpretation of Baroque music, will also be visiting the festival for the first time. more
Another Ženfest is to take place in Brno. The line-up includes Lenka Dusilová, Dagmar Voňková and Kaya
This year will see the fourth annual Ženfest pod třešní open-air music festival, which will once again take place in Trchova Zahrada garden near the Svitava River in the district of Brno-Maloměřice and Obřany. The garden will set the stage for the music of various female artists. The festival is hosted by singer-songwriter Martina Trchová, this year nominated for an Anděl Award for her album 90 % štěstí. more
Meeting of UNESCO Creative Cities of Music in Pesaro, Italy
From 8 to 11 April 2025, Pesaro, Italy, will host the annual International Meeting of UNESCO Cities of Music. This city, known as the birthplace of Gioacchino Rossini, was, like Brno, included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017. more
During April and May, Brno's Metro Music Bar will host several exceptional names from the world scene - British soul singer Mica Millar, guitar legend Neil Zaza and charismatic rocker Marco Mendoza, who has played with Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and The Dead Daisies. more
This year sees Brno City Theatre continue its tradition of festive Easter concerts. This time, the latest symphonic work by composer Zdenek Merta will be performed, accompanied by poems by Petr Štěpán and complemented by Zora Jandová's paintings and sculptures by Pavel Tasovský. more
Brno Music Marathon 2025 invites you to enjoy some unique encounters spanning genres and continents
During the summer, Brno's streets, squares, courtyards and courtyards will be abuzz with the Brno Music Marathon 2025 festival. This year for the tenth time. To be held at the beginning of August, this multi-genre festival will offer four days packed with musical discoveries, powerful emotions and prominent names from around the world. You can look forward to a selection of world music, jazz, folk, acoustic and experimental music from more than ten countries. more
In mid-June, the Brno City Theatre will be hosting a festival showcase of professional theatre entitled Dokořán (Open Doors for) Musical Theatre, the only festival dedicated to presenting contemporary musical theatre works. The festival's dramaturgs have compiled a selection of ten of the most interesting productions representing the best currently on offer on stages at home and abroad. The show will be complemented by an exhibition marking 80 years of the Brno City Theatre, as well as a concert by Meteor from Prague. more
The Brno Philharmonic is to perform one of the 20th century's most demanding symphonies. Cellist Steven Isserlis will also be appearing
One of the world's finest cellists and one of the 20th century's most challenging symphonies. This is the programme of Schumann and Shostakovich, a concert the Brno Philharmonic has been preparing for this week. Steven Isserlis is coming to Brno to perform Robert Schumann' s Cello Concerto. more
Brno flautist Michaela Koudelková seeks support for her debut CD
Flautist Michaela Koudelková has launched a Hithit campaign to raise funds for the release of her first CD featuring sonatas by G. F. Handel and A. Corelli on the renowned SUPRAPHON label. The project will showcase the virtuosity of Czech musical artists. The choice of repertoire is also unique, as it is almost unheard of performed on the recorder. more
