The prologue of the annual Lednice-Valtice Music Festival took place in Brno's Reduta Theatre on Saturday 20 September 2025. The festival’s opening evening featured the Brno chamber Ensemble Opera Diversa with conductor Gabriela Tardonová. The 10th anniversary year of the festival is subtitled From the New World, which is probably why the dramaturgy focused on young artists - pianist Ayla Bárta and violinist Matteo Hager, as symbolical representatives of the future world.
The first piece of the evening was Igor Stravinsky's three-movement Concerto in D. The work is from the composer's late neoclassicist period but is strongly filtered by his distinctive language. The colourfulness of the string orchestra offers a compact and intimate sound, yet in the dynamic and chordal passages the ensemble managed to sound like a large orchestra. With her clear idea of the construction of the first movement of Vivace, conductor Tardonová and the players did a fantastic job of adapting to the hall's acoustics. The rich articulatory spectrum was very clear, giving the piece that touch of sarcasm it needs. With the rhythmic variety and frequent changes of meter, the musicians tended to be cautious at first, yet after a few more difficult variations, their playing turned into an energetic game.
The movements build on each other smoothly and the sonata structure of the first movement gives way to the lyrical Arioso: Andantino. Ensemble Opera Diversa did a fine job of creating a sensitive contrasting transition, its legatos literally melting and folding into coherent phrases. Perhaps it was the young musicians, whose natural passion and sensitivity were mirrored in the music, which created that romantic atmosphere. The conductor's gestures shaped the musical flow into carefully constructed dynamic and agogic surfaces that drew the audience in.
The piece ends with the lively, rhythmically interwoven Rondo: Allegro. The repetitive motifs were reinforced by rhythmic unison, enriched by runs and variations on them. This musical anarchy overlapped with the melodic line of the cellos, which gradually spilled over into the other instruments. Stravinsky also leads the musicians to some paradoxical situations, with the violin playing the same melody as the cello, but in a different octave and with different articulation. This creates a tension where the violins play staccato and the cellos legato. At this point Tardonová built the melody precisely and managed to keep the contrasting lines in balance. The double bassists sensitively carried the accompanying bass line with pizzicato frequently rising above the overall sound of the whole ensemble. The energetic delivery, crisp accents, spiccato and dance-like lightness gave the music a drive that carried the recurring themes clearly and effortlessly through to the end.
The second piece of the evening was Bohuslav Martinů's Concerto da Camera, which in the past marked the culmination of the composer’s period inspired by the form of the Baroque concerto grosso. The orchestra was expanded to include percussion, piano and, above all, a soloist, young violinist Matteo Hager.
The chordal-rhythmic skeleton of the piano with its varied runs was evident in the opening of the first movement Moderato, Poco allegro, accompanied by the tense melody of the strings. With Tardonová conducting, this flow escalated into a big sound and purposefully drew back again. Hager's tone remained clear even in passages that were in harmony with the orchestra. His solos demonstrated an exceptional emotional maturity as well as his flawless technical precision. The conductor and the players did a wonderful job with the dialogical structure of the piece, with both the piano and violin responding to one another in complicated syncopations. Tardonová underscored the dynamic contrasts with expressive gestures, and the orchestra responded with agility. The strength of the individual players was reflected in the divisi passages, where the ensemble created an urgent sonic whole.
The serene second movement, Adagio, unfolded into an almost hypnotic chordal texture, enriched by melodies full of dissonances and their resolutions. The strings then held the accompanying tenuto line, with the piano gently joining in. Hager came in with a singing melody, which he played so tenderly that it seemed as if he were using a mute. The conductor and the orchestra responded to this illusion and worked together to weave an impressive sound atmosphere that enveloped the entire audience. The technically demanding solo part included some high notes, occasional double stops and abrupt shifts into other octaves. Hager remained sure in his intonation even in long tones with no excessive vibrato. His mature expression in places made him seem several years older than he actually is. Pianist Ayla Bártová added an urgency to the part by playing in a sub-contra octave that vibrated with tension beneath the entire ensemble. The movement ended with a pianissimo E minor chord, which the conductor kept in suspense until the very last moment.
The Poco allegro began with a sharp cut from all the instruments except the violas, which sustained a sixteenth-note ostinato until the soloist’s entry. Hager picked up the piano glissando and launched straight into the three-part score. He took up the challenge with energy and determination. The tremolo triangle backing was an interesting sound here, contrasting with the timpani, which took longer to harmonise dynamically with the orchestra. The third movement contained a cadenza, in which Hager used precise slides towards the final tutti. The violin cadenza became a duet between Matteo Hager's violin and Ayla Bártová's piano, demonstrating a solo virtuosity as well as an intimate interplay with the orchestra. The end of the piece was followed by a long round of applause, which Hager rewarded with an encore - the second movement from his own Sonata for Violin, written after this year's holidays. Although a technically demanding piece, it built on the Irish musical tradition and Hager played it with ease and a joyful improvisational sparkle.
The evening ended with a work by a composer whose work has been systematically explored by Ensemble Opera Diversa for several years. Jan Novák's Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra is included on the ensemble's first CD from 2015. At that time, the ensemble, led by Gabriela Tardonová, also released a recording of Novák's early works previously unavailable to the public. The soloist this time was again pianist Ayla Bártová, a student of Ivan Klánský’s class at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts.
After a short orchestral introduction in the first movement, Allegro sostenuto, Allegro con spirito, she entered with full vigour and proved her outstanding technical prowess from the very first note. This was evident especially in the rapid scale passages and her handling of the downbeat, accents, and agogics. The conductor guided the orchestra to a confident, urgent performance that formed contrasting interludes with the solo piano.
The second movement, Andante pastorale, was an airy contrast. The soloist used impressive gestures to create tender passages in which she and the orchestra responded to or imitated each other. Bártová demonstrated a flair for managing the many distinct levels that this section contains.
The liveliness of the final Allegro was evident not only from the conductor's experience with this work, but also from Ayla Bártová's solo part. The third movement started energetically and continued in that vein until the end. Tardonová kept a firm grasp on the rhythmically demanding dialogues of the orchestra and piano, bringing new surprises with each bar. The syncopated rhythm, always demanding in terms of ensemble, permeates the entire third movement, where, moreover, motifs and themes flow seamlessly between the individual instruments - Diversa handled this perfectly. The soloist covered all the sequences with a confidence and temperament that drew the best possible performance from the whole ensemble. In the final climax of strings with piano, the soloist finished a little earlier than intended, and it was obvious that it had not gone according to her expectations. Nevertheless, she managed to get through a difficult 30-minute concert, showed remarkable technique and musical expression, and the audience rewarded her dedication with a thunderous round of applause.
It is gratifying to see that the festival, which is growing year by year, continues to give space to young artists and offer them the opportunity to gain the experience they need. The concert was presented by Jiří Vejvoda in his ever refined and engaging style. The audience was also welcomed by the festival director, violinist Jiří Partyka, who invited visitors to further concerts and accompanying events. I believe that, after their initial hesitation, the organisers were convinced that a well-constructed programme is nothing to be afraid of, nor is there any need to warn the audience in advance about "not entirely easy music". It turned out that well-crafted neoclassicism is also accessible to the more traditionally oriented listener.
Prologue LVHF 2025 / Ensemble Opera Diversa
Gabriela Tardonová / conductor
Matteo Hager / violin
Ayla Bártová / piano
Gabriela Tardonová / photo from artist's archive
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